Field trips in protected and conservation areas
Topic:
Nature conservation, cultural heritage
Duration:
Full day trips
Learning objectives:
The activity aims:
a) to develop students’ stronger understanding of and positive attitudes towards natural environments.
b) to develop practices promoting local heritage protection (e.g., cultural heritage sites) such as natural areas.
Description of the learning process and activities:
The activity presented here derives from the research paper by Heras et al. (2019), where a field trip was organised in a natural park in the province of Girona, Catalonia, Spain, to develop students’ pro-environmental attitudes and cultural awareness. The activity blends outdoor learning with the “adopt-a-monument scheme”, which aims to develop citizens’ involvement in interpreting and conserving local heritage -in this case, a natural area.
The students engage in a series of activities, such as:
- Explanations by people living in this place or experts in the field;
- Inquiry and investigation of local history, collection of old photographs from various sources;
- Population surveys, examining local peoples’ experiences;
- In situ observations of the local heritage/monuments and protected natural sites (e.g., investigation of animals, plants, monuments);
- Group work to make explanatory murals;
- Proposal writing for improvement of practice or policy.
Other organisations involved:
The name of the school involved in the research is not disclosed for anonymity purposes.
Institute of Educational Research, University of Girona, Girona, Spain
Department of Education, Government of Catalonia, Girona, Spain
Resources required:
The specific material utilised is not mentioned, nevertheless, material can be designed based on each activity.
More information:
Heras, R. L., Huerta, R. M. M. I., & Salazar, O. (2019). Children’s perceptions on the benefits of school nature field trips. Education 3-13, 48(4), 379–391.
Other remarks:
The authors acknowledge funding for this study by the Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad, Gobierno de España through the project [EDU2012-39027-C03-03].
