An expert-led outdoor activity can have a lasting impact on the environmental knowledge of participating pupils and adults

ABSTRACT

Children, and the adults who are responsible for their education, demonstrate an increasing lack of environmental understanding and knowledge. This is important because the development of societal environmental literacy will be key to the responses that we make to the current climate crisis. Many teachers perceive themselves to lack the skills, knowledge and resources to undertake meaningful outdoor education but through our study we show that by working with a professional environmental educator these limitations can be overcome. We have shown that children and adults can enhance their understanding and knowledge of an aquatic habitat and that through this kind of first-hand experience the impact upon children can be a lasting one.

KEYWORDS:

• Outdoor education
• Learning outdoors
• Environmental education

Acknowledgements

We would like to acknowledge the children and adults who took part in this research. We are grateful to Yorkshire Water for permission and support to conduct the work at their Tophill Low Nature Reserve, and we owe a debt of gratitude to Mr Richard Hampshire the warden of that reserve.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).