Adult environment literacy in the USA remains disturbingly low, despite the urgency of environmental problems. In the face of federal attack on many of the gains made in the last half a century to protect and sustain natural resources and human health, increasing understanding of complex ecological processes and the human role in environmental…

This study combined the activity involvement and place attachment scores of trout anglers at Montauk State Park (Missouri, USA) into a typology of recreation specialization. The framework was used to explain anglers' knowledge of park resources. Highly specialized anglers were more knowledgeable about the park than those who were less specialized.…

The study of adult education has much to offer museum education, particularly from the lens of nonformal education--education that takes place outside formal educational settings. Through analysis of two case studies of nonformal education at museums (parks, historical sites, and cultural institutions), findings reveal a much more complex picture…

In the early twentieth century, a curriculum known as nature study flourished in major city school systems, streetcar suburbs, small towns, and even rural one-room schools. This object-based approach to learning about the natural world marked the first systematic attempt to introduce science into elementary education, and it came at a time when…

Most often associated with international development programs, local nonformal education, which is practiced in cultural (museums), historical (memorials, battlefields), natural (parks), and commercial (craft, home improvement clinics) settings, has received little substantive attention in the United States. In response, this case study explored…

Using discovery stations offers solutions for increasing attendance at park interpretive programs. Compact, portable stations can be used in playgrounds, special events, trailheads, picnic areas, campgrounds, nursing homes, and scouts and day camps. Describes a case in which stations were used 85 times and reached 4,927 visitors between July 1996…

The purpose of this study was to investigate the teaching beliefs of non-formal environmental educators who work in state and local parks. Findings reveal that teaching beliefs are much more complex than purported in the literature. Three broad insights are offered: including roles and responsibilities of the non-formal environmental educator,…

This document evaluates the Parks as Resources for Knowledge in Science (PARKS) project which supports environmental education in 36 National Parks across the United States and provides curriculum-based learning opportunities that integrate National Science Education Standards for teachers and students. Contents include: (1) "Executive…

Draws from perceptual and cognitive psychology to present a theoretical basis for the principles of interpretation developed by Freeman Tilden. Emphasized is cognitive map theory which holds that information units people receive, code and store are structured into cognitive models intended to represent the environment. (Author/WB)

Explores reasons to create special events, change existing events, or discontinue events, in the pursuit of new audiences. Describes surveys of usership at Cleveland Metroparks to identify new audiences. Effective event design and implementation requires effective advertising, which is expensive, so a discussion of fund development, branding, and…

Describes the Wilderness Ranger program of the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation. Rangers patrol backcountry areas to provide information and education to hikers and campers, thereby helping to protect both the visitors and the wilderness resource. (Author/WB)

A national survey of 131 park and zoo educators' teaching beliefs was conducted in 14 parks and zoos in the United States in 1996. The Van Tilburg/Heimlich Teaching Beliefs Scale and a self-report time on task and importance of task were used. Outcomes showed that a preponderance of respondents would self-identify their beliefs to be…

Identified are systematic visitor observation techniques to provide data to show visitors' reactions to interpretive programming. Use of this data should enhance the ability of the interpretive naturalists to plan, conduct, and evaluate interpretive programming. The suggested techniques can be accomplished without outside help, and can be…

Describes nonvisual sensory experiences to use on a trail walk for blindfolded persons. Provided are suggestions for organizing such a walk and descriptions of resource materials. (WB)

Offers guidelines for communicating with and accommodating persons with visual, hearing, and ambulatory handicaps in parks and other outdoor education settings. (WB)