Abstract Adder ( Vipera berus ) populations are experiencing declines in many countries, including the United Kingdom. Perceptions of adders and other venomous snakes are generally negative, making conservation of these species a challenge, and persecution remains within the top five perceived causes for adder declines in the United Kingdom. Improved understanding and attitudes are needed to support current conservation efforts. However, ensuring these positive attitudes continue into the future relies on addressing children's loss of connection to nature, and intervention at this early attitude‐formation stage can be crucial for traditionally ‘unpopular’ species, such as snakes. An adder‐focussed public engagement project, Adders are Amazing !, was carried out in Pembrokeshire, United Kingdom, in 2018–19 to improve understanding and attitudes towards adders using a blended science‐creative arts approach. The project included half‐day primary school‐based workshops to inform 111 pupils aged 8–11 about adder ecology, alongside creative art experiences. Questionnaires were used to measure the children's attitudes towards adders and their nature connectedness both before and after the workshops and these were compared with equivalent questionnaires carried out at a control school (57 pupils) where no workshops were conducted. The project demonstrated that engagement that blends both art and science can significantly change attitudes towards adders without any direct contact with the animals themselves; specifically, participants' scores for ‘Wonder’, ‘Learning Interest’ and ‘Conservation Concern’ increased. The workshops also significantly increased measures of the children's general connectedness to nature (specifically, ‘Enjoyment of Nature’ and ‘Responsibility for Nature’). We recommend conservation bodies focus on, and not shy away from, so‐called ‘unpopular’ species, to promote understanding and acceptance of these species and support their conservation. Blended arts–science initiatives, which can be easily adapted to suit a wide range of species and the artistic practices of local communities, are an effective way to achieve this. Read the free Plain Language Summary for this article on the Journal blog.

The role of the Adventure Sports Coach (ASC) has recently become the focus of academic interest. Although research emerging from the field is beginning to diversify, the majority is limited in terms of sampling and methodology. The current study broadened the participant base by providing a demographic analysis of ASCs. An online survey of 504 participants captured key demographics, ‘coaching category’ and ‘coaching level’. Chi-square analysis investigated differences between genders. ASCs were predominantly male, relatively young, well-educated and well qualified. Despite many coaches holding high-level awards, their main practice was coaching beginners. A marked asymmetry existed between genders, with two-thirds of the sample being male. Female coaches were younger, less well qualified, and significantly under-represented in the higher coaching echelons. The lack of female coaches, and their clear under-representation in higher coaching categories is concerning. Recruitment, retention, and development of female ASCs is therefore a priority.

Background: Adventure experiences offer opportunities to improve resilience by exposure to controlled challenging situations. While previous studies have shown improvements in resilience, they have often lacked matched control groups, relied on a single measure of resilience, and had limited longitudinal follow-up. Purpose: This research assessed changes in subjective measures of resilience in response to adventure experiences. Method/Approach: Using a quasi-experimental design, resilience was assessed in two matched groups of university students using two validated instruments. Measurements were taken at four time points over a 3-month period, which included a 4-day residential experience for the Outdoor Adventure group. Findings/Conclusion: Adventure experiences showed tentative evidence for influencing subjective measures of resilience, more so for individuals who started with a low score. Resilience demonstrated the largest increase immediately post-program, returning to near baseline within 3 weeks. Implications: The mechanism for change in resilience would appear to be appropriate levels of challenge, rather than specific exposure to outdoor adventure activities. Furthermore, individuals with initially low scores are likely to achieve the greatest gain.

Ventilatory equivalents for oxygen and carbon dioxide are physiological measures of breathing efficiency, and are known to be affected by the intensity and mode of exercise. We examined the effect of level running (gradient 0%) and muscle-damaging downhill running (−12%), matched for oxygen uptake, on the ventilatory equivalents for oxygen () and carbon dioxide (). Nine men (27 ± 9 years, 179 ± 7 cm, 75 ± 12 kg, : 52.0 ± 7.7 mL·kg−1·min−1) completed two 40-min running bouts (5 × 8-min with 2-min inter-bout rest), one level and one downhill. Running intensity was matched at 60% of maximal metabolic equivalent. Maximal isometric force of m.quadriceps femoris was measured before and after the running bouts. Data was analyzed with 2-way ANOVA or paired samples t-tests. Running speed (downhill: 13.5 ± 3.2, level: 9.6 ± 2.2 km·h−1) and isometric force deficits (downhill: 17.2 ± 7.6%, level: 2.0 ± 6.9%) were higher for downhill running. Running bouts for level and downhill gradients had , heart rates and respiratory exchange ratio values that were not different indicating matched intensity and metabolic demands. During downhill running, the , (downhill: 29.7 ± 3.3, level: 27.2 ± 1.6) and (downhill: 33.3 ± 2.7, level: 30.4 ± 1.9) were 7.1% and 8.3% higher (p < 0.05) than level running. In conclusion, breathing efficiency appears lower during downhill running (i.e., muscle-damaging exercise) compared to level running at a similar moderate intensity.