Early childhood experiences in nature: does it matter who is present with children?

In a phone survey, residents of the largest metropolitan areas in the continental United States were asked about their strongest early memory of an outdoor experience.
For many respondents, the experience involved trees.
Most reported that the experience was pleasant and that they were not alone when it happened.
If they were not alone, they were asked follow-up questions about those present with them, such as if there was more than one person present and if those present were significant in the experience.
They were also asked questions about their adult attitudes towards trees.
People who reported that there was one person who was particularly important in their childhood experience were more likely as adults to strongly agree that trees are important to their quality of life than people who said there was not one particular person.
Respondents who perceived that an important or influential person present had very positive feelings about nature were also more likely to strongly agree that trees are important to their quality of life.

XXIX International Horticultural Congress on Horticulture: Sustaining Lives, Livelihoods and Landscapes (IHC2014): XII International People Plant Symposium: Horticulture and Human Communities

V.I. Lohr

significant life experience, response to nature, environment, people-plant interaction, quality of life, human issues in horticulture

https://doi.org/10.17660/ActaHortic.2016.1121.15