Animals in the landscape drawings of Finnish and Russian young people – in the landscape they want to conserve

Abstract

This research was carried out in connection with “The Finnish-Russian Country School Project”. The aim is to compare Finnish and Russian pupils’ values in their drawings of the landscape (n=946) they want to conserve, and to pay attention to the animals they draw. The pupils were 7–15 years old. The landscapes were classified by the variables (country, age, sex), and analysed according to landscape type. The most prevailing landscape was nature (82%). The existence of animals was few in species; but there were more animals in the Russian drawings. The most frequently drawn groups were the“wave birds” and mammals. The Russians often presented the forest animals whereas the Finns drew the domestic species. With increasing age, the frequency of the animals decreased clearly in the Russian landscapes. A similar age distribution was not seen in the Finnish drawings. In conclusion, the animals were well placed in their ecological environment, indicating children’s good understanding of the natural habitat they were drawing.