Sage Journals: Discover world-class research

Abstract

A “new nature movement” to connect people to nature for health and well-being has encouraged the formation of family nature clubs (FNCs), which regularly bring groups of families together to enjoy nearby natural areas. This paper presents a case study of a new FNC. Principles of community-based social marketing (CBSM) were applied to design and analyze the club's functioning. Although this study showed that barriers to time in nature remained high for many families, those who repeatedly participated in the FNC reported many benefits. In interviews and narrative comments, parents repeatedly described the importance of intrinsic rewards and social-emotional feedback—motives for participation that deserve more attention in the literature on CBSM. The paper illustrates how CBSM could be integrated with social movement theory to increase the effectiveness of face-to-face action groups, such as a FNC, as part of deliberate strategies for social and environmental change. Key Words: Community-based social marketing—Connection to nature—Environmental education.

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

Andreasen

A. R.

(2006). Social marketing in the 21st century. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications.

Burawoy

, Blum

, George

, Gille

, Gowan

, Haney

, … Thayer

(2000). Global ethnography. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press.

Chawla

(2015). Benefits of nature contact for children. Journal of Planning Literature, 30, 433–452.

Chawla

, & Derr

(2012). The development of conservation behaviors in childhood and youth. In Clayton

(Ed.), The Oxford handbook of environmental and conservation psychology (pp. 527–555). New York, NY: Oxford University Press.

Crossley

(2002). Making sense of social movements. Buckingham, UK: Open University Press.

D'Amore

(2015). Family nature clubs: Creating the conditions for social and environmental connection and care (Doctoral dissertation, Prescott University). Retrieved from https://search.proquest.com/openview/ee4d2150cbbe86201b690f9baedf4cf1/1?pq-origsite=gscholar&cbl=18750&diss=y

D'Amore

(2016). Family nature clubs: An intergenerational opportunity to foster love of the natural world. Families, Relationships and Societies, 5, 431–446.

D'Amore

, & Chawla

(in press). Significant life experiences that connect children with nature: A research review and applications to a family nature club. In Cutter-MacKenzie

, Malone

& Barratt Hacking

(Eds.), International handbook on childhood nature. New York, NY: Springer

D'Amore

, & Wadler

(2015). Family Adventures in Nature (FAN) club guidebook. Gaithersburg, MD: Izaak Walton League of America. Retrieved from www.iwla.org/docs/default-source/for-youth/fan-club-docs/fanclubguidebook.pdf

10.

Dart

, & Davies

(2003). A dialogical, story-based evaluation tool: The most significant change technique. American Journal of Evaluation, 24, 137–155.

11.

Dickens

(2004). Society and nature. Cambridge, UK: Polity Press.

12.

James

, Banay

, Hart

, & Laden

(2015). A review of the health benefits of greenness. Current Epidemiology Reports, 2, 131–142.

13.

Klein

(2014). This changes everything. New York, NY: Simon & Schuster.

14.

Kolb

(2007). Protest and opportunities. Frankfurt, Germany: Campus Verlag.

15.

Lee

N. R.

, & Kotler

(2016). Social marketing (5th ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications.

16.

Lefebvre

R. C.

(2013). Social marketing and social change. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

17.

Louv

(2005). Last child in the woods. Chapel Hill, NC: Algonquin Books.

18.

McKenzie-Mohr

(2011). Fostering sustainable behavior (3rd ed.). Gabriola Island, Canada: New Society.

19.

McKenzie-Mohr

, Lee

N. R.

, Schultz

P. W.

, & Kotler

(2012). Social marketing to protect the environment. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications.

20.

Melucci

(1989). Nomads of the present. Philadelphia, PA: Temple University Press.

21.

Novelli

W. D.

, & Workman

(2011). Social marketing and advocacy. In Hastings

, Angus

& Bryant

(Eds.), The SAGE handbook of social marketing (pp. 377–390). Los Angeles, CA: SAGE Publications.

22.

Osbaldiston

, & Schott

J. P.

(2012). Environmental sustainability and behavioral science. Environment and Behavior, 44, 257–299.

23.

Patton

(2002). Qualitative research and evaluation methods. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications.

24.

Rucht

(2013). Social movement structures in action. In van Stekelenburg

, Roggeband

& Klandermans

(Eds.), The future of social movement research (pp. 169–190). Minneapolis, MN: University of Minnesota Press.

25.

Schultz

P. W.

(2014). Strategies for promoting proenvironmental behavior. European Psychologist, 19, 107–117.

26.

Schuman

(1998). New towns. In van Vliet

(Eds.), The encyclopedia of housing (pp. 394–397). Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications.

27.

Weinstein

, Balmford

, DeHaan

, Gladwell

, Bradbury

, & Amano

(2015). Seeing community for the trees. BioScience, 65, 1141–1153.

Many Children in the Woods: Applying Principles of Community-Based Social Marketing to a Family Nature Club

Abstract

Abstract

Get full access to this article

References