Educational trail
An educational trail (or sometimes educational path), nature trail or nature walk is a specially developed
In order to give a clearer explanation of the objects located at each station, display boards or other exhibits are usually erected, in keeping with the purpose of the trail. These may include: information boards, photographs and pictures, maps or plans, display cases and models, slides, sound or multimedia devices, facilities to enable experimentation and so on. The routes are regularly maintained.
Educational trails with a strong thematic content may also be called "theme paths", "theme trails" or "theme routes", or may be specially named after their subject matter, for example the Welsh Mountain Zoo Trail, Anglezarke Woodland Trail, Cheshire Lines Railway Path, Great Harwood Nature Trail, Irwell Sculpture Trail, Salthill Quarry Geology Trail and Wildlife Conservation Trail.
The purpose of such trails is to increase knowledge, sometimes this is linked to tourism and recreation or the raising of
History
The first official educational trail was created in 1925 on the initiative of a museum director in the
"The spirit of the training trail: a friend somewhat versed in natural history is taking a walk with you and calling your attention to interesting things."[2]
[3] In 1930 the first nature trail was laid in Germany.[3] In the 1950s there was a sudden increase in nature trails in Germany, as growing urbanization led to a growth in the demand for recreation and an increase in car use led to greater mobility.[3] From the 1960s in Germany nature trails were established primarily as forest trails to guide visitors. Most of them were signed paths that portrayed the forest ecosystem as worthy of protection in order to restrict the flood of urban drivers seeking recreation in natural areas. For this reason, circular nature trails were attached, initially, especially to large car parks on the edge of forests. In 1970 after the "European Nature Conservation Year" in Germany, the first Swiss educational trails were also established. At the beginning of the 1980s in Germany, educational trails were not just laid out as ordinary signed paths in which knowledge was conveyed by the written word only, but as trails where the perception and experience of nature with the senses was made more central. In 1998 it was estimated that the number of educational trails in Germany was around 1,000.[3] Of these, 85% were forest and nature trails, and only 3% were nature experience trails.[3] Since 2000 new media have increasingly been integrated into educational trails.[3]
Special types
In addition there are also planet trails, which clarify the distances and dimensions of planets, and sculpture trails with artistic themes.
See also
- Hiking trail
- Footpath
- Themed trail
References
- ISBN 0-8232-2127-X.
- ^ Lutz, Frank (1926). "Nature Trails: An Experiment in Outdoor Education". The American Museum of Natural History Miscellaneous Publication No. 21 - New York City.
- ^ a b c d e f Quellen in der Region Basel at www.biogeography.unibas.ch. Retrieved 27 Oct 2017.
External links
- Media related to Educational trails at Wikimedia Commons
- Educational trails of Germany at the travel guide - Zu den Böden Deutschlands
- Lehrpfade in Österreich ("Educational Paths in Austria") on the website of the Austrian Ministry for Agriculture, Forestry, the Environment and Water.