Does this webcam make you want to go to the beach? Or would photo of a pitched tent encourage you to throw a tent into a backpack and heading out into the wilderness?
Although most of us would admit that our screen-time is something worth limiting, so as not to miss out on the life beyond it, perhaps we need to embrace the connectedness that it can bring to too. Let's use all tools at hand to engage people with our world--the diversity of animal life and beauty the needs to be preserved on Earth. Webcams help bring the real natural world to us, in natural time.
Research suggests that using visual media can impact people's pro-conservation attitudes and and behaviors (Pearson, Dorrian & Litchfield, 2011). Their work shows how films about the orang-utan increased conservation efforts and the success of campaign groups. Viewing the outdoors and wildlife is the first step in people making a personal connection.
I hope some of these help you feel a little more connected to the world beyond your computer screen:
Mount Rainier
African Safari Cam
Katmai National Park, Alaska
Yellowstone National Park
View Seattle from the Space Needle
If you have any great ones to share, please do!
Literature Cited:
Pearson, E., Dorrian, J., & Litchfield, C. (2011). Harnessing visual media in environmental education: Increasing knowledge of orangutan conservation issues and facilitating sustainable behaviour through video presentations. Environmental Education Research, 17(6), 751-767.
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