Fostering Children's Connections to Natural Places through Cultural and Natural History Storytelling

This investigation explored the effects of storytelling on the development of children's sense of place development in a formerly inhabited forest. Six groups of elementary children visited a ten-acre wooded site twice. During their first visit, students explored and wrote about their experiences. On their second trip, two groups first heard stories about site history, two others heard about the site's geology and ecology, and two others (controls) were not told stories. Data—field notes, solicited writings, and interview transcripts—were coded to yield place meanings and evidence of place attachment development. Children's initial meanings reflected site features and their activities there. Historical stories led children to express place meanings that were anthropocentric, mediated and bounded by historical conditions. Natural history stories enhanced direct engagement, promoting place meanings that were biocentric, creative, and less restricted by site boundaries. Place attachment development was evident after first visits, suggesting it began upon children's arrival at the site.