Polar impact: Youth experiences in the Polar Regions and their future behaviour

Abstract

Although recent studies hint that youth interactions with nature may influence their environmental attitudes in later life, no study has gone beyond the immediate evaluation of such programs to understand the subsequent development of participant values and actual behaviours in the longer term. This empirical study of real-world impact assesses the effect of youth polar travel experiences on participants behaviour, in some cases, up to 18 years after their polar voyage. Further, this research explores how such adventurous education programs can act as a stimulus to influence lasting behaviour. In partnership with Students on Ice (SOI), a Canadian-based charitable organisation that leads educational expeditions to the Polar Regions for international high school and university students, participants were recruited from their 2,500+ alumni to complete an online survey. A mix of quantitative and qualitative analysis is used to analyse participant's travel patterns, levels of connection to nature, and subsequent travel and lifestyle behaviour decisions. This presentation will report on the preliminary findings of the research and will traverse topics such as the extent to which time (after visiting) strengthens/dilutes alumnis' pro-environmental behaviours as well as key factors that underpin connections to polar landscapes (including cultural landscapes) within the short-term visitor experience.