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Volunteering on Nature Conservation Projects: VolunteerExperience, Attitudes and ValuesE. A. Halpenny Postdoctoral Candidatea & L. T. Caissie Graduate studentb

a Department of Recreation and Leisure Studies, 200 University Ave., University of Waterloo, ONTN2L 3GI, Canada. email:b Department of Recreation and Leisure Studies, University of Waterloo, Canada email:Published online: 12 Jan 2015.

To cite this article: E. A. Halpenny Postdoctoral Candidate & L. T. Caissie Graduate student (2003) Volunteering onNature Conservation Projects: Volunteer Experience, Attitudes and Values, Tourism Recreation Research, 28:3, 25-33, DOI:10.1080/02508281.2003.11081414

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TOURISM RECREATION RESEARCH VOL. 28(3), 2003: 25-33

Volunteering on Nature Conservation Projects: Volunteer Experience, Attitudes and Values

E.A.HALPENNY and L.T.CAISSIE

In many countries volunteers are playing an increasing role in nature conservation. Many factors have lead to this trend including reduced government budgets assigned for conservation and an increased awareness and interest expressed by each country's general population to contribute to environmental health and nature conservation. This paper utilizes descriptions of volunteers' experiences participating in Volunteer for Nature, a volunteer programme operated by Canadian conservation NGOs, which facilitates the participation of Ontario-residents' in 3 to 17-day working vacations involving habitat restoration and recreation infrastructure projects located in natural environments. This paper describes volunteer attitudes and values regarding nature, as highlighted through the description of their volunteering experiences and their characterization and perceptions of nature. Using a constructivist approach to data collection and analysis, the researchers found that volunteers conceptualized nature in four different ways: 'nature in crisis,' 'nature as it should be,' 'nature as outside or something different,' and 'nature as nurturing.' Volunteers' egoistic concerns centred on the self (e.g., my health, my favourite activity, my grandchildren), altruistic concerns centred on other people (society in general, people in my community) and biocentric or ecocentric concerns, centred on living things (e.g., plants, ecosystems, birds, the environment in general). While biocentric concerns were cited as important, they were not ascribed greater value than the egoistic or altruists concerns. The volunteer tourism experience generally failed to change the volunteers' perceptions of nature from an' external' phenomenon to an 'internal' one, (i.e., changing treatment of nature as' other' to a more ecocentric approach, which incorporates nature into 'self'). Implications for generating a pro-environmental attitudes and behaviours amongst citizens are discussed.

Keywords: volunteerism, volunteer tourism, attitudes, values, nature conservation projects, environment, conservation NGOs.

Introduction

Volunteering on nature conservation projects has become increasingly popular in the last two decades (Wearing 2001). Several factors have contributed to this trend, including the rise of environmentalism and the increased pressure on natural environments. Additionally, significant reductions in budgetary support for protected areas (Eagles 1995; James, Kanyamibwa and Green 2001; van Sickle and Eagles 1998) and parks and recreation programmes (Crompton 1999; Backman, Wicks and Silverberg 1997) have been experienced in recent years in many 'developed' countries, and, as a result, both government and non-government conservation agendes are increasingly looking for alternative means of achieving their biodiversity conservation and recreation provision mandates. Non-government organizations (NGOs) and government agendes charged with managing biologically significant and recreation-oriented areas are expanding the use of volunteers in their programmes designed to conserve

biodiversity, foster healthy environments, and operate recreation and conservation programmes.

This paper focuses on volunteers who participated in the Volunteer for Nature programme, a Canadian-based conservation volunteer project. More specifically the paper explores the volunteers' attitudes and values regarding nature, and their perceptions of nature. The authors of this paper collaborated with two NGOs, the Nature Conservancy of Canada (NCC) and The Federation of Ontario Naturalists (FON) who partner to provide this programme. The programme features 3 to 17 day Ontario Nature Volunteers working vacations that focus on the conservation of provincially rare or threatened spedes and habitats. These conservation activities are combined with other objectives including the provision of educational and recreational experiences for Ontario residents, and the expansion of a conservation-minded dtizenry including the development of 'tomorrow's conservation leaders' (FON/ NCC 2002). The programme activities include creating and

E. A. HALPENNY is a Postdoctoral Candidate, Department of Recreation and Leisure Studies, 200 University Ave., University of Waterloo, ONT N2L 3GI, Canada. email: ehalpenny@sympatico.ca L.T. CAISSIE is a Graduate student, Department of Recreation and Leisure Studies, University of Waterloo, Canada email: ltcaissi@ahsmail.uwaterloo.ca.

©2003 Tourism Recreation Research

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restoring habitat, constructing nature trails, conducting ecological surveys and improving educational facilities in natural areas. FON and NGC organize accomodations, food, and special presentations such as evening lectures by naturalists.

Purpose and background

This paper is a qualitative exploration of the experiences of volunteers, who participate in the Volunteer for Nature programme. More specifically, the purpose of the study was:

• to understand the volunteer experience; and

• to understand the volunteer (i.e. values, attitudes and beliefs regarding nature).

This study is framed within a social psychology theoretical perspective and was designed to understand the personal and subjective meaning that participants in the Volunteer for Nature programme attached to their experiences, and how the situation, people involved and their interaction have influenced this meaning. Furthermore, social representation theory assisted the researchers in understanding the volunteers' expectations and responses to their volunteer experience with a nature­based project. According to Moscovici (1981) social representation is the 1 concepts, statements and explanations originating in daily life in the course of inter-individual communications' (p. 181). Social representation theory is appropriate to tourism research because it attempts to understand sodal knowledge and the way the knowledge is created and shared by partidpants of groups, sodeties, or communities (Pearce et al. 1996).

To guide the study the researchers consulted previous literature to see how volunteer experience was conceptualized and measured or understood; this guided efforts to examine Volunteer for Nature participants' experiences and understand their values and attitudes regarding nature. Previous research was organized by the researchers into several different themes including: 1) studies of environmental, nature-based and wildlife volunteers; 2) needs satisfaction, benefits and motivation associated with volunteering; 3) definitions of volunteering; 4) individual's experiences with wilderness and natural settings; and after initial data analysis the researchers explored additional literature on 5) environmental attitudes and behaviours. This literature is described briefly below.

There have been few studies of environmental and wildlife volunteers and advocates; exceptions include three volunteer tourism papers: McGehee's (2002) and McGehee

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and Norman's (2002) papers on Earthwatch expedition volunteers and Wearing and Neil's (2000) exploration of tourism volunteer's reconfiguration of self and identify through participation. Wearing's (2001) book on volunteer tourism also provides a valuable platform of information. Several other papers focus on benefits and motives assodated with nature-based, wildlife and environmental volunteering including Raymond's (2000) investigation of the loyalty construct in Friends groups members who work with national parks; Pelletier, Green-Demers, Tuson, Noels, and Beaton's (1998) development of a Motivation Toward the Environment Scale; Kidd and Kidd' s (1997) investigation of wildlife education docents; Kidd, Kidd, and Zasloff' s (1996) study of wildlife rehabilitation volunteers, and Ordubegian and Eagles' (1990) study of volunteers' experiences in creating a birding atlas. Uttle examination of volunteer values or attitudes emerged from these studies. However, Wearing and Neil (2000) discuss nature as the I other,' a conceptualization that will be returned to in the discussion section of this paper. McGehee and Norman (2002) highlight the importance of self-efficacy and a chance to interact with others who have similar values and attitudes as important in fostering consciousness raising and participation in social movements such as nature conservation.

Many studies on volunteers have emphasized the importance of needs satisfaction in creating work environments for recreation and parks programme volunteers. These included Busser and Norwalk's (2001) review of motives and constraints associated with volunteering for a public leisure service organization; Deery andJago's (2001) comparison of paid versus voluntary parks and recreation workers; Phillimore's (2001) study of women's volunteering experience at rural tourist attractions; Silverberg, Marshall and Ellis's (2001) exploration of park and recreation volunteer's job satisfaction; Silverberg, Backman and Backman's (2000) study of park volunteers using a psychological functionalist approach; Backman et al.' s (1997) examination of co­production as a model for delivering park and recreation services; Caldwell and Andereck's (1994) analysis of membership in recreation-related voluntary organizations; and Dennis and Zube' s (1988) exploration of the link between recreational behaviour and voluntary assodations. All of these studies identify needs and motives for volunteering, but generally fail to examine underlying values and attitudes associated with volunteering activities or nature.

Research unrelated to volunteerism, but concerned with how recreationists experience and interact with wilderness and natural settings served further to guide

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research design and analysis. Studies consulted which examine people's relationship with nature and wilderness included Barrie and Roggenbuck (2001); Little (2000); Pohl, Barrie and Patterson (2000); and Mcintyre and Roggenbuck (1998). Mcintyre and Roggenbuck (1998) emphasized that outdoor experiences are not determined simply by the natural context, but are based on cognitive processes that involve interpretation of stimuli from the environment, and that people create their own experiences based upon past learning, their needs and selective focusing. The environment 'becomes the product of perception, not the cause' (p. 405). Volunteer's interpretation of the environment is framed by values and attitudes; social representation theory will play an important role in attempting to explain this. Mcintyre and Roggenbuck also suggest that not enough research has been conducted on studying the person-environment transaction in natural environments (1998, p. 405).

Barrie and Roggenbuck (2001) and Mcintyre and Roggenbuck's (1998) studies provide important examinations of the phases of outdoor recreation experiences, and how this affects perception and focus of partidpants at different stages of their recreation trips. Unlike these studies the participants in this study were interviewed after their volunteering experience had been completed, and they had time to reflect and 'construct' meaning and memories of their experience. Thus, their values and attititudes may have had more time to affect change in how the volunteers recall and describe their Volunteer for Nature experience.

As mentioned previously this study utilized sodal psychological theories to guide the research process. Values, beliefs and attitudes are key concepts addressed by sodal psychological theory. There is an expansive collection of literature on environmental values, attitudes and behaviours however studies that appeared most relevant to this study include Schultz's (2000) examination of the structure of people's concern for environmental problems or how they empathize with nature, Stern's (2000) paper which includes definitions of environmentally significant behaviour and evaluates the relationship between environmental concern and behaviour, and Ungar's (1994) study that suggests that within the environmental domain attitudes do not predict behaviours very well. All three studies call for further study of environmental attitudes and pro-environmental behaviours, two areas which this study will attempt to address through the examination of nature­based volunteerism.

Terms Defined

Described below are the definitions of several concepts

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that are directly related to this paper. These include volunteering and volunteer tourism as well as attitudes, norms, values and beliefs. Volunteerism in this study is defined as an uncoerced and nonremunerated helping activity (Stebbins 2000;1999;1998). To further narrow the focus of this paper, Wearing's (2001) definition of volunteer tourism was also used. Volunteer tourists are 'those tourists who, for various reasons, volunteer in an organized way to undertake holidays that might involve the aiding or alleviating the material poverty of some groups in sodety, the restoration of certain environments, or research into aspects of sodety or environment' (Wearing and Neil2000: 411). In addition, partidpants in this study were those who have travelled a significant distance (i.e., more than 80 km) and stayed at least one night in the destination at which they were volunteering.

These volunteer tourists were based in a natural context. Volunteer values, norms, beliefs and attitudes regarding this natural context and the environment in general was the focus of this exploration and are described briefly below: A value is defined here as 'a prindple or quality that is intrinsically valuable or desirable.' (Websters 1988). It is a' cluster of beliefs an individual holds regarding things that are important in life and determine how an individual uses his or her resources' (Osgood and Howe 1984; cited in Horna 1994: 51); a belief is a conviction of the truth of some statement or the reality of some being or phenomenon, based on past experience and the examination of evidence; a norm is a principle of right action binding upon the members of a group or serving to guide, control or regulate proper and acceptable behaviour; and an attitude is a mental position with regard to a fact or figure, or a feeling or emotion toward a fact or state (Websters 1988).

As analysis of the data progressed a strong link appeared between volunteer beliefs, values, attitudes and behaviour towards the environment including their willingness to volunteer in nature conservation projects. These initial findings led to additional consultation of published research to compare results. With the exception of studies on willingness to volunteer and rates of volunteerism (e.g., Canada's National Survey of Giving, Volunteering and Partidpating 2000: see Canadian Centre for Philanthropy and Volunteer Canada (2000) for details) little research has been reported on values, beliefs and attitudes within the volunteer literature with the exception of the previously mentioned work by McGehee 2002; McGehee and Norman 2001; Wearing 2001; and Wearing and Neil 2000.

Alternatively, significant research has been conducted

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on North American environmental attitudes, beliefs and values and their connection or lack of connection to environmentally responsible behaviour (see Blake 2001; Schultz 2000; Stem 2000; Zelezny, Chua, and Aldrich 2000; Pelletier et al. 1998; and Steel1996 for an overview). While these served as a guide for some of the data analysis in this study, all studies called for additional work on understanding of attitudes, values etc. that support pro­environmental action.

Methodology

Gaining a better understanding of volunteer's experience with nature-based contexts and, in particular, identification of conservation-oriented volunteer's attitudes and values regarding nature were the primary focus of this paper. Based on the study's purpose, qualitative methods were deemed most suitable for the study as they are useful in the study of process and meanings. Qualitative research begins from the belief that one can acquire an important understanding about how people structure and give meaning to their daily lives; how people learn about and make sense of themselves and others; and how people give meaning to their experiences. Further, qualitative methods are useful in exploring emotions, motivations, symbols and their meanings, empathy, and other subjective aspects assodated with lives of individuals and groups (Creswell 1994; Robson 1993; Berg 1989). In addition, few studies on volunteers have utilized a qualitative, naturalistic enquiry approach; recent exceptions include Phillimore (2001), Wearing and Neil (2001), Arai (2000), Burden (2000), and Ordubegian and Eagles (1990).

Data Collection: Interviews

Early in the research process one focus group and one face-to-face interview were conducted as a means of pre­testing the interview schedule. The interview schedule was then revised based on this initial trial and reflections by the researchers. Due to time and budgetary constraints, telephone interviews were chosen for data collection. Semi­structured interviews, as described by Robson (1993) and Berg (1989) were used to collect the data. Examples of questions used during the interview include:

•

•

•

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Describe your most recent experience of volunteering with the Volunteer for Nature programme?

Why did you want to partidpate in Volunteer for Nature programme?

What is the most satisfying thing about being a volunteer for nature?

• What do you feel you contributed by volunteering on a nature project?

At the beginning of the interview, partidpants were read a script, similar to correspondence that they had already received, which described the project, ethical considerations, and the rights of the participants in the research process. Assurances of anonymity and feedback on the findings of the study were provided. Each interview was 20 to 50 minutes in length, and was ended with a prompt for additional questions or issues from the partidpants. Constant debriefing between the researchers as they completed each interview added to the credibility (or internal validity) of the study (Lincoln and Guba 1985).

Sample: The Participants

The Nature Conservancy of Canada (NCC) and The Federation of Ontario Naturalists (FON) supplied a randomly selected list of volunteers (20 in total) who have worked on conservation projects in Ontario. However, when the researchers made the initial contact with the 20 volunteers, 10 agreed to be interviewed while the remaining 10 declined due to time constraints. The five female and five male volunteers who did partidpate in this study were all based in dties and small towns located in southern Ontario and ranged in age from 17 to 63 years.

Data Analysis and Interpretation

The data collected was transcribed verbatim and then organized using the qualitative computer software programme, NVivo. The programme was used to code and arrange data into major patterns and themes that were identified by the researchers from the transcripts (Silverman 1993). In this study, while frequency of a particular comment was important in identifying themes, the 'centrality of a meaning' to an individual's discussion of his or her understanding and interpretation of the experience was also used to justify a theme (Freysinger 1995). Constant comparison of coded data and themes characterized the process of analysis; this, in combination with the literature, was used to identify the final themes.

Limitations

Recall error was one concern as some of the volunteers had to remember their working experience on a project that occurred more than two years previously. To address this problem the researchers sent the interview schedule to the partidpants in advance of the interview to stimulate the volunteer's memories about the experience.

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Findings

The purpose of this study was to understand better the experiences of participants in the Volunteer for Nature programme and in particular, identify their attitudes and values towards nature. This was identified from the descriptions of the volunteers' experiences, their conceptualization of nature, and their description of the volunteering setting.

A number of common experiences and traits were shared by the volunteers. These included: a high level of satisfaction with their volunteering experience; the partidpation in volunteer experiences without friends and family, but with an interest in meeting and working with other people; the appeal of working outdoors; travel for more than two hours to get to the volunteering site; and decisions to participate based on an antidpation that the experience would be 'fun.'

Perceptions of Nature/Environment/Conservation

Participants spoke extensively about the importance of healthy environments, nature and conservation, and their role in this effort. The volunteers characterized nature and their relationship with it in different ways. 'Nature in crisis' was one of these characterizations. Many of the participants expressed concern for nature and their role in contributing to environmental problems and solutions. Water plant operator Robert shared in this view:

... and if I wasn't there, there would be less work done so, yeah, it's not like I did a lot of work but it all helps out in the end ... The National Geographic has a show on right now, I can't remember what it's called, but you look at the creation of the world one hour in time, and the first 50 minutes was ... the proliferation of animals and the last one hundredth of the second is man and we've screwed it up ... we are destroying royally ... so I feel it is really ... we have to do our part for nature ... I'm as bad as anyone else, I drive to work everyday and I don't walk it any more than I have to ... but I think we have to help as much as we can ... we've done it in ..

Several volunteers elaborated on 'nature as it should be' they described how natural environments should look and feel, and how humans need to limit their negative impacts and maintain a desired state of natural ecosystem health. Former school prindpal Scott talked extensively about this when describing his annual volunteer activities involving campsite maintenance at one of Ontario's provindal parks. He stated: "I am sort of putting it the way I want it to be .. .I just want it to be the way I wish it to be, the way if everybody really sort of cared for it." Scott, like many of the volunteers, has an ideal natural environment that he wanted to see maintained.

Many of the volunteers also spoke of 'nature as

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outside.' Participating in a volunteer programme was viewed as a means to enjoying the outdoors, 'to be outside in the summer,' and 'to be out there so I won't be inside'. Nature is characterized as simply as being outside, not necessarily part of the larger global ecosystem or a biodiversity-rich environment, but as something different, as something away from the office or dty.

Volunteers also spoke about 'nature as nurturing', as providing a setting to relax and recharge. They also assodated nature with the feeling of well-being generated by 'being in touch with something'.

The Volunteering Context

Not surprisingly, all volunteers in the study expressed an interest in the environment and nature. However, as with their perceptions described previously, they described their actions within a natural context in different ways. Several of the participants described their volunteering activities as caring for the 'environment', giving nature a more abstract or generalized definition. A retired administrator stated: "It's part of the need for everybody to protect our environment, [it's] an act of giving".

Others were volunteering to provide care for a particular area that they were drawn to because of its biological or aesthetic significance or because of its familiarity. Robert selected a site based on its attractiveness and familiarity: he chose it "because it was Pelee Island and we'd been there the summer before we fell in love with it .... " Familiarity with a site was also a reason why Dick chose to volunteer at Manitoulin Island: "The reason I volunteered was [that] it was in a part of the country that I was familiar with" and "I've always been interested in Manitoulin Island. I grew up [nearby] in the Bruce Peninsula". An acknowledged sense of loyalty to a particular location also appeared to influence project section: Scott stated, it's "where we come every summer ... Youknow, you love the area and it kind of loves you in return ... that was sort of our commitment to a landscape .... and a concern, about, you know, what people were doing to that landscape".

Robert, Dick and Scott's choices to work in ecosystems or regions that they were familiar with highlight an emotional connection with these natural areas. Related to this, Byron, a recent immigrant to Canada, indicated that there was a need to get other recent immigrants out into nature through volunteer projects because 'they're not attachedtothiscountry'andthatanemotionalcommitment is needed to foster support for conservation among people living in the dty.

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Altruism and Legacy

Other volunteers reinforced the importance of environmental advocacy. As described in the 'perception of nature' section above, many of the volunteers expressed a need to do their part to protect the environment. Dick, a retired project manager, stated that it is 'basically giving something back to nature because I've taken a lot from it. .. ' He went on to state that he was a 'believer in conservation' a conviction that many of the volunteers articulated.

Other attitudes held by the volunteers included the perception that people were not doing enough to protect the environment. They included themselves in this assessment. Emily, a student stated that pro-environment actions were important 'because we all breathe air, we all need oxygen and we all are part of this world ... if we don't take care of it we've lost it. .. ' The volunteers valued nature, for its functions as part of natural systems, as well as for its human uses such as hiking and opportunities for relaxing or scenic viewing. They believed that their actions counted towards something larger, but it was one small part of a much larger, much needed, global conservation effort. This was highlighted in the importance that may volunteers placed in leaving a legacy for others. They felt their volunteering activities were an important part of this. Dick saw his participation in the volunteer project as both 'self­gratifying' and 'something that ... willleave a legacy for somebody else'. Evelyn, a student, expressed pride in her work as a volunteer: "I helped do that and helped maintain the ecosystem. It's a pretty amazing"; and Scott describes his activities as a 'futuring kind of thing'. He goes on to say:

We're going to go back there every year because we bird on Lake Erie every Spring now, and we'll be looking at that and watching it and assuming some kind of stewardship role around it really. If it doesn't work well or if they decide to plough it under or something I'm going to be POed and, asking some questions.

In short, the volunteers believed that their actions counted toward a greater purpose, a collective action designed to protect the environment; however they were also cognizant that continued vigilance would be needed to ensure that their efforts would continue to contribute to this goal.

Discussion and Conclusion

This qualitative study documents the experiences of volunteers who partidpated in the Volunteers for Nature programme, and in particular volunteers' attitudes and values towards nature and the environment.

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Nature Defined: Perceptions, Attitudes and Values

The most pervasive factor which characterized Volunteer for Nature participants' interviews was the importance of nature and the environment. As this theme emerged during data analysis the researchers explored literature on environmental attitudes and behaviour to explain these findings. Within the literature different conceptualizations of nature are reported. Peoples' attitudes and values can be located along a continuum between an anthropocentric view, where nature's value is based on its utility to humans, and an ecocentric view, where ecological well-being of the whole planet is emphasized, regardless of the direct benefits to humans (Schultz 2000; Stem 2000; Wearing and Neil 2000; de Salaberry and Reid 1999). A majority of the volunteers' responses seemed to take a middle position along the anthropocentric-ecocentric spectrum. Many stressed the importance of nature and the environment as a context for self-centred activities such as recreation and therapeutic interaction. The importance of nature's existence value, the satisfaction of knowing that nature exists and is being protected also was apparent. A 'hard core' deep ecology or ecocentric perspective which ascribes rights to nature failed to emerge during the interviews. However many participants did express concern and empathy for wildlife and threatened environments. The views expressed by the volunteers appear to parallel Schultz's (2000) egoistic, altruistic and biospheric nature perspectives categories.

Perceptions of nature, the environment and conservation expressed by the volunteers can also be found in the literature. 'Nature in crisis' is highlighted in literature on peoples' environmental attitudes and is the result of heightened environmental awareness, which has grown during the last four decades. Many of the volunteers stated that working to save the environment (either for altruistic or self-centred reasons) was one of the factors that made them want to participate in the volunteer programme, however, it was often a secondary motive; the first was always to have fun, followed by additional factors such as skills and knowledge acquisition for career advancement or to experience a new challenge (Caissie and Halpenny 2003).

'Nature as it should be' appears to reveal volunteer's attitudes and values that are based on a sodal construct of what nature ought to be (Castree and Braun 2001). This construct of a desired state of 'perfect' nature appears also to be one of the factors which motivated volunteers to work on nature conservation projects. The construct of what nature aught to be is largely driven by culturally and sodally desired optimal states, and appeared strongly driven by

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values that were at the same time pro-nature/ environment and external to nature.

Nature as 'outside' and as 'nurturing' are themes commonly found in literature on human interaction with wilderness and in studies documenting partidpation in nature-based recreation activities. These themes are mirrored in Pohl et al. (2000), Williams and Roggenbuck (2001), Little (2000) and Wearing and Neil (2000). Nature as' outside' appeared to be strongly linked with the motives of pleasure-seeking and novelty-seeking, a change of pace and setting, something fun and appealing. Those volunteers who described nature as 'nurturing' indicated a more therapeutic effect, a chance to recharge and reconnect with nature.

Additional Avenues for Research

In addition to those potential research directions already mentioned, several other avenues are outlined here. While there are some studies on sodo-economic, gender and ethnic differences among volunteers, further exploration of this is needed, particularly for volunteers who work on nature conservation projects. This is especially important for programmes such as Volunteer for Nature as their mandates often include increasing the diversity of volunteers who work for nature.

The transformative nature of partidpating in a nature conservation project also needs to be explored further. Changes in environmental attitude, perception of nature, and commitment to environmentally responsible behaviour need to be measured before, during, and after the volunteer experience. McGehee and Norman (2002), Borrie and Roggenbuck (2001), and Mcintyre and Roggenbuck (1998) could serve as a guide for research that examines the dynamic nature of the individuals' interactions and reactions to nature and recreation experiences at different stages of the trip. All three studies document change in the

Volunteering on Nature Conservation Projects: E.A. Halpenny & L.T.Cassie

perception of environment, self and tasks during different phases of the visitors' experiences, and all indicated an increase in awareness of self, the environment and/ or sodal movements. Changes in these perceptions and levels of awareness in Volunteer for Nature programme partidpants would have been useful for both the programme organizers and researchers in general.

Differences, similarities, and linkages between volunteering on nature conservation projects, environmental advocacy, general attitudes towards the environment, and environmentally responsible behaviour also need to the explored. Stern's (2000) paper on environmentally significant behaviour provides an important theoretical base for such an investigation.

The study has relied heavily on background literature drawn from Australia, the UK, the US and Canada. An increased understanding of volunteer tourists based in other countries and non-Anglo cultures also needs to be examined.

These findings and recommendations, based on a qualitative study of volunteers' experiences in a nature conservation programme contribute many important practical implications for the revision and expansion of the Volunteer for Nature programme. It has also confirmed many of the findings from previous studies related to leisure and constraints and environmental attitudes and values. An increased understanding of volunteers who partidpate in nature conservation projects has been the greatest contribution of this study, however much more research needs to be undertaken for understanding this group of volunteers, furthering the effectiveness of nature-based conservation programmes in their efforts not only to accomplish conservation projects, but also to build and develop an environmentally aware dtizenry, furthering the goals of nature conservation.

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Submitted : February 10, 2003

Accepted : August 6, 2003

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