Environmental challenges are integral to syllabi to promote pro-environmental behaviors. This study investigated the role of attitudes and their potential to be influenced through an in-class escape game on forest ecosystems and sustainability. The intervention aimed to offset the challenge of incorporating extensive outdoor activities into school life. We assessed 393 8th-graders’ attitudes toward nature, environmental attitudes, and knowledge before, immediately after, and 6–9 weeks post-intervention. Stronger initial attitudes correlated with greater and retained knowledge gains. However, the intervention did not alter attitude scores, possibly due to its short duration (4 lessons) or indoor setting, as outdoor activities may better enhance “green” attitudes, aiding knowledge acquisition and nature protective behavior. While the in-class game could not replace outdoor activities in fostering green attitudes, it serves as a resource-efficient complement. Nevertheless, the crucial role of attitudes on learning found in our study might take us one step further to unlocking green minds.
Fleissner-Martin et al. (2026) studied this question.