<p>Environmental education, field interventions and
entertainment-education have been deployed to raise ecological consciousness in
society; and studies tend to focus more on impacts, audiences and social
change; often overlooking the critical encoding segment in the communication
chain. If animistic or romanticist ‘immersion in nature’ engenders eco-friendly
dispositions, it’s also possible that behavior change can come from immersing
change-agents (cast/crew) in natural environments to enhance eco-consciousness
and improve encoding and communication competencies. This study used
participant observation within natural immersive production environments; and
random interviews to assess eco-behavior change in key cast/crew in the
production of Linda’s<i> Joint,</i> a radio
serial on gorilla protection in Cross River State, Nigeria. Findings show that majority of cast/crew
imbibed eco-friendly attitudes, showed improved encoding competencies and
became convinced change-agents following their participation in the production.
Significantly, the study strengthens pedagogical values of loop-writing
approaches and experiential learning especially in ambient production
locations.</p>
Betiang_full.docx
