148
C. Skanavis et al.
evaluate the effectiveness of promoting sustainable development through a weeklong environmental summer camp known as “Skyros Project”.
Keywords Environmental summer camps · Sustainability · Environmental
education · Skyros project · Greece
1 Introduction
The utmost challenge for environmental education is to create motivated, aware and
dedicated trainees who would act in a pro-environmental manner. Thus, free-choice
environmental learning experiences are used to arouse participants to associate with
responsible environmental behavior (Ballantyne and Packer 2011). The camp experience has become an attractive context for experiential environmental learning. It
provides a long-term effect on participants’ understanding, attitudes and conduct
towards the environment, through a pleasurable educational way. Summer environmental camps could help children to become acquainted with nature and develop
environmental ethics (Collado et al. 2013). As well as providing knowledge, they
may augment consciousness to such an extent, that participants earnestly consider
environment maintenance as their own responsibility. Summer environmental education programs expose children to unacquainted environmental setups and concepts in
a fascinating context, which may induce exciting attitude alterations (Apostolopoulou
et al. 2016). Therefore, nature camps might be more efficacious in promoting children’s emotional affinity to nature, ecological beliefs and environmental behaviors
than in-class environmental education programs. Comprehending and cultivating
children’s environmental consciousness may be vital to rectifying the environmental
degradation and to promoting sustainability in youth (Collado et al. 2013).
The purpose of this study was to examine the effectiveness of promoting sustainability through a weekly environmental summer camp under the Skyros Project
2017, which through environmental activities boosts environmental awareness.
2 The Role of Education
2.1 Environmental Education (EE)
The most efficacious manner regarding environmental protection is through educating the population (Pollaki and Skanavis 2015). Increasing environmental knowledge, endorsing favorable environmental attitude, imposing environmental awareness, changing environmental behavior, supporting active participation in the solution
C. Skanavis et al.
evaluate the effectiveness of promoting sustainable development through a weeklong environmental summer camp known as “Skyros Project”.
Keywords Environmental summer camps · Sustainability · Environmental
education · Skyros project · Greece
1 Introduction
The utmost challenge for environmental education is to create motivated, aware and
dedicated trainees who would act in a pro-environmental manner. Thus, free-choice
environmental learning experiences are used to arouse participants to associate with
responsible environmental behavior (Ballantyne and Packer 2011). The camp experience has become an attractive context for experiential environmental learning. It
provides a long-term effect on participants’ understanding, attitudes and conduct
towards the environment, through a pleasurable educational way. Summer environmental camps could help children to become acquainted with nature and develop
environmental ethics (Collado et al. 2013). As well as providing knowledge, they
may augment consciousness to such an extent, that participants earnestly consider
environment maintenance as their own responsibility. Summer environmental education programs expose children to unacquainted environmental setups and concepts in
a fascinating context, which may induce exciting attitude alterations (Apostolopoulou
et al. 2016). Therefore, nature camps might be more efficacious in promoting children’s emotional affinity to nature, ecological beliefs and environmental behaviors
than in-class environmental education programs. Comprehending and cultivating
children’s environmental consciousness may be vital to rectifying the environmental
degradation and to promoting sustainability in youth (Collado et al. 2013).
The purpose of this study was to examine the effectiveness of promoting sustainability through a weekly environmental summer camp under the Skyros Project
2017, which through environmental activities boosts environmental awareness.
2 The Role of Education
2.1 Environmental Education (EE)
The most efficacious manner regarding environmental protection is through educating the population (Pollaki and Skanavis 2015). Increasing environmental knowledge, endorsing favorable environmental attitude, imposing environmental awareness, changing environmental behavior, supporting active participation in the solution