Biodiversity and children

It is important to be exposed to nature and be able to identify species at an early stage of life in order to be interested in protecting it further on (LindemannMatthies, 2005). This was found in a study by Lindemann-Matthies (2005), where the more wild plants and animals the children found in their local environment and could name, the higher was their appreciation of the species and their conservation value. The study also showed that exotic animals and decorative garden plants were the most appreciated by the children before they gained knowledge on local species during the study. It also showed that, in general both adults and children are more interested in animals than plants. Small animals, such as invertebrates and arthropods, were seen as less attractive, and it was found that people in general cared more about the conservation of big animals (LindemannMatthies, 2005).

Due to the raising urbanization, protecting species is more important than ever (Grimm et al., 2016). At the same time, several studies show that childrens plant identification skills on local organisms is low (Lindemann-Matthies, 2005; Balmford et al., 2002). A large research study showed that less than 14 % of the children could name “(...) eight native wildflowers, five native butterflies and five migrating and non-migrating bird species” and 20 % could not mention any at all (Lindemann-Matthies 2005). Another study by Balmford et al (2002) assessed 109 school children from age 4-11 similarly to identify ten common local species and additionally to identify ten pokémon “species”. Here results showed that the children generally knew more about pokémons than local species. The study on the other hand also showed that children can learn advanced taxonomy, why children’s ability to gain knowledge about local species is just about exposure and inspiration in the subject (Balmford et al. 2002).

Children are an especially important target group for learning about species and the conservation of them, as they are especially interested in living organisms, and as their perception and values of species can still be changed (Lindemann-Matthies 2005). By adding more species richness and diversity in the children’s everyday environment and by encouraging teachers to use the environment in their education, it could thus increase their joy and awareness of these species. A study showed that seventh graders, who took part in excursions to a forest and observed animals and plants, gained more knowledge than students who just had theoretical classroom instruction in the same topic (Lindemann-Matthies, 2005). Therefore this project seeks to increase species richness and diversity in the semi-urban environment that the school is set in, but also to engage the children and teachers to use the outdoor space in their education as much as possible, so the children will grow up to become aware citizens with a higher willingness to protect not only big exotic mammals but also native insects and “weeds”.