Historical practices of adapting and engaging with nature can become a significant cultural and psychological potentiality of expanding the space of action-possibilities for dealing with environmental challenges, and thereby establishing a new pro-environmental identity in the present by connecting people with their historical past.

Cultural psychologists at Aalborg University are, for example, studying practices of modern zoos in preserving nature and enhancing biodiversity. A specific example is the Danish zoo called Randers Rainforest, excelling in focusing less and less on exotic species and instead turning their attention to local danish biodiversity. The example illustrates the need to search for old Danish cultural practices in dealing with new environmental challenges. Hence, adapting to a new environmental reality is not only a technological matter, but also a cultural psychological matter of relating to historical practices in a positive way.????

In the development of zoos, two concepts have been central for understanding the effort of conservation of biodiversity: in situ and ex situ conservation. Zoos have predominantly been doing ex situ conservation, by helping preserve animals in habitats not their own. But increasingly a focus on in situ preservation has become dominant as well ¨C primarily through conservation programs directed at animals in their natural habitats, like buying up rainforest and protecting it in Southern America.?

What is unique for some zoos ¨C amongst them the Danish zoo Randers Rainforest ¨C is that in situ has been expanded to incorporate the conservation of nature in the local areas of the zoo itself, the danish nature around the city Randers in this case. Randers Rainforest is located at the brink of a meadow near the river Guden, and the efforts of grazing the meadows has been done using heavy and polluting machinery. The zoo, however, has found another solution. They found and bought up an old danish livestock, thought extinct because not used within production anymore due to its low production of both milk and meat. However, these cows have been used for many centuries for grazing in meadow-areas, because they are small and are able to move around very easily. So, instead of using polluting machinery, the zoo has been in charge of grazing part of the meadows using the livestock. In addition, this boosts the biodiversity through the creation of a new ecological circuit involving the livestock.

Besides being an example of pro-environmental behaviour by an institution not always considered pro-environmental, it exemplifies the need for understanding our common history in an effort of dealing with present and future environmental issues.

Researchers from the Department of Communication and Psychology: Brady Wagoner and Bo A. Christensen