Youth and Environmental Action: Perspectives of Young Environmental Leaders on Their Formative Influences

The authors conducted interview research with young environmental leaders to discover the past influences that they perceive have contributed to their current involvement in environmental action. In all, 12 young people participated in semistructured, in-depth interviews. They met clear criteria including positive environmental attitudes, behavior, initiative, and involvement in multiple spheres of action. The main self-identified influences on their environmental action were parents, experiences outdoors in childhood, friends, role models, teachers, and youth groups and conferences or gatherings. These results build on and extend previous research on significant life experiences of adult environmentalists and also deepen the understanding of the nature and combination of these influences with young people.