Exploring Galápagos children’s place attachment, local ecological knowledge, and pro-environmental behaviour

Many models describing the choice and engagement with Pro-Environmental Behaviour (PEB) lean heavily on Local Ecological Knowledge (LEK) and Place Attachment (PA) as essential components and are designed for adults. The few child-based models often overlook other key components. This study learns from 9 to 10 year-old children living in the Galápagos Islands, Ecuador, that there is place- and age-based uniqueness of LEK, PA, and PEB, and also that environmental emotions and agency to engage in experiential learning are mediators of LEK, PA, and PEB. Galápagos, an Ecuadorian National Park and UNESCO Natural World Heritage Site, is a small equatorial archipelago, where the human population is recently established and thus not Indigenous to the islands, and whose ecosystems are facing increasing climate impacts. We adopt the framework of childism to centre children’s experiences and thoughts. Children exemplified robust and locationally unique LEK, PA, and PEB, but additionally shared environmental emotions and agency to engage in abundant environmental experiences which connected and mediated LEK, PA, and PEB. This case study provides support for children’s role in local conservation to support climate action in other young global communities.