Weekly outings for alternative education students and their impact on student attitudes and behaviors regarding the environment

The questions addressed in this study are: 1) Does a weekly, one-hour walk along a nature trail for ten weeks increase pro-environmental attitudes in Area Learning Center (ALC) students? 2) Does a weekly, one-hour walk along a nature trail for ten weeks increase pro-environmental behaviors in ALC students? The methodology included: pre-walk surveys completed at the start of a ten-week unit in biology class. During the class, students conducted once a week outdoor phenological studies at a local nature trail near their school. Students then completed a post walk survey one week after the end of the ten-week unit. In addition, the teacher recorded his own observations of student comments and behaviors throughout the ten-week session. The data from the survey suggest some change in attitude and behaviors but also highlights some of the potential problems in measuring Area Learning Center (ALC) students in such studies