EFFECT OF CHILDHOOD EXPERIENCES WITH NATURE, INCLUDING PLANTING TREES, ON ADULT UNDERSTANDING OF TREES IN CITIES

Adults in major metropolitan areas across the United States of America were surveyed regarding their childhood experiences with nature and their current attitudes toward trees.
Almost all respondents expressed positive attitudes toward trees in cities, regardless of childhood exposure to plants or background. A majority strongly agreed, for example, that trees in cities help reduce noise.
Their responses were influenced by childhood experiences.
The childhood influences of being raised near woods, spending time in places with trees, planting plants, and caring for plants all had positive influences on the adult opinion of whether trees have spiritual meaning.
For example, those who often cared for plants as children were more likely to report, as adults, that trees have spiritual meaning than were those who never cared for plants as children.
All of those same childhood influences, except being raised near woods, also had positive influences on the adult action of taking gardening classes.
For example, adults who spent time in outdoor places with trees as children were more likely to have taken a gardening class in the past year than adults who did not spend time with trees as children.

International Conference on Urban Horticulture

V.I. Lohr

attitudes, environment, gardening, human issues in horticulture, survey

https://doi.org/10.17660/ActaHortic.2004.643.22