Call for Papers

Nature Education: Connecting Humans and Nature for Conservation in China

Submission deadline: Monday, 30 September 2024

With the rapid urbanization in China, the need for a balanced relationship between humans and nature has become increasingly urgent. Nature education, which emerged in China around 2014, has quickly gained attention as a crucial avenue for fostering individuals' understanding of nature and establishing a deeper connection with it.  Key players like NGOs, education centers, and government institutions have been instrumental in driving its development over the past decade. Rooted in environmental education and nature-based learning, nature education holds the promise of nurturing ecological literacy, promoting mental well-being, raising awareness about conservation, and encouraging greater participation in conservation efforts.

This special issue aims to provide a comprehensive overview of the development and current impact of nature education in China. It also seeks to explore the valuable lessons learned from research and practice, with the goal of shaping future nature education initiatives that can contribute meaningfully to the newly established global biodiversity strategy, the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework in 2022.

We invite contributions from researchers, conservationists, and practitioners working in the field of nature education. Articles should have a forward-looking perspective or examine past contributions and trends of nature education through empirical investigation, synthesis, narrative review, innovative perspectives, or theoretical integration. Key topics of interest include, but are not limited to, the development of thematic interests in studying and practicing nature education, the role of nature education in biodiversity conservation, methods for measuring outcomes and assessing effectiveness, successes and challenges in integrating and applying theories within nature education, and identifying gaps in the field’s advancement.


Topics for this call for papers include but not restricted to:

  • the role of nature education in biodiversity conservation
  • the development of thematic interests in studying and practicing nature education,
  • methods for measuring outcomes and assessing effectiveness
  • successes and challenges in integrating and applying theories within nature education, and
  • identifying gaps in the field’s advancement

Guest Editors:

Sifan Hu
Sun Yat-Sen University
China

Yue Li
University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point
United States

Yu Huang
Beijing Normal University
China

Jin Chen
Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden
Chinese Academy of Sciences
China


Keywords: China; nature-based learning; human-nature relationship; intervention evaluation; biodiversity conservation


Submission Guidelines/Instructions

Please refer to the Author Guidelines to prepare your manuscript. When submitting your manuscript, please answer the question: "Is this submission for a special issue?" by selecting the special issue title from the drop-down list.

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