Speakers
Description
Objective:
Nature-based sports have been shown to promote environmental consciousness and positively impact climate identity among participants. Yet, there is limited research on the impact of participation in nature-based sports events on participants’ ecological attitudes. The purpose of this study is to examine how ecological initiatives at nature-based sports events impact participants’ attitudes and environmental consciousness.
Methods:
An online questionnaire focusing on attitudes towards green initiatives in sports events, connectedness to nature, and participants' climate identity and environmental awareness was conducted with participants (N=233) attending the nature-based running event Ecotrail Oslo 2021.
Findings:
Climate identity significantly influenced participants’ attitudes towards green initiatives positively, and so did time spent participating in nature-based sports. 65% of the participating runners reported a strong belief in the ability of green sports events to influence people’s knowledge and awareness of climate action. Green initiatives most noticed by participants were action to reduce the amount of plastic waste (31,3%) and the event organizers’ choice not to hand out goodie bags (20,9%).
Discussion and conclusion:
While climate identity significantly impacted attitudes toward green initiatives, most participants scored high on the climate identity measure, implying that participants at green events like Ecotrail Oslo already have high degrees of environmental consciousness. In other words, the potential of green sports events to influence participants' ecological attitudes seems to be limited at best.
