Being unable to access and experience nature in a meaningful way can lead to a sense of disconnection from nature, which can lead people to feel less motivated to protect what little green space remains.

This vicious cycle – nature disappears, people care less, and more nature gets lost – is contributing to climate change, and is known as Extinction of Experience.

In simulation experiments, our colleague PhD candidate Fernanda Reintgen Kamphuisen and co-authors found that a small decrease in green space can lead to people feeling less connected to nature and less compelled to protect it. At that point, the Extinction of Experience cycle gets much worse and becomes very difficult to reverse.

Small changes in nature availability can mean the difference between a positive or negative sense of stewardship of the natural world.

Their findings convey how important it is for governments and city planners to ensure people have enough green space to stay connected to nature.

Find this paper by Fernanda Reintgen Kamphuisen, Yannick Joye and Jan Willem Bolderdijk – along with all of our most recent research on our publications page!