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Engagement with and study of nature is increasingly important for science literacy and civic engagement. Spurred on by challenges of the Anthropocene, many informal learning institutions are exploring how their collections, programs, and scientific expertise can be mobilized to create new naturalist learning pathways for children and youth. In this paper, we explore retrospective life histories of 18 adult naturalists to examine experiences that they recall supporting their interest development in the natural world. Drawing on interest and informal learning literature, our analysis reveals how elements across the learning ecology, including school, family, and out‐of‐school learning, work together to support the development of naturalist practices and identities. We found that interest development in nature occurred across the learning ecology and that expression of situational or individual interest depended on the participants' age and the type of learning experience. A closer examination of three individual cases—a serious amateur naturalist, an environmental educator, and an ecologist—reveals some of the nuanced ways that interest in nature arises, is maintained, and can eventually develop into a deep, lifelong naturalist identity. We consider implications for how one might conceptualize and support informal learning pathways that involve deep engagement with and connections to nature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article reports that American naturalist and writer Henry David Thoreau's influence on American naturalist writing has been exhaustively documented, particularly with respect to the construction of a modern American environmental imagination. However, critical work appraising Thoreau's influence abroad has largely been limited to his contributions to political science, with the notable exception of England, where early reviews of Thoreau's nature writing were largely favorable, prompting modest, yet significant sales.

Discusses the role of historic naturalists in the U.S. in establishing the foundation for the study of nature. Observations made by several naturalists concerning the conservation of resources; Background on the involvement of women in natural history; List of famous naturalists, including Henry Beston and Ann Zwinger.

Presents an article about a woman who was influenced by her father's appreciation of nature. Activities of the father as an ornithologist; Exposure of the woman to nature awareness during childhood; Experiences of the woman at the Peace Valley Nature Center near Doylestown in Pennsylvania as a teacher-naturalist.