Outdoor education, environmental perceptions, and sustainability: Exploring relationships and opportunities

The benefits of outdoor activities and access to nature are driving demand for the use of outdoor spaces. At the same time, concerns are increasing about adverse impacts on the environment as well as visitor experiences. How can outdoor experiences be purposefully leveraged to promote sustainability? In this perspective piece, we conceptually explore the relationships among outdoor education, environmental perceptions, and sustainability described in the literature. Perceptions of the environment are our focus as they have been shown to influence affective and behavioural outcomes. We consider how outdoor education, including outdoor leadership and environmental interpretation, may shape perceptions of the environment, and thereby sustainability. Outdoor education may afford opportunities to foster pro-environmental behaviour and perceptions within individuals, which strengthens the adaptive capacity of social-ecological systems. While scholarly evidence regarding these influences is nascent and limited, we argue that considerable opportunities exist for future research and practice.