Abstract:
Objectives This study aimed to validate the intrinsic effects of nature education on the "environmental cognition-sense of place-willingness to protect" and to reveal its driving mechanisms on factors such as community culture, community economy, and community governance in protected areas.
Methods This study adopted structural equation modeling and utilized SPSS27.0 and AMOS26.0 software to test the hypotheses with 409 valid questionnaires in Shimen Village and Caomen Village of Jiangxi Wuyuan Forest Birds National Nature Reserve as the case study sites.
Results The results indicated: (1) Intrinsic effects demonstrated that nature education influenced environmental cognition and the willingness to protect among community residents, with a sense of place being a significant mediating variable. (2) Driving effects showed that nature education significantly impacted community culture, community economy, and community governance. (3) A thorough analysis of demographic characteristics revealed significant differences in the driving effect hypothesis paths among gender, age, education level, and income variables. (4) Community group comparison shows that nature education impacted the economy and governance of surrounding communities, and significantly influenced the culture of suburban communities, but did not affect the culture of near suburban communities.
Conclusions Three recommendations are proposed: First, the comprehensive role of intrinsic effects of nature education should be enhanced to contribute to the comprehensive development of community culture, economy, and governance. Second, attention should be paid to the emotional factors in the process of nature education for community residents to counteract the ecological protection function of the protected area. Third, the nature education model in the protected areas should be explored to promote the coordinated development of nature education and community development.
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