Teenagers and biodiversity - worlds apart? : an essay on young people's views on nature and the role it will play in their future

Abstract

The children of today have plenty of toys to play with in comparison with some decades ago. Instead of playing outside, they watch television. Recent research in the UK has revealed that primary schoolchildren know more about the different ‘species’ of Pokémon than about plants and animals. Nature is something they see on television, preferably in programs featuring dangerous and spectacular animals. The aim of this study was to find out what young people think biodiversity or nature will mean to their lives in about twenty years time. One of the goals of nature policy is to bring nature closer to people. This study looked at teenagers as a possible target group of government policy. It has thrown up some pointers for meeting young people’s needs and raising their appreciation and understanding of nature and biodiversity. It uncovered a wider gap between young people and nature than the researchers had expected, but also sparked of a desire to know more, and not only among the schoolchildren. This study attracted attention from the media and the subject was discussed on meetings about nature and environmental education. Although the research was conducted in the Netherlands, the picture obtained may also apply to at least the more urbanised regions of Europe where the cultural, economic and social climates are broadly simila