Self-reported participation in outdoor and nature-based recreation before and during the COVID-19 pandemic supports psychological health and well-being.

Restrictions associated with the COVID-19 pandemic significantly altered daily lives and affected human health and well-being. Outdoor and nature-based activities could potentially mitigate some of these negative impacts. To assess the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on outdoor recreation and subjective well-being, we combined two samples of U.S. adults collected from April 30th - June 15th, 2020 and from August 7th - August 26th, 2020 (total n = 2178) using Qualtrics XM. During the pandemic, participation in outdoor activities declined by 35%, participation in nature-based activities declined by 33%, and subjective well-being declined by 24%. Participation in outdoor activities and nature activities prior to the pandemic and during the pandemic predicted smaller declines in subjective well-being. Results highlight the importance of outdoor recreation for building resilience to changes in subjective well-being before and during global crises like the COVID-19 pandemic.

Political polarization of conservation issues in the era of COVID-19: An examination of partisan perspectives and priorities in the United States.

As a zoonotic disease with unprecedented global impacts, COVID-19 may influence how people prioritize issues related to wildlife conservation. Using a nationally representative sample of US residents, we investigated: (1) how COVID-19 affected the relative importance of conservation issues among adults with different political ideologies, and (2) how the pandemic affected political polarization of conservation issues during the 2020 general election in the United States. Conservation issues such as endangered species and controlling zoonotic disease ranked low in importance among the 14 policy issues considered, even lower than environmental issues such as climate change and environmental protection; however, the importance of all conservation issues increased as a result of COVID-19. Political polarization surrounding the perceived importance of conservation issues also increased during the COVID-19 pandemic, with Democrats reporting larger increases in importance than Republicans. Polarization was driven by the most conservative Republicans and the most liberal Democrats. But this polarization was less extreme than it was for other issues such as climate change and healthcare. Findings highlight the need for communicating links between zoonotic disease and human interactions with wildlife and the environment. Acting quickly may be critical in areas where conservation issues are primed to succumb to political polarization.

Intergenerational learning: A recommendation for engaging youth to address marine debris challenges.

Youth can impact environmental attitudes and behaviors among adults. Indeed, research on intergenerational learning has demonstrated the influence of young people on adults in their lives for myriad environmental topics. Intergenerational learning (IGL) refers to the bidirectional transfer of knowledge, attitudes, or behaviors from children to their parents or other adults and vice versa. We suggest an educational framework wherein K-12 marine debris education designed to maximize IGL may be a strategy to accelerate interdisciplinary, community-level solutions to marine debris. Although technical strategies continue to be developed to address the marine debris crisis, even the most strictly technical of these benefit from social support. Here, we present 10 Best Practices grounded in educational, IGL, and youth civic engagement literature to promote marine debris solutions. We describe how integrating IGL and civic engagement into K-12-based marine debris curricula may start a virtuous circle benefiting teachers, students, families, communities, and the ocean.

Outdoor Activity Participation Improves Adolescents' Mental Health and Well-Being during the COVID-19 Pandemic.

COVID-19 is reshaping human interactions with the natural environment, potentially generating profound consequences for health and well-being. To assess the effects of COVID-19 on the outdoor recreation participation and subjective well-being of adolescents, as well as how participation in outdoor activities may mitigate declines in subjective well-being, we used a Qualtrics XM panel to conduct a nationally representative survey of youth ages 10-18 across the United States (n = 624) between 30 April and 15 June 2020. Survey questions focused on frequency of participation in outdoor activities before and during the pandemic, as well as changes in subjective well-being. Paired t-tests revealed decreases in both outdoor recreation participation (64% reported declines) and subjective well-being (52% reported declines). A regression model examining correlates of changes in subjective well-being (R2 = 0.42) revealed strong associations with changes in outdoor play (B = 0.44, p < 0.001) and nature-based (B = 0.21, p = 0.016) activities. Adolescents' from all backgrounds who participated in these activities during the pandemic reported smaller declines in subjective well-being. Results highlight the critical role that time outdoors and time in nature play in bolstering adolescents' resilience to stressors such as the COVID-19 pandemic and underscore the need to facilitate outdoor recreation opportunities for youth during times of crisis.

How Climate Change Beliefs among U.S. Teachers Do and Do Not Translate to Students.

Research suggests climate change beliefs among science teachers mirror those of the general public, raising questions of whether teachers may be perpetuating polarization of public opinion through their classrooms. We began answering these questions with a survey of middle school science teachers (n = 24) and their students (n = 369) in North Carolina, USA. Similar to previous studies, we found that though nearly all (92.1%) of students had teachers who believe that global warming is happening, few (12%) are in classrooms with teachers who recognize that global warming is anthropogenic. We found that teacher beliefs that global warming is happening and student climate change knowledge were the strongest predictors of student belief that global warming is happening and human caused. Conversely, teacher beliefs about human causes of global warming had no relationship with student beliefs, suggesting that science teachers' low recognition of the causes of global warming is not necessarily problematic in terms of student outcomes. These findings may be explained by previous research suggesting adolescents interpret scientific information relatively independently of ideological constraints. Though teacher polarization may be problematic in its own right, it appears that as long as climate change information is presented in classrooms, students deduce anthropogenic causes.

Environmental, institutional, and demographic predictors of environmental literacy among middle school children.

Building environmental literacy (EL) in children and adolescents is critical to meeting current and emerging environmental challenges worldwide. Although environmental education (EE) efforts have begun to address this need, empirical research holistically evaluating drivers of EL is critical. This study begins to fill this gap with an examination of school-wide EE programs among middle schools in North Carolina, including the use of published EE curricula and time outdoors while controlling for teacher education level and experience, student attributes (age, gender, and ethnicity), and school attributes (socio-economic status, student-teacher ratio, and locale). Our sample included an EE group selected from schools with registered school-wide EE programs, and a control group randomly selected from NC middle schools that were not registered as EE schools. Students were given an EL survey at the beginning and end of the spring 2012 semester. Use of published EE curricula, time outdoors, and having teachers with advanced degrees and mid-level teaching experience (between 3 and 5 years) were positively related with EL whereas minority status (Hispanic and black) was negatively related with EL. Results suggest that school-wide EE programs were not associated with improved EL, but the use of published EE curricula paired with time outdoors represents a strategy that may improve all key components of student EL. Further, investments in teacher development and efforts to maintain enthusiasm for EE among teachers with more than 5 years of experience may help to boost student EL levels. Middle school represents a pivotal time for influencing EL, as improvement was slower among older students. Differences in EL levels based on gender suggest boys and girls may possess complementary skills sets when approaching environmental issues. Our findings suggest ethnicity related disparities in EL levels may be mitigated by time spent in nature, especially among black and Hispanic students.