We determined that before our sample families could engage the issue of climate change, they first needed to establish a perosnal relationship with nature. Our approach was to design experiences in local nature areas as a means of taking the first step towards building that personal relationship.

Focusing on the teenagers, we examined existing nature activites. Most of them foster a relationship that treats nature as an adversary. Activities like Outward Bound, or even Boy Scouts, pit teenagers against the elements, and prioritize building character instead of an affinity with the environment. Extreme sports are similar, looking at nature as something to be conquered. One of our research participants owned a dune buggy, which we thought was the perfect symbol of nature as adversary.