Growing Demand and Uneven Supply: Eight Years of Nature Education in China

Abstract

This study examines the role of nature education in advancing conservation and sustainability in China between 2014 and 2023. Drawing on national survey reports and historical–comparative methods, it analyses the dynamics of public demand, institutional supply, and practitioner capacity. Findings reveal that public demand is strong, diversified, and rising, while supply remains fragile, regionally uneven, and constrained by financial instability and talent turnover. Applying public goods theory, the study identifies a structural supply–demand imbalance that limits the sector's contribution to conservation goals. To address this mismatch, four strategies are proposed: redistributing resources to underserved regions, tailoring curricula to diverse social groups, strengthening practitioner development, and establishing hybrid funding and governance mechanisms. Aligning supply more effectively with demand is critical not only for the sustainable development of nature education but also for enhancing its contribution to conservation governance in China.

Keywords

China / environmental education / nature education / quasi-public goods / supply–demand imbalance

References

[1] Bray, M., B. Adamson, and M. Mason. 2014. “Comparative Education Research.” 19–33, 65–83.

[2] Chai, Y., D. Wei, X. Ding, Q. Chen, and Y. Su. 2021. “Investigation of Rural Natural Resources in Guangdong Province From the Perspective of Nature Education [从自然教育视角调查广东省乡村自然资源],” [In Chinese.] Forestry and Environmental Science37, no. 2: 99–104.

[3] Chawla, L. 2015. “Benefits of Nature Contact for Children.” Journal of Planning Literature 30, no. 4: 433–452.

[4] China Nature Education Network. 2016. China Nature Education Development Report 2016 [中国自然教育发展报告2016]. http://www.natureeducation.org.cn/web/study/material.

[5] China Nature Education Network. 2018. China Nature Education Development Report 2018 [中国自然教育发展报告2018]. http://www.natureeducation.org.cn/web/study/material.

[6] Chinese Forestry Society. 2024a. China Nature Education Development Report 2019 [中国自然教育发展报告2019]. China Forestry Publishing House.

[7] Chinese Forestry Society. 2024b. China Nature Education Development Report 2020 [中国自然教育发展报告2020]. China Forestry Publishing House.

[8] Chinese Forestry Society. 2024c. China Nature Education Development Report 2021 [中国自然教育发展报告2021]. China Forestry Publishing House.

[9] Chinese Forestry Society. 2024d. China Nature Education Development Report 2022 [中国自然教育发展报告2022]. China Forestry Publishing House.

[10] Chinese Forestry Society. 2025. China Nature Education Development Report 2023 [中国自然教育发展报告2023]. China Forestry Publishing House. (in Press).

[11] Clayton, S., S. M. Bexell, P. Xu, Y. F. Tang, W. J. Li, and L. Chen. 2019. “Environmental Literacy and Nature Experience in Chengdu, China.” Environmental Education Research 25: 1105–1118.

[12] Huang, Y., R. Shi, J. Zhou, Z. Chen, and P. Liang. 2022. “How Urban Residents Perceive Nature Education: A Survey From Eight Metropolises in China.” Sustainability 14, no. 13: 7820. https://doi.org/10.3390/su14137820.

[13] Huang, Y., Y. Zhang, Z. Zhao, and Y. Luo. 2023. “Site Conception and Construction Strategies of Eco-Farm From the Perspective of Nature Education.” Forest Inventory and Planning 48, no. 2: 115–119.

[14] Larson, L. R., R. Szczytko, E. P. Bowers, L. E. Stephens, K. T. Stevenson, and M. F. Floyd. 2019. “Outdoor Time, Screen Time, and Connection to Nature: Troubling Trends Among Rural Youth.” Environment and Behavior 51, no. 8: 966–991.

[15] Li, M., Z. Chen, D. Wei, and H. Tang. 2022. “Talent Cultivation Strategies in the Nature Education Sector [自然教育人才培养策略].” [In Chinese.] Modern Horticulture45, no. 20: 181–183+186.

[16] Li, X., and Y. Yu. 2017. “Research on Nature Education Practices at Home and Abroad [自然教育国内外实践研究].” [In Chinese.] Forestry Economics39, no. 11: 12–18+23.

[17] Liu, Y., and W. Feng. 2025. “A Metric Analysis of the Knowledge Map of Ecological Civilization Education in China.” Asia Pacific Education Review: 1–20. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12564-025-10048-z.

[18] Louv, R. 2010. Last Child in the Woods: Saving our Children From Nature-Deficit Disorder. Algonquin Books.

[19] Ma, H. 2021. “Supply and Demand Anaysis and Development Policy of Natural Education in Beijing [北京市自然教育供求状况分析及发展政策].” Journal of Forestry and Grassland Policy 1, no. 1: 63–69.

[20] Pei, D. 1995. Introduction to Educational Research Methods, 135–142. Anhui Education Press.

[21] Rappleye, J., and H. Komatsu. 2020. “Towards (Comparative) Educational Research for a Finite Future.” Comparative Education 56, no. 2: 190–217.

[22] Rickinson, M., J. Dillon, K. Teamey, et al. 2004. A Review of Research on Outdoor Learning. National Foundation for Educational Research.

[23] Samuelson, P. A. 1954. “The Pure Theory of Public Expenditure.” Review of Economics and Statistics 36, no. 4: 387–389.

[24] Sancar, R., D. Atal, and D. Deryakulu. 2021. “A New Framework for Teachers' Professional Development.” Teaching and Teacher Education 101: 103305.

[25] Tilbury, D. 1995. “Environmental Education for Sustainability: Defining the New Focus of Environmental Education in the 1990s.” Environmental Education Research 1, no. 2: 195–212.

[26] Wals, A. E. J., and A. Benavot. 2017. “Can We Meet the Sustainability Challenges? The Role of Education and Lifelong Learning.” European Journal of Education 52, no. 4: 404–413.

[27] Wang, C. 2012. Comparative Education, 4th ed., Vol. 9. People's Education Publishing House.

[28] Wang, H., and J. Chen. 2025. “Urban Nature Classroom: Exploring the Nature Education Model of Community Gardens [城市自然课堂:社区花园自然教育模式].” [In Chinese.] Landscape Architecture Academic Journal42: 108–114.

[29] Wang, S., C. Zhang, and H. Pan. 2019. “Research on the Construction of Rural Nature Education Industry [乡村自然教育产业构建研究].” [In Chinese.] Journal of Heilongjiang Vocational Institute of Ecological Engineering32, no. x: 40–44.

[30] Yue, W., and F. Xu. 2020. “Nature Experiences Education: Practical Exploration of Ecological Civilization Education [自然体验教育:生态文明教育的实践探索].” [In Chinese.] Journal of Guangxi Normal University (Philosophy & Social Science Edition), 56, no. 2: 115–123.

[31] Zhai, K. 2025. “Current Situation and Countermeasures of Nature Education Under the Concept of Ecological Civilization [生态文明视域下自然教育现状与对策].” [In Chinese.] Rural Scientific Experiment1: 51–53.

RIGHTS & PERMISSIONS

2026 The Author(s). Integrative Conservation published by John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd on behalf of Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden (XTBG).