Studies have shed light on the idea that people who have experiences in natural settings
might be more aware of the environment. Learning gardens, as outdoor contexts,
might contribute to the development of students’ affective relations toward nature, proenvironmental
attitudes, and protective actions; neverthless, these aspects begging to
be explored. This preliminary research investigates the impact that the use of organic
gardens to teach natural sciences at university has on kindergarten pre-service teachers’
(KPST) connectedness to and conceptions of nature. The research follows a pre-/postdesign
and it uses a mixed methods approach. A total of 74 students completed four
quantitative scales (INS, CCC, LCN, and NR-6), and 66 of them an open question
about the concept of nature. After the garden experience, students scored higher in
all the scales, nevertheless the change was significant only for INS and CCC. The
phenomenographic analysis evidenced an initial predominant static and non-social
concept of nature, biased toward the most obvious biological elements. After the
garden-based learning experience, more informed conceptions of nature – including
notions of complexity and systemic character – increased from 7 to 19%; however,
statistical comparison was not significant. In spite of the absence of concluding results,
further research is required to assess the role that learning gardens may play regarding
connectedness to nature and pro-environmental behaviors.
