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Descriptors:
Well Being; Ecology; Environmental Education; Natural Resources; Social Values; Recreational Activities; Social Change; Disproportionate Representation; Use Studies; Trend Analysis; Social Indicators; Physical Environment; Public Policy; Policy Analysis; Measurement; Sociometric Techniques; Comparative Analysis; Conservation (Environment); Wildlife; Forestry

Abstract:
A societal decision to protect over 9 million acres of land and water for its wilderness character in the early 1960s reflected US wealth in natural resources, pride in the nation's cultural history and our commitment to the well-being of future generations to both experience wild nature and enjoy benefits flowing from these natural ecosystems. There is no question that our relationship with wilderness has changed. Individually it is probably quite easy to examine differences in the role wilderness plays in the quality of our lives today compared to some previous time. But how the role of wilderness protection has changed for society is more difficult to describe. In only a few places do we have data across multiple decades that would allow us to even examine how users or their use may have changed over time. At the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness in northern Minnesota we are fortunate to have multiple studies that can give us some 40 years of insight into how some aspects of use have changed there. For example, an analysis of results of visitor studies at the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness in 1969, 1991 and 2007 reveal some big differences in who is out there today, most notably the presence of a much older, more experienced and better educated user population, almost exclusively white and predominantly male. It is time to decide whether the best thing for wilderness and or society is to try to restore historic patterns of use (to include younger people, the less wealthy and lower educated) in greater numbers, to try to identify new markets within growing underrepresented populations, or adapt our perception of wilderness stewardship to better include planning for emerging social values of a new generation with other indicators of well-being. A growing population with greater dependence on ecosystem services provided by protected nature could lead to wilderness protection becoming an important quantitative and qualitative element of quality of life indices in the very near future. Note:The following two links are not-applicable for text-based browsers or screen-reading software. Show Hide Full Abstract

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Plants (Botany); Science Instruction; Science Experiments; Water; Forestry; Scientific Concepts; Misconceptions; Grade 10; Secondary School Science

Abstract:
Three and a half centuries ago, a five-year experiment was conducted involving the growth of a willow tree in a pot which received only water. The conclusion, that a tree is therefore made solely from water, was not so ridiculous when there was still general acceptance of the Aristotelian view of only four "elements": water, earth, fire and air. The error of the conclusion leads students straight into a discussion of carbon dioxide as the real basis of the tree's growth via photosynthesis and consideration of the carbon cycle. (Contains 1 table.) Note:The following two links are not-applicable for text-based browsers or screen-reading software. Show Hide Full Abstract

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Foreign Countries; Heat; Sustainability; Rural Areas; Entrepreneurship; Forestry; Agricultural Occupations; Economic Development; Social Networks; Well Being

Abstract:
Climate change and the projected depletion of fossil energy resources pose multiple global challenges. Innovative technologies offer interesting possibilities to achieve more sustainable outcomes in the energy production sector. Local, decentralized alternatives have the potential to sustain livelihoods in rural areas. One example of such a venture has emerged around heating businesses in rural Finland, and is referred to as heat entrepreneurship. Heat entrepreneurship entails a system where a local forest owner, usually a farmer, provides heat to a small community or local building, such as a school. Heat is produced using local forest resources that would otherwise be unutilized. The purpose of this study is to examine heat entrepreneurship as a potential sustainable alternative for energy production and its multifunctionality. The data was collected by interviewing 15 heat entrepreneurs in the area of Central Finland. The study demonstrates how multifunctional farming-related energy production can provide more sustainable livelihoods for farmers by increasing social, economic and environmental sustainability. This is achieved by diversifying farmers' economic options, enhancing rural areas economically, increasing farmers' social networks and well-being and, to some extent, by boosting local environmental capital. However, the study also points to differences among the farmers and sustainability trade-offs, suggesting for the need to better acknowledge the local perceptions in policy-making. (Contains 2 tables and 1 figure.) Note:The following two links are not-applicable for text-based browsers or screen-reading software. Show Hide Full Abstract

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Mixed Methods Research; Developing Nations; Research Administration; Researchers; Individual Characteristics; Influences; Case Studies; Foreign Countries; Forestry

Abstract:
Although mixed methods designs have gained visibility in recent years, most of the publications on this methodological strategy have been written by scholars in the developed world. Consequently, the practical challenges associated with mixed methods research in developing countries have not been adequately discussed in the literature. Relying on a case study in Ghana, this article examines the benefits and challenges of combining quantitative and qualitative approaches in a single research. The article also demonstrates how the positionality of a mixed methods researcher varies from one context to another. Based on the findings of this study, some recommendations have been made for managing the challenges associated with mixed methods researches. Note:The following two links are not-applicable for text-based browsers or screen-reading software. Show Hide Full Abstract

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Environmental Education; Forestry; Educational History; Conservation (Environment); Natural Resources; Science Education

Abstract:
Our nation's first school of forestry operated in the early 1900s, when states were still being admitted to the union, and the motor car and typewriter had just been introduced to the American public. In the previous century, timber operations had slashed their way through forests with the simple policy of "cut and get out." To farmers, trees were obstacles to plows. The popular writings of Aldo Leopold describing the concepts of forest stewardship and the organization of natural communities would not appear for another four decades. Note:The following two links are not-applicable for text-based browsers or screen-reading software. Show Hide Full Abstract

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Climate; Environmental Education; Educational Benefits; Behavior Change; Educational Objectives; Surveys; Statistical Analysis; Recycling; Forestry; Student Attitudes; Gender Differences

Abstract:
One aim of environmental education is to enable people to make informed decisions about their environmental behaviour; this is particularly significant with environmental problems that are believed to be both major and imminent, such as climate change resulting from global warming. Previous research suggests no strong link between a person's general environmental attitudes and knowledge, and his or her willingness to undertake pro-environmental actions, so this study focuses on some "specific" issues. Using survey methods to produce quantitative data about students' beliefs concerning the usefulness of specific actions and their willingness to adopt them, novel indices have been constructed that indicate the potential of education to increase students' willingness to undertake those actions. The findings imply that altering a student's belief about certain issues will have little effect on their willingness to act. This can be because most students, even those with only a weak belief in the efficacy, are prepared to take action anyway. Conversely, it can be because a majority, including those convinced about the efficacy, are not prepared to take action. Education about such actions, where there is only a weak link between believed effectiveness and willingness to act, may be ineffective in terms of changing practice, because other factors such as social norms and situational influences dominate. For such actions other strategies may be required. For another set of actions, however, the benefits of education in changing practice seemed more positive; increasing recycling, reducing the use of artificial fertilisers and planting more trees are examples. (Contains 8 figures and 1 note.) Note:The following two links are not-applicable for text-based browsers or screen-reading software. Show Hide Full Abstract

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Certification; Natural Resources; Forestry; Sustainability; College Curriculum; College Seniors; Ecology; Agricultural Production; Forestry Occupations; Land Acquisition; Ownership

Abstract:
Forest Resource Management Plans is the capstone course in many forestry and natural resource management curricula. The management plans are developed by senior forestry students. Early management plans courses were commonly technical exercises, often performed on contrived forest "tracts" on university-owned or other public lands, with a goal of generating standard reports showing silvicultural, forest management, and timber harvesting activities. This early timber-oriented management approach gradually changed late in the last century into one that was oriented around real-world private forest landowners. Various types of actual forest properties and owner types were used for the exercises, but family forest properties tended to be stressed because they represent one of the most common types of management plans. Also, the timber emphasis changed to a multiple-use emphasis (with major considerations of nontimber resources, like wildlife, recreation, water, soils, and aesthetics). Forestry students were exposed to real-world forest owners and linked to practicing professional foresters who currently managed these properties. This same approach is being used to introduce forestry students to a major new emphasis: forest sustainability and forest certification. Sustainable forest management has grown into a major thrust of forestry for economic and ecological interests and forest certification systems are now crucial to ensuring sustainability. Clemson University is incorporating a major American forest certification system for family forest owners into its curriculum and capstone course to strengthen student understanding of these essential concepts. It represents an expansion of the landowner approach to broaden the capstone course to emphasis forest sustainability issues. (Contains 2 tables.) Note:The following two links are not-applicable for text-based browsers or screen-reading software. Show Hide Full Abstract

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Descriptors:
Learning Theories; Problem Based Learning; Courses; Outcomes of Education; Learning; Sequential Approach; Problem Solving; Difficulty Level; Outcome Based Education; Undergraduate Students; Mathematics; Economics; Forestry; Foreign Countries

Abstract:
The concept of "practice makes perfect" was examined in this work in the context of effective learning. Specifically, we wanted to know how much practice was needed for students to demonstrate mastery of learning outcomes. Student learning patterns in two different university courses that use a similar education approach involving problem based learning, outcomes based assessment, and problem sequencing based on elaboration theory were examined. Learning outcomes for each course were explicitly defined and students were repeatedly assessed through sequential assignments. The cumulative proportion of criteria successfully demonstrated for each problem-solving attempt was determined using data retrospectively obtained from instructor grading records. Learning followed a typical growth pattern--it increased rapidly at first and more slowly with succeeding attempts. The precise shape of the learning curve differed between the two courses and is thought to be the result of problem difficulty and problem sequencing. Depending on these two factors, at least one more attempt than the number of times criteria need to be demonstrated is required and often more are needed to demonstrate mastery. This paper presents class-level data and future work should investigate individual performance and particularly why some students learn more quickly than others. Two additional issues for future consideration are the effect of the number of attempts on long-term retention and on the transferability of the learning to other problems. (Contains 4 tables and 2 figures.) Note:The following two links are not-applicable for text-based browsers or screen-reading software. Show Hide Full Abstract

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Descriptors:
Biology; Science Activities; Science Instruction; Scientific Concepts; High School Students; Forestry; Botany; Class Activities

Abstract:
The growth of a pine tree is examined by preparing "tree cookies" (cross-sectional disks) between whorls of branches. The use of Christmas trees allows the tree cookies to be obtained with inexpensive, commonly available tools. Students use the tree cookies to investigate the annual growth of the tree and how it corresponds to the number of whorls on the tree. Height-diameter and height-age relationships are also investigated. While aimed at high school classes, the procedure can be adapted for younger students. Note:The following two links are not-applicable for text-based browsers or screen-reading software. Show Hide Full Abstract

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Colleges; Leadership Responsibility; College Role; Educational Facilities Design; Architecture; Biodiversity; Forestry; Campuses; Conservation (Environment); Energy Conservation; Sustainable Development

Abstract:
Campus landscapes can serve as living laboratories for reducing carbon footprints, conserving water and aquatic resources, supporting biodiversity, and building active, equitable social communities. Moreover, as learning landscapes, such campuses actively promote sustainable design by engaging faculty, staff, and students in the design and implementation process as a part of the pedagogy of place. This progressive focus positions universities as leaders educationally and environmentally. Acknowledging the breadth of campus design across the nation and world and the diversity of sustainable design practices being implemented, this article suggests frameworks and practices identified in four North American university case studies. This approach fits well within the sustainable design movement, which has increasingly acknowledged the need for individual site responses. It responds to current calls for specificity in how sustainability is defined and sustainable practices are described and offers a grounded framework for exploring this diversity. In turn, lessons from the cases suggest arguments that might be used to persuade leaders of the critical importance of changing how institutions plan and design future campus landscapes. The institutions selected for this article each engaged a landscape architect in the campus design, illustrating the opportunity for the landscape architecture community to take a lead role in the sustainable design process. In the first two studies, at the State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry (SUNY-ESF) and the University of Washington Tacoma (UW Tacoma), professionals worked with constituents to reflect a focus on community-based design. In the second two projects, at Wellesley College (Wellesley) and the University of Washington Seattle (UW Seattle), a landscape architecture firm was selected to lead the design projects. These four projects also represent a breadth of campus scale, from the small SUNY-ESF campus to the large UW Seattle campus, and from the private campus of Wellesley to the new public landscape of UW Tacoma. Such variety allows broad discussion while highlighting shared values, methods, and outputs. (Contains 19 figures and 21 notes.) Note:The following two links are not-applicable for text-based browsers or screen-reading software. Show Hide Full Abstract

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