The following schedule is from the 72nd Annual Conference of the Southeastern Association of Fish & Wildlife Agencies which was held October 21-24, 2018 in Mobile, Alabama.
AUTHORS: Lynette Caseman, Sandy Creek Nature Center; Charlie Evans, Aaron Tremble, Ansley Vardeman – University of Georgia
ABSTRACT: The first purpose of the current study was to evaluate the effectiveness of the six main exhibits within the Sandy Creek Nature Center Exhibit Hall in order to make recommendations on how the exhibits can improve the connectivity of the hall and the rest of the property. The second purpose was to survey and evaluate the behavioral intentions of guests to act in an environmentally conscientious manner beyond Sandy Creek Nature Center in order to see if any enhancements that can potentially be made to existing exhibits to facilitate a connection between exhibit hall information and the SCNC property. Visitors to Sandy Creek’s Exhibit Hall were surveyed on knowledge of environmental concepts found throughout the hall’s six exhibits and were given behavioral intent questions on the possibility of engaging in environmentally conscientious behavior, such as recycling, in their everyday lives. Analysis through SPSS software determined a correlation between time spent at exhibits and knowledge gained from the exhibit. A positive correlation was also found between time spent at exhibits and behavioral intent to engage in environmental conscientious behavior in everyday lives. Overall, alternatives introducing more environmentally interpretive material to increase knowledge and environmentally conscientious behavior must be examined further using more surveys with longer time spans.
