Abstract
Youth-based programmes providing education-based expeditions to the Polar Regions have been offered for more than two decades, and whilst studies hint that participants return as inspired and empowered ambassadors, research to date has been inconclusive as to what impact such expeditions have had on their participants’ subsequent lifestyle decisions and pro-environmental behaviours. To address this research gap, Social Identity Theory (SIT) was used to evaluate the impact of youth polar expeditions on participants’ pro-environmental behaviour, up to 18 years after their polar voyage. In collaboration with Students on Ice (SOI), this study tested the direct and indirect relationships between previous SOI students’ (n = 217) social identity towards the alumni programme and their subsequent connections with nature and pro-environmental behaviours. Findings suggest that social identity might be one way to explain the long-term impact of educational expeditions in terms of desired future pro-environmental behaviours, underscoring the critical importance of an alumni programme. Furthermore, a Community-Engaged Research (CER) approach was adopted to evidence the impact of this research beyond the realm of academia. We reflect on the CER approach with the intention of assisting others to produce impactful and socially robust knowledge, maximising the real-world impact of the findings.
Highlights
In the face of rapid environmental change in the Polar Regions, it is becoming increasingly important to understand how contact with – and psychologicalconnection to – the world’s natural environments are linked to future pro-environmental behaviours
We suggest in this paper that approaches informed by Community-Engaged Research (CER) might offer a way forward, that is, they might provide a way to meaningfully partner with end-users and to capture evidence of real-world change
Findings suggest that social identity might be one way to explain the long-term impact of educational expeditions in terms of desired future pro-environmental behaviours, highlighting the critical importance of an alumni programme
Summary
In the face of rapid environmental change in the Polar Regions, it is becoming increasingly important to understand how contact with – and psychological (re)connection to – the world’s natural environments are linked to future pro-environmental behaviours. 502) defined an ambassador as “someone [i.e. individual or group] who has a connection to, knowledge of and passion for the Antarctic (as a space, place or idea), who represents and champions Antarctica and its values, and who supports Antarctica through communication and behaviour.” Powell et al (2008) indicated that at least some tourists join environmental advocacy groups, donate to environmental charities, and make other pro-environmental choices immediately upon return from Antarctica. This minimal behaviour change was echoed by Maher (2010) and Maher et al (2011). By contrast, Eijgelaar et al (2010) found no evidence of Antarctic tourism having an impact upon overall environmental awareness or travel choices of tourists upon their return home
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