People who have positive experiences with nature in childhood care more about the environment as adults

Many researchers have reported that childhood experiences with nature were a key formative influence on today’s environmentalists. Thomas Tanner of the University of Iowa and environmental psychologist Louise Chawla (cited in Louv, 2005) have both found that time spent in natural environments during childhood was a common factor in the lives of individuals with a strong commitment to nature and the environment as adults. Randy White of the White Hutchinson Leisure & Learning Group also summarizes extensive research in this area, stating that “…the loss of children’s outdoor play and contact with the natural world … sets the stage for a continuing loss of the natural environment. …. Research is clearly substantiating that an affinity to and love of nature, along with a positive environmental ethic, grow out of children’s regular contact with and play in the natural world.”

Sources:
Louv, R. (2005). Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children from Nature Deficit Disorder. New York: Algonquin Books.
White, R. (2004). Young Children’s Relationship with Nature: Its Importance to Children’s Development and the Earth’s Future.