The environment in which we live is largely cultivated. Man appropriates the environment, transforms it and adapts it to his increasingly diverse needs. Environmental awareness and concern for the protection of the natural heritage are closely related concepts. In science and biology lessons at primary level they both belong to important learning goals acquired for whole life. The acquired knowledge must enable generations of students to understand how man has a significant impact on nature, thereby destroying the foundations of his existence on the planet. Through research using a causal non-experimental method and a quantitative research approach, we evaluated the sustainability of water knowledge and the sustainability of water attitudes that students have acquired through experiential learning about water in the field. We put forward six hypotheses accordingly. Pupils of the 8th and 9th grades of Naklo Elementary School were included in our sample. The data were collected through a questionnaire and a knowledge test, both of which Eržen used in her research in 2016. The general finding was that the students liked participating in the research. We tested the students' knowledge with a water knowledge test. We found only two statistically significant differences between the responses of girls and boys. We found out that the knowledge acquired in 2015 through experiential learning in the field was more permanent than the knowledge acquired in 2015 through experiential learning in the classroom. In 2015, most students had quite wrong conceptions about natural phenomena related to water. Moreover, they were very poorly aware of the anthropogenic impact on the environment. The survey revealed that students in 2019 were willing to change their behaviour as well as their habits in order to improve water quality. The survey also showed that these students strove to reduce water consumption every day, so their attitude towards water changed for the better compared to their attitude in 2015. According to the method of work, there were no statistically significant differences between students’ responses in any of the statements. There were statistically significant differences between the responses of girls and boys in four statements. However, statistically significant differences between the responses of eighth- and ninth-graders were found in five statements. Regarding students’ attitudes towards water in different years of the survey (i. e. 2015 and 2019), there were statistically significant differences in eleven statements.
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