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Enhancing Wildlife Education Through Mindfulness

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  23 June 2015

Barbara Woods  and
Gianna Moscardo
Barbara Woods
Affiliation:
James Cook University
Gianna Moscardo*
Affiliation:
James Cook University
*
†School of Business, James Cook University, Townsville, Queensland 4811, Australia. Email: [email protected]
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Abstract

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In recent decades there has been an increase in opportunities for people to view wildlife in tourism settings such as wildlife tours, national parks and captive environments such as zoos. This in turn has provided increasing opportunities to educate people of all ages about the value of wildlife and their habitats. One concept useful for enhancing learning is that of mindfulness. This concept suggests characteristics of interpretation that attract and sustain the focused attention of visitors. Using open-ended descriptions of best wildlife experiences from 790 respondents, this study found that 84% of descriptions contained at least one element consistent with the mindfulness concept. This paper argues that a mindfulness model can be used to understand visitor responses to wildlife tourism and direct the design of experiences that enhance learning and enjoyment.

Keywords

Mindfulnesswildlifeinterpretationlearning.
Type
Viewpoint
Information
Australian Journal of Environmental Education , Volume 19 , 2003 , pp. 97 - 108
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2003

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