Forging environmentalism: The influence of childhood nature experiences on people's pro‐biodiversity value orientations and attitudes

With the rapid expansion of transnational biodiversity policy instruments promoting large‐scale landscape transformations that depend on public support for their success and feasibility, understanding the mechanisms underlying pro‐biodiversity attitudes has become important. Previous research has demonstrated associations between childhood nature experiences and pro‐biodiversity value orientations, which in turn shape pro‐biodiversity attitudes and behaviours. However, evidence remains limited regarding how these psychometric factors relate, and whether pro‐biodiversity value orientations mediate the relationship between childhood nature experiences and pro‐biodiversity attitudes.

We conducted a participatory mapping (PPGIS) survey with residents of the Copenhagen metropolitan area, Denmark, eliciting attitudes towards hypothetical restoration measures in places familiar to respondents, as an indicator of pro‐biodiversity attitudes. We also assessed their frequency and diversity of childhood nature experiences (CNE), as well as biospheric, altruistic and egoistic pro‐biodiversity value orientations.

We found that both the diversity and frequency of CNE were positively associated with biospheric and altruistic value orientations and more weakly with pro‐biodiversity attitudes. Individuals reporting more than 15 distinct types of CNE scored up to 0.15 and 0.35 points higher on altruistic and biospheric value orientations, respectively, and were also more likely to have stronger pro‐biodiversity attitudes. Importantly, we identified biospheric value orientations as mediating more than 50% of the effect of CNE frequency and diversity on pro‐biodiversity attitudes.

In the context of increasing urbanization of human–nature interactions, our findings underscore the importance of planning, designing and managing urban green and blue spaces to foster meaningful nature experiences across the life course. Addressing sociocultural constraints that limit engagement with nature is equally critical to counteract growing human–nature disconnection.

Although positive, the observed associations were modest. The PPGIS assessment may have activated relational values, attachment, moral pluralism and other situational considerations relevant to value–attitude relationships. These findings highlight the importance of incorporating spatial and contextual perspectives into theories linking values to pro‐biodiversity attitudes and social acceptability assessments.