Speaking of nature
Relationships between how people think about, connect with, and act to protect nature
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 4238649 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Melissa Hatty (0000-0001-5232-2317, Monash University), Denise Goodwin (0000-0001-9260-8184, Monash University), Liam Smith (0000-0001-7433-364X, Monash University), Felix Mavondo (0000-0001-9622-1331, Monash University) |
| Year | 2022 |
| Volume | 27 |
| Issue | 3 |
| Publication date | 2022-01-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Conservation Ecology (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 1195-5449 • E-ISSN: 1708-3087 |
| Publisher | Resilience Alliance (PUBLISHER • CA) |
| DOI | 10.5751/es-13369-270317 |
| OpenAlex | W4292772983 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 6 |
| References cited | 40 |
Human relationships with nature are increasingly being recognized as an important factor in environmental conservation. Understanding how people perceive and know nature, and the language they use to describe nature, their concepts of nature, could have important implications for conservation policy and management. This empirical research sought to examine and categorize concepts of nature, and explore how such thoughts relate to connection with nature and conservation behaviors. Multidimensional scaling revealed three concepts of nature categories: descriptive (e.g., plants, animals, landscapes), normative (e.g., conservation, balance, life), and experiential (e.g., activities in nature, positive emotions, aesthetic qualities), plus a complex category (two or more of the descriptive, normative, or experiential categories). Connection with nature scores (total and dimensions) were higher among participants who described nature in experiential or complex terms than those who described nature in descriptive terms. Participants who described nature in experiential terms were more likely to have participated in environmental volunteering, citizen science, picking up litter, and community gardening in the past year than those who used descriptive terms. Concepts of nature moderated the relationship between the connection with nature and picking up litter. These results may usefully inform conservation policies and campaigns intended to increase connection with nature and participation in conservation behaviors, through the use of language emphasizing experiential and more complex concepts of nature, by encouraging personal reflection on one's experiences of nature, and through the design of natural spaces that encourage active engagement with nature
Categorization · Epistemology · Experiential learning · Geography · Normative · Normative social influence · Pedagogy · Sociology · Animal and Plant Science Education · Environmental Education and Sustainability · Psychology · Social Psychology · Urban Green Space and Health
Perceptions of nature's contributions to people across an elevational gradient in eastern Nepal
Socio‐demographic correlates of nature connection
Animals as a pathway to connection to nature
Growing closer
Natural processes and natureculture – A relational understanding of nature amongst local stakeholders in Swiss parks
Catalysing transformational change through compound nature connectedness interventions
Statistical Power Analysis for the Behavioral Sciences
Where do biospheric values come from? A connectedness to nature perspective
Meta‐analysis of human connection to nature and proenvironmental behavior
A literature review of connectedness to nature and its potential for environmental management
Connectedness as a Core Conservation Concern
Exploring empirical typologies of human–nature relationships and linkages to the ecosystem services concept
Exposure to Urban Nature and Tree Planting Are Related to Pro-Environmental Behavior via Connection to Nature, the Use of Nature for Psychological Restoration, and Environmental Attitudes
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Understanding mental constructs of biodiversity
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Beyond knowing nature
Associations between pro-environmental behaviour and neighbourhood nature, nature visit frequency and nature appreciation
Nature Contact and Human Health
The Measurement of Observer Agreement for Categorical Data
The connectedness to nature scale
What does ‘nature’ mean
The impact of museum interpretation tour on visitors' engagement and post‐visit conservation intentions and behaviours
Childhood nature connection and constructive hope
Identity and the Natural Environment
Applying the pathways to nature connectedness at a societal scale
The green care code
Human–nature connection
How Cognitive Frames about Nature May Affect Felt Sense of Nature Connectedness
Conservation Volunteers' Connection to Nature
Racial and Ethnic Differences in Connectedness to Nature and Landscape Preferences Among College Students
A Smartphone App for Improving Mental Health through Connecting with Urban Nature
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Reconnecting with nature for sustainability
Experiencing nature and children’s conceptualizations of the natural world
Children's perceptions of the natural environment
Multiple conceptualizations of nature are key to inclusivity and legitimacy in global environmental governance
The city snuffs out nature’
Lay People's Images of Nature
Inside-out sustainability
Environmental Volunteering
Using thematic analysis in psychology
The Nature Relatedness Scale
Unfurling western notions of nature and Amerindian alternatives
Concepts and measures related to connection to nature
Observations of Everyday Biodiversity
| Unique citing works | 6 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 3 |
| Citation span | 2024 - 2026 (3) |
| Citation velocity | current |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 4 |