Childhood experience in forest recreation practices : evidence from nine European countries

This study examines the role of childhood experience in forest recreational practices at adulthood. It investigates the effect of visitation frequency and type of settlement during childhood on frequency of visits at adulthood and analyses variations in nine European countries including Austria, Czech Republic, Switzerland, Germany, Denmark, France, Poland, Slovakia, and UK. The data are collected through a representative online survey and results are based on a generalized ordered logit model in which frequency of forest visits is considered as an ordered categorical variable. Childhood experience is found to be a significant factor determining frequency of forest visits at adulthood. In addition, current residential settlement, distance to the nearest forest, and other socioeconomic factors influence frequency of forest visits. The study findings show the importance of forest accessibility to children for a development of better recreational habits that support active mobility, sustainability and healthy lifestyles.The first author acknowledges the funding from the Education, Audio-visual, and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA) of the European Commission through Erasmus Mundus Action 1 Doctoral Fellowship as part of the Erasmus Mundus Joint Doctoral Program “Forests and Nature for Society” (FONASO). The authors affiliated with Centre for Macro-ecology, Evolution and Climate acknowledge the funding from the Danish National Research Foundation (grant number DNRF96). This research has also been supported by the Czech Science Foundation grant No. 19-26812X (M.S.) as well as by the Gregor Louisoder Environmental Foundation (Munich, Germany) (M.M.).http://www.elsevier.com/locate/ufug2020-12-01hj2020Agricultural Economics, Extension and Rural Developmen