From exposure to impact : effects of conservation volunteering on connection with nature and pro-environmental behavior : a case study from Iceland

• Main Author: Horn, Olga
• Format: Other/Unknown Material
• Language: English
• Published: Lunds universitet/LUCSUS 2013
• Subjects: conservation volunteering; nature experience; nature relatedness; sustainability science; pro-environmental behavior; Social Sciences; Iceland
• Online Access: http://lup.lub.lu.se/student-papers/record/4145519

Environmental volunteering in Iceland was taken as a case study to investigate whether taking part in an extended conservation volunteering project has the potential to increase participants’ connection with nature and motivate them to act in a more environmentally-friendly way. Drawing from theories of behavior change and the human-nature relationship a mixed-methods approach was applied. Levels of Nature Relatedness (NR) and Pro-Environmental Behavior (PEB) were generated from 49 former and 21 prospective volunteers and compared using descriptive statistics. In addition, self-reported change data was examined and supplemented with qualitative accounts derived from interviews and the survey. While the comparative approach yielded mixed results, the qualitative findings suggest that the participation in an extended volunteering project is indeed able to influence nature connectedness through an increased familiarity and PEB through an increase in awareness and concern as well as reflection. Wider implications of the findings are discussed.