The Impacts of Environmental and Sustainable Educational Experiences: Case Study in Hong Kong Ma Wan Park

Abstract

Environmental education experience in parks has been neglected in literature. This study aims to explore environmental and sustainable educational experiences of visitors in Hong Kong Ma Wan Park where is a nature park that combines nature, learning, and arts. The authors conducted 24 in-depth interviews with visitors to explore the views on those environmental and sustainable educational experiences. This experience is defined as visitors’ knowledge acquired through visitation, and changes of attitude and behaviours toward environmental sustainability. Data analysis shows that visitors’ environmental education experiences are reflected in “7 Rs”: 1) Refocusing on green education, 2) Reinforcing pro-environmental behaviour, 3) Responding for sustainable development, 4) Rekindling low-carbon lifestyle, 5) Respecting nature, 6) Retrieving tree information, and 7) Relaxing and enjoying art in nature. Result suggests those experiences can enable visitors to acquire authentic, professional, and specific knowledge about nature, to develop appreciative and responsible attitudes toward environment, to show philanthropic support of environmentally sustainability, and to prompt environmentally responsible behaviours. The findings of this study show that the environmental education experiences can be 5I’s inspiring, influential, informative, interactive, and innovative in terms of influencing visitors’ awareness, value, attitude, and behaviours for environmental sustainability. This study provides insights for other nature parks to design and implement creative, artistic, and interactive environmental education experiences for visitors about environmental sustainability. Implications, limitations, and future research directions were discussed.