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Hi, My name is Nanja de Kok, and I'm currently working on my thesis for the Master Science Education and Communication. I am doing research into the environmental education offered in the Botanical Gardens of Utrecht ľ¹Ï¸£ÀûÓ°ÊÓ. My aim is to investigate ways to have an effect on the environmental citizenship of the gardens’ visitors.

If you have reached this page, then I probably talked to you in the botanical gardens, or you participated in one of the interviews for my thesis. On this page I give some background information on my research and also some technical information on how I collect and process data.

Study context

Botanical gardens education plays a pivotal role in nurturing environmental citizenship by fostering a deep understanding and appreciation of plant life and ecosystems. These educational spaces serve as living museums, where individuals can engage with diverse plant species, learning about their ecological significance and cultural importance. By exploring botanical gardens, people gain firsthand knowledge about the delicate balance of nature, the importance of biodiversity, and the interconnectedness of all living organisms. Research into the core of these educational aspects of the botanical gardens will provide insight into the effectiveness of this education and possible points for improvement in order to foster environmental citizenship in visitors.

Title of this study

Assessing the presence of the pro-environmental competence model elements in a visit to the Botanical Gardens: Analysis of the educational material and adolescent visitor experiences

The purpose and research question

This study will focus on the experiences and learning of (adolescent) visitors during of the Utrecht ľ¹Ï¸£ÀûÓ°ÊÓ Botanical Gardens. This will be done by combining on-site interviews with the audience with textual analyses of information signs using the pro-environmental competence model as a theoretical basis. With this data collected, the study aims to investigate the implementation of the pro-environmental competence model in a visit by an adolescent to the Botanical Garden of Utrecht.

Technical information

The results of this research will not be published. The data will only be used for the Master thesis of UU student Nanja de Kok. The only personal data that is collected is the age of the participant. The  study focusses on adolescents and young adults. The collected data is a recording of the interview that was conducted in the Utrecht ľ¹Ï¸£ÀûÓ°ÊÓ Botanic Gardens. After verbatim transcription of the interview, the recording will be deleted. The data will remain confidential and will be fully anonymised before being stored on a UU One Drive database while the study is operative. Only the researcher (Nanja de Kok) can access the data. After completion of the research the data will be stored on a protected UU database for 10 years, with access for the supervisor (Jelle Boeve-de Pauw). Participation in the interviews is voluntary and can be terminated at any time without giving reasons and without consequences for the participant. After withdrawal of consent, none of the participants collected data will be used in the research.

In case you want to contact me, e.g., to know which information I have collected and stored, or in case you want me to retract your data from my research, you can contact me through n.j.c.dekok@students.uu.nl. Any other questions you may have around ethical or privacy aspect can be addressed to etc-beta-geo@uu.nl.