- We are interested in examining all aspects of people's changing relationship with nature, through the use of both the life and the social sciences.
- On an immediate basis, we are interested in partnering with nature-based organizations to assist in the evaluation of programs promoting contact between children and nature.
- We think it likely that fear, in various forms, is another major contributing component of people’s reduced connection with nature. For example, growing fears of dangers in nature are driving children (via parents) out of the woods. On the other hand, it may be our lack of connection to natural areas that allows this type of fear-mongering to have any effect in the first place. We would like to test whether fear of nature is indeed a major factor, what forms of fear are involved, and what their interactions are.
- Are there ways that electronic media may be utilized to increase visitorship to natural areas without damaging long-term desire to connect with nature? Does access to natural area information increase the number of visitors or replace visits to nature? We would like to examine the issue of “virtual nature”. Does, for example, viewing Old Faithful through a webcam generate later environmental consciousness?
- Ultimately we are also interested in conducting controlled, nationwide, long-term monitoring studies examining the impacts of videophilia on childhood development and environmental sensitivity in children and adults. Such studies would begin at birth and follow individuals well into adulthood. We are interested in determining the effects of videophilia on all aspects of human life (e.g., career choice, mental health, income, happiness, etc.); not only involvement with nature. Such innovative work requires extensive funding commitment and experts from a variety of fields to design and execute. We welcome any partners with whom we might together begin to achieve such a project.
- Throughout these approaches, we feel market-based solutions are the likeliest to succeed, and work to achieve them using our unique background and experience.
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red rock institute, inc. is a 501(c)3 Pennsylvania non -profit corporation. Furthermore it is a private operating foundation dedicated to theoretical scientific research.