Evaluation of Mountaineering Education and Practices in the Perspective of Connectedness to Nature and Environmental Awareness

The aim of this study is to evaluate the theoretical and practical education and practices provided in the "Get in touch with the nature - Live healthy, Protect Your Environment" project in terms of connectedness to nature and environmental awareness. The study group consisted of 46 university students who were members of mountaineering clubs and participated in mountaineering education and practices. In the study, the scale of connectedness to nature adapted by Bektaş et al. (2017) was used. A one-group pretest- posttest design was used. In addition, the answers given to the structured interview questions in the information collection form were evaluated qualitatively. There was a significant difference between pre-test averages and post-test averages in the dimension of being part of the nature (p<.01), suggesting that the education and practices influenced the dimension of being part of the nature, a sub-dimension of attachment to nature. An examination of the averages of the integration with nature sub-dimension and the overall averages of the scale revealed that the post-test scores increased. The results revealed that the scale score averages of the participants were increased at the end of the education period. It was also found that the participants’ reasons for taking part in outdoor activities changed during the course of the study, with “interest” ranking first in the pre-test being replaced by the “desire to be with friends” in the post-test. The results of the present study suggest that the education had an impact on nature connectedness and environmental awareness.

Anahtar Kelimeler:

Doğaya Bağlılık, Çevre Bilinci, Dağcılık Eğitimi

Evaluation of Mountaineering Education and Practices in the Perspective of Connectedness to Nature and Environmental Awareness

Keywords:

Connectedness to Nature, Environmental Awareness, Mountaineering Training,

PDF

___

Atik, A., Yılmaz, B., Aslan, F., Ateş, O., & Taçoral, E. (2013). A Study on The Determination of Landscape Architecture Students’ Expectations From Their Education and Profession in The Sample of İnönü University. Inonu University Journal of Art and Design, 3(8), 0.
Bektaş, F., Kural, B., & Orçan, F. (2017). Turkish Version of The Connectedness to The Nature: Reliability and Validity Study. Physical Education and Sport Sciences Journal, 11(1), 77–86.
Buckley, R. C., Pickering, C. M., & Warnken, J. (2000). Environmental management for alpine tourism and resorts in Australia. In P. M. Godde, M. F. Price, & F. M. Zimmermann (Eds.), Tourism and development in mountain regions. (pp. 27–45). https://www.cabidigitallibrary.org/doi/10. 1079/9780851993911.0027
Çınar, B., & Duran, A. (2021). The Effect of Connectedness to Nature on Motivation for Participating in Hiking. Journal of Turkish Tourism ResearchSEARCH, 5(1), 754–766.
Derince, B. (2019). Investigation of Orienteering Athletes’ Connectedness to Nature [MasterThesis]. İnönü University.
Doğru, Z. (Director). (2022a, July 2). Ministry of Youth and Sports, Youth Projects Support Program “Get in touch with the nature—Live healthy, Protect Your Environment” Niğde [SD]. https://www.youtube.com/ watch?v=BUiqRPz5HI4
Doğru, Z. (Director). (2022b, July 5). Ministry of Youth and Sports, Youth Projects Support Program “Get in touch with the nature—Live healthy, Protect Your Environment” İncesu [SD]. https://www.youtube.com/ watch?v=Q5cGJv99QB4
Environmental Law, 2872 Environmental Law [ÇevreKanunu](1983). https://www.mevzuat. gov.tr/mevzuat?MevzuatNo=2872&MevzuatTur=1&MevzuatTertip=5
Evans, G. W., Brauchle, G., Haq, A., Stecker, R., Wong, K., & Shapiro, E. (2007). Young Children’s Environmental Attitudes and Behaviors. Environment and Behavior, 39(5), 635–658. https://doi.org/10.1177/ 0013916506294252
Fisher, A. (2002). Radical Ecopsychology: Psychology in the Service of Life. State University of New York.
Gökdayı, F., & Demirel, M. (2018). Investigation of the Levels of Environmental Awareness of The Individuals at the Nature Sports Activities as a Leisure Time Activities. International Journal of Mountaineering and Climbing, 1(1), 45–53. https://doi.org/ 10.36415/dagcilik.485987
Güler, T. (2009). The Effects of an Ecology Based Environmental Education on Teachers’ Opinions about Environmental Education. Education and Science, 34(151), 30–42.
Gürer, B., Arslaner, G. K., & Gençer, G. (2019). Environmental Protection Outdoor Sports Scope. The Journal of Academic Social Science, 29(29), Article 29. https://doi. org/10.16992/ASOS.1251
Kahyaoğlu, M., & Yetişir, M. İ. (2016). A Phenomenographic Study on the Concept of Nature and Alienation of Children from Nature. Education and Science, 40(182). https://doi.org/10.15390/EB.2015.4899
Keleş, Ö., Uzun, N., & Uzun, F. V. (2010). The Change of Teacher Candidates‟ Environmental Consciousness, Attitude, Thought and Behaviors With Nature Training Project and The Assessment of Its Permanence. Electronic Journal of Social Sciences, 9(32), 384–401.
Kural, B., Doğru, Z., & Özen, G. (2020). Nature Connectedness Levels of Teachers who Received Trekking Training with Mixed Research Approach. Ambient Science, 07Sp(1).https://doi.org/10.21276/ambi. 2020. 07.sp1.oa34
Mayer, F. S., & Frantz, C. M. (2004). The connectedness to nature scale: A measure of individuals’ feeling in community with nature. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 24(4), 503–515. https://doi.org/ 10.1016/j.jenvp.2004.10.001
Özdemir, O. (2010). The Effects of Nature-Based Environmental Education on Environmental Perception and Behavior of Primary School Students. Pamukkale University Journal of Education, 27(27), Article 27.
Özen, G. (2015). The Effect of Climbing Community Activities as a Leisure on University Students’ Social Anxiety. The Anthropologist, 21(3), 558–564. https://doi. org/10.1080/09720073. 2015.11891847
Özen, G. (2017). The Effect of Recreational Activities on Trait and State Anxiety Levels. International Journal of Research - Granthaalayah, 5(12), 45–52. https://doi.org/ 10.5281/zenodo.1133568
Özen, G., Özen, Ş., & Sönmez, G. T. (2014). The Effect of Different Life Experiences -Camp Life and The High and Low Rope Tracks Activities—On The Perceptıon of Self-Efficacy. Journal of Sports and Performance Researches, 5(2), Article 2. https://doi.org/ 10.17155/spd.78927
Özen, G., Özsoy, A., & Yıldız, N. O. (2018). The Impact of Artificial Wall Climbing as a Recreational Activity on Children’s Locus of Control. Journal of Human Sciences, 15(4), 2462–2467.
Özen, G., & Vatansever, Ş. (2017). Examining the Effect of Artificial Wall Climbing as a Leisure Time Activity on Undergraduate’s Problem-Solving Skills. International Journal of Social Sciences and Education Research, 3(1), Article 1. https://doi.org/ 10.24289/ijsser.283585
Phenice, L. A., & Griffore, R. J. (2003). Young Children and the Natural World. Contemporary Issues in Early Childhood, 4(2),167171.https://doi.org/10.2304/ciec.2003.4.2.6
Polat, E., Akoğlu, H. E., Konak, O., & Özen, G. (2019). Investigation of Sustainable Consumption Behaviors in Individuals Who Do and Don’t Physical Activity. Spormetre The Journal of Physical Education and Sport Sciences, 17(2), Article 2. https://doi.org/ 10.33689/spormetre.525753
Somuncu, M. (2004). The Dilemma of Mountaineering and Mountain Tourism: Economic Benefits and Ecological Costs. Turkish Journal of Geographical Sciences, 2(1), Article 1. https://doi.org/ 10.1501/Cogbil_0000000041
Soykan, F. (1999). Type of Tourism Integrated with Natural Environment and Rural Culture: Rural Tourism. Anatolia: Journal of Tourism Research, 10(1), Article 1.
Swarbrooke, J., Beard, C., Leckie, S., & Pomfret, G. (2003). Adventure Tourism “The new frontier.” Butterworth-Heinemann.
Tağri̇kulu, P., Gül, A. C., & Çobanoğlu, E. O. (2021). Determining the Level of Connectedness to Nature of the Pre-service Teachers. Ondokuz Mayıs University Journal of Faculty of Education, 40(1), 441–458. https://doi.org/10.7822/omuefd.828434
Thoe, N. K., & Lin, C. S. (2006). Integrating “Learning Together” with Outdoor Science Activities. 1(October), 1–9. Yıldız, N. O., Özen, G., & Bostancı, T. G. (2016). The effects of one-day outdoor education on self- efficacy. Journal of Human Sciences, 13(3), 6098–6103.