Building ecological knowledge among children with nature as a playground : A suggestion for a recreational and educational nature trail for children in Aränge, Gotland

Modern society is faced with an increasing level of environmental degradation. One effect of this is the loss of possibilities for children to interact with natural environments. Children’s interactions with nature come with a wide range of benefits, both physical and psychological, accentuating the need to develop outdoor spaces for children in areas of preserved nature. One way to approach this challenge is by developing recreational and educational nature trails aimed at children. Länsstyrelsen Gotland (the county administrative board) requested a theoretical suggestion for a children’s nature trail in a prospective nature reserve in Gotland and this study was done to bring forth such a suggestion. The study focused on what educational and recreational elements would be suitable to include in a nature trail for children and how to build ecological knowledge among its visitors in effective and creative ways. The material for this study was collected through semi-structured interviews with children’s caregivers and educators in combination with observations at existing nature trails for children using a geosemiotic approach. The results were analysed through a thematic analysis that extracted four main themes from the two sets of data with sub-themes to broaden the results. The themes and sub-themes were used to highlight elements suitable to include at the stations in terms of activities and layout of the trail, and how to get and keep children’s attention along the trail. A suggestion for a nature trail for children with eight stations was put together, steeped in the non-consumptive standards of ecotourism and with a clear focus on getting the visitors to learn about nature, especially through the framework of ecological literacy. Fun and play were seen as essential components to effectively build ecological knowledge and it is argued that perhaps the objects and activities provided at built-up ecotourism sites are necessary to get more people to visit nature in the first place.