Bats are beneficial to ecosystems around the world, and are often keystone species. However, bat populations are declining worldwide and conservation efforts are needed to conserve bat species throughout the world. Worldwide, superstitions and fear of bats prevail and prolong negative attitudes and human hostility toward most bat species. In the case of other species (e.g. wolves and alligators), tourism efforts have led to improving attitudes and species viability. These examples suggest that bat tourism has a potential to conserve bat populations while providing social and economic benefits to local people in host communities. This article adopts an existing definition of non-consumptive wildlife-oriented recreation to frame the issues, summarises the ecological importance of bat species, provides an overview of the existing bat-human relationship, and adopts guidance from existing wildlife tourism initiatives. Information based on studies of wildlife tourists seeking other species is presented, as are examples of bat conservation initiatives based on tourism to change attitudes toward bats while stressing awareness of both potential negative impacts on bat species and economic benefits for local communities. Several existing examples of destinations which are attracting tourists to view bats, are discussed.

With the increase of nature-based tourism and recreation on public lands in the United States, recreation and tourism planners have an opportunity to provide environmental education to a wide diversity of people. However, recreationists visit natural areas to attain a variety of experiences and benefits, which might or might not include learning. Through an examination of visitors to freshwater springs in north central Florida, this study identified (1) the recreation benefits visitors to freshwater springs most desire, (2) the role learning plays in recreationists'motivations to visit water-based recreation areas, and (3) the recreation opportunities (i.e. facilities and services) that will best provide learning opportunities for all visitors. Respondents were divided into four groups according to where they were surveyed and whether or not they had a strong interest in learning. Three of the four groups indicated an interest in developed services and facilities (e.g. visitor centres and museums) to provide for learning opportunities. Results also showed that some visitors' desires for learning benefits were not related to developed facilitiesand were more closely associatedwith passive recreation activities and settings. Specific planning implications for the four types of naturebased tourists are described.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) prohibits discrimination in all its programs and activities on the basis of race, color, national origin, age, disability, and where applicable, sex, marital status, familial status, parental status, religion, sexual orientation, genetic information, political beliefs, reprisal, or because all or part of an individual's income is derived from any public assistance program. (Not all prohibited bases apply to all programs.) Persons with disabilities who require alternative means for communication of program information (Braille, large print, audiotape, etc.

Nature centers, museums, zoos, and other exhibit-based institutions need to sustain or increase visitation for economic viability. To generate visitor interest, exhibits have become more interactive, with immersion exhibits becoming increasingly popular. Visitor research has traditionally focused on learning or social aspects of the visitor experience rather than psychological dimensions related to attitudes, values, and behaviors. Yet nature-focused institutions increasingly support broad-based issues, such as encouraging connection to nature and environmentally responsible behavior. This paper explores how an immersion exhibit without personal interpretation, impacts connectedness to nature, intentions for environmentally responsible behaviors, and other aspects of visitor experiences. Short visits to a free-flying butterfly exhibit were found to augment visitors’ connectedness to nature and environmentally responsible behavioral intentions. Visitors also described how they appreciated the intensely beautiful surroundings, were awe-struck, felt a great deal of peace and relaxation, and felt oneness with nature.

This article draws on concepts from social-ecological resilience and a case study conducted in Lincoln, Nebraska, USA to explore the social-ecological functions of community gardening. Through semi-structured interviews with 20 community garden participants and staff, we find that community gardening provides opportunities for participants to foster resilience to the personal, cultural, and economic challenges of displacement and resettlement resulting from urban migration. Specifically, community gardens and community gardening helped participants in our sample develop a sense of belonging and connection with cultural identity, social community, and local environment. Additionally, the process and products of growing one's own food was associated with a sense of empowerment, especially for those coping with poverty, food insecurity, and a lack of healthy, culturally appropriate foods. The practice of community gardening can cultivate resilience by serving as what we term “social-ecological refuges”—safe, restorative community places that not only enable community gardeners to reconnect with themselves, each other, and the local environment, but also function as biocultural refugia, fostering community food security by preserving and transmitting adaptive cultural and ecological memories, skills, and resources related to growing food and managing local urban environments.