Examining environmental identities and pro-environmental behavior adoption in individuals attending different environmental education events in the Lake Erie Region

Abstract

The goal of many environmental education events is to increase environmental knowledge, raise awareness of environmental issues, and drive adoption of pro-environmental behaviors in those who attend these events. In this study, we surveyed environmental education event attendees from four different event types including outdoor experiences, one-time lectures, social media, and academic classes. Our aim was to understand how the environmental identity (i.e., Connection to Nature, Theory of Planned Behaviour, and past experience in nature) of participants relates to the adoption of thirteen different pro-environmental behaviors, such as recycling, seeking environmental information, and donating to environmental organizations. Our results suggest that, in general, participants already had strong environmental identities and adopted multiple pro-environmental behaviours prior to attending their chosen environmental education event. Thus, environmental education events may benefit from more explicitly supporting the less frequently adopted, but nonetheless important, pro-environmental behaviors, such as discussing environmental information with others and volunteering with environmental organizations.