Classroom exercises and demonstrations on human and natural environment impact

We present class exercises and demonstrations concerning the psychological consequences of human interactions with the natural environment. Topics include aesthetic and affective evaluation of natural scenes, consequences of blocking a view of nature, how Motive for Sensory Pleasure may influence evaluation of the natural environment, weather and seasonality associations with mood and mobility, an encounter with the extremes of Mt. Everest, coping with natural and human-made disasters, human impact on biodiversity, impact of human noise on enjoyment of nature, sound logging/mapping on and near campus, effects of priming (e.g., a picture of dead plants) on beliefs about human impact, and self-awareness of consumption patterns and sustainable consumption. These exercises have been employed in numerous environmental psychology courses and are suitable for many types of classes dealing with humans and natural settings.