Nobody Planted It, It Just Grew! Young Adolescents' Perceptions and Experiences of Nature in the Context of Urban Environmental Education

Arjen E.J. Wals
Department of Agricultural Education
University of Wageningen, The Netherlands

Citation: Wals, Arjen E.J. (1994). "Nobody Planted It, It Just Grew! Young Adolescents' Perceptions and Experiences of Nature in the Context of Urban Environmental Education." Children's Environments 11 (3): 1-27. Retrieved [date] from http://www.colorado.edu/journals/cye/

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Abstract

This article discusses young adolescents' perceptions of nature in the context of urban environmental education. The role of nature experiences in environmental education, the concept of nature from a historical perspective, students' perceptions and experiences of nature, and their implications for environmental education are also discussed. The first part of the article is based on a literature review, whereas the second part is the result of a three-year qualitative study that took place in four middle schools located in the Detroit metropolitan area. A main thesis is that it is crucial for environmental educators to elicit and build upon students' perceptions and experiences of nature, especially when these students grow up in predominately urban settings.

Keywords: experiences of nature, adolescents, urban education, environmental education