Children's interest in school garden projects, environmental motivation and intention to act: A case study from a primary school of Cyprus

Abstract

We have studied elementary school children's interest in the various activities and tasks of a school garden project, the reasons for that interest, and its possible correlation with environmental motivation and intention for environmental action. The theories of motivation, and especially the Self-Determination Theory, were used as the theoretical framework of the study. Seventeen students from an urban primary school, aged 11–12 years old, participated in the project. Our findings suggest that there is a correlation between participants' interest in the activities, their motivation, and their intention to act. The satisfaction of psychological needs is an important prerequisite of environmental motivation.