Individuals’ opinions about nature can change according to their education, experiences, and sociocultural backgrounds. Individuals form a society, and their understanding and opinions about nature can serve as important data for informing environmental educational curricula. This study collected data on the opinions of various individuals —who represented different nationalities, genders, educational levels, and age groups— about nature in a nature reserve and research center. An open-ended question, one starting with the word “nature” and ending with an explanation thought was prepared. With this question, participants were able to reflect on their most central opinions about nature. Data were collected from a total of 278 participants who visited a nature reserve, for consideration herein; their response sentences were collected and analyzed under several main themes: “resource”, “existence/life”, “should be protected”, “equilibrium”, “home”, “emotional”, and “sacred”. The most frequently encountered theme was “resource” (31.64%), followed by “should be protected” (25.17%), “equilibrium” (14.74%), “life” (12.94%), “emotional” (6.11%), “sacred” (5.75%), and “home” (3.59%), respectively. One important finding was that most participants (44.58%), despite their gender, nationality, and educational differences, described nature as a “resource”, indicating an anthropocentric perspective. Comparatively, once all the study themes and their related sentences had been analyzed, a further important result was revealed concerning a high percentage of participants who gave responses indicating an ecocentric perspective (55.36%).

Bell, D. R. (2005). Environmental learning, metaphors and natural capital. Environmental Education Research, 11(1), 53-69. https://doi.org/10.1080/1350462042000328749

Berryman, T., & Sauvé, L. (2013). International Handbook of Research on Environmental Education. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203813331.ch14

Casas, A. B., & Burgess, R. A. (2012). The practical importance of philosophical inquiry for environmental professionals: A look at the intrinsic/instrumental value debate. Environmental Practice: Journal of the National Association of Environmental Professionals, 14(3), 184-189. https://doi.org/10.1017/S146604661200018X

Denzin, N. K., & Lincoln, Y. S. (1994). Introduction: The discipline and practice of qualitative research in Handbook of qualitative research (first edition). Thousand Oaks: SAGE Publications, pp. 1-28

Donnelly, B., & Bishop, P. (2007). Natural law and ecocentrism. Journal of Environmental Law, 19(1), 89-101. https://doi.org/10.1093/jel/eql039

Freitas, M. R., Macedo, R. L. G., Freitas, M. P., Nunes, C. A., & Venturin, N. (2015). Environmental perception as a diagnostic probe of environmental complexity levels. Journal of Agricultural Education and Extension, 21(2), 149-158. https://doi.org/10.1080/1389224X.2014.913986

Haywood, B. K. (2014). A “Sense of Place” in public participation in scientific research. Science Education. 98(1), 64-83. https://doi.org/10.1002/sce.21087

Hoffman, A. J., & Sandelands, L. E. (2005). Getting Right with Nature: Anthropocentrism, Ecocentrism, and Theocentrism. Organization & Environment, 18(2), 141-162. http://hdl.handle.net/2027.42/39158

Hung, R. (2014). In search of Eco pedagogy: Emplacing nature in the light of Proust and Thoreau. Educational Philosophy and Theory, 46(13), 1387-1401. https://doi.org/10.1080/00131857.2014.914874

Kahyaoğlu, N., & Kırıktaş, H. (2016). Ortaöğretim ve üniversite öğrencilerinin “doğa” kavramına ilişkin algılarının metafor analizi yoluyla incelenmesi. Marmara Coğrafya Dergisi, (33), 58-76. https://doi.org/10.14781/mcd.98568

Karataş, A. (2019). Opinions of pre-service teachers about evolution. Journal of Education and Training Studies, 7(8). https://doi.org/10.11114/jets.v7i8.4284

Keinonen, T., Palmberg, I., Kukkonen, J., Yli-Panula, E., Persson, C., & Vilkonis, R. (2016). Higher education students perceptions of environmental issues and media coverage. Discourse and communication for sustainable education, 7(1), 5-22. https://doi.org/10.1515/dcse-2016-0001

Kortenkamp, K. V., & Moore, C. F. (2001). Ecocentrism and anthropocentrism: Moral reasoning about ecological commons dilemmas. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 21, 261-272. https://doi.org/10.1006/jevp.2001.0205

Matthews, B. E. (1990). Incorporating outdoor and environmental ethics in your program. Department of Recreation and Leisure Studies State University of New York, Cortland, New York.

Merriam, S. B. (2009). Qualitative research (third edition). USA: Jossey-Bass Publications.

Miles, M. B., & Huberman, A. M. (1994). Qualitative data analysis. USA: Sage Publication.

Morrone, M., Mancl, K., & Carr, K. (2001). Development of a metric to test group differences in ecological knowledge as one component of environmental literacy. The Journal of Environmental Education, 32(4), 33-42. https://doi.org/10.1080/00958960109598661

Odum, E. P., & Barrett, G.W. (2000). Ekolojinin temel ilkeleri. Ankara: Palme Yayınevi.

Pointon, P. (2014). ‘The city snuffs out nature’: young people’s conceptions of and relationship with nature. Environmental Education Research, 20(6), 776-794. https://doi.org/10.1080/13504622.2013.833595

Raman, R. A. (2016). Attitudes and behavior of ajman university of science and technology students towards the environment. The IAFOR Journal of Education, 4(1), 69-88. https://doi.org/10.22492/ije.4.1.04

Roth, C. E. (1992). Environmental literacy: Its roots, evolution, and directions in the 1990s. Columbus, OH: Education Resources Information Center/Center for Science, Mathematics and Environmental Education.

Sakellari, M., & Skanavis, C. (2013). Environmental behavior and gender: An emerging area of concern for environmental education research. Applied Environmental Education & Communication, 12, 77-87. https://doi.org/10.1080/1533015X.2013.820633

Salleh, A. (1993). Class, race and gender discourses in the ecofeminism/deep ecology debate. Environmental Ethics, 15(3), 225–244. https://doi.org/10.5840/enviroethics199315317

Sanchez, W. B. (2013). Open-Ended questions and the process standards. Mathematics Teacher, 107(3), 206-211. https://doi.org/10.5951/mathteacher.107.3.0206

Strauss, A., & Corbin, J. (1998). Basics of qualitative research: Techniques and procedures for developing grounded theory. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

Wee, B., Harbor, J. M., & Shepardson, D. P. (2006). Multiculturalism in environmental science: A snapshot of Singapore. Multicultural Perspectives, 8(2), 10-17. https://doi.org/10.1207/s15327892mcp0802_3

Yanniris, C. (2015) 20+ Years of environmental education centers in greece: teachers’ perceptions and future challenges. Applied Environmental Education & Communication, 14(3), 149-166. https://doi.org/10.1080/1533015X.2015.1067578

Yıldırım, A., & Şimşek, H. (2008). Sosyal bilimlerde nitel araştırma yöntemleri (6. Baskı). Ankara: Seçkin Yayıncılık.