Can Environmental Education Actions Change Public Attitudes? An Example Using the Pond Habitat and Associated Biodiversity

Abstract

Ponds provide vital ecological services. They are biodiversity hotspots and important breading sites for rare and endangered species, including amphibians and dragonflies. Nevertheless, their number is decreasing due to habitat degradation caused by human activities. The “Ponds with Life” environmental education project was developed to raise public awareness and engagement in the study of ponds by promoting the direct contact between the public and nature, researchers and pedagogical hands-on exploration activities. A pre-post- project survey was set-up to assess the effects of the project on the environmental consciousness, knowledge and attitude changes towards ponds and the associated biodiversity of school students aged 15 to 18. The survey questions were based on Likert scales and their pre-post project comparisons used an innovative multivariate hypothesis testing approach. The results showed that the project improved the students’ knowledge and attitudes towards ponds and associated biodiversity, especially the amphibians. Ponds can be found or constructed in urban areas and despite small sized, they proved to be interesting model habitats and living laboratories to foster environmental education, by encompassing a high number of species and a fast ecological succession.

Short Communication: The herpetofauna around human settlements in Lubuklinggau City, South Sumatra, Indonesia: Composition and diversity

“…Herpetofauna is rarely known and little appreciated by society because of the negative feelings people have toward this animal group (Sousa et al 2016;Indrawati et al 2018;Devi et al 2019). In South and Southeast Asia, herpetofauna research has not received much attention in terms of ecological aspects.…”

Social Sciences, Art and Physical Activity in Leisure Environments. An Inter-Disciplinary Project for Teacher Training

“…A good way to include educational experiences in this field is by using the city [18][19][20] or the close environment as didactic resources. Several areas of knowledge, like physical education [21,22] or natural and experimental sciences [11,23,24] already occasionally link leisure and open-air learning, and have been associated with good results in the acquisition of knowledge, self-efficiency and environmental consciousness. Several experiences and studies on open-air learning programmes related to environmental education and sustainability have resulted in achievement and/or improvement in motivation and enjoyment, thus promoting social abilities and positive attitudes toward the environment [25][26][27][28][29].…”

Urban Biodiversity: Perception, Preference, General Awareness, and Threats in Two Cities (Niamey and Maradi) of Niger

“…Certainly, biodiversity has always existed in urban areas but was only "unconsciously" perceived by the population [42]. Environmental education programmes can improve knowledge and attitudes change towards some animal species according to [43]. An intriguing possibility is therefore that provision of information, beyond sheer exposure to biodiversity, could help increase people's awareness about biodiversity and reconnect them to nature [44].…”