Norwegian preschool children´s knowledge about some common wild animal species and their habitats

Abstract It is crucial that future generations have the knowledge about nature and the willingness to make right decisions for sustainable development, including the halt of global biodiversity loss. Perception of species and the ability to identify wild species (i.e. animals, plants and fungi) are fundamental for the understanding of biodiversity. Norwegian kindergartens are imposed to give children outdoor experience encouraging environmental awareness and contributing to sustainable development. We therefore interviewed 55 pre-schoolers from eight kindergartens about their ability to recognise a selection of twelve animal species from three different habitats. On average, the children identified four species correctly and they recognised more species from the forest habitat than fresh water and mountain areas. The children were also significantly better at assigning forest animals to the correct habitat compared to other habitats. The findings indicate that pre-schoolers` knowledge about local nature, in which they spend time on a weekly basis, is rather high compared to other types of nature. Despite a large variation in the amount of time adults spent in nature conversing with children about nature, these two variables were not significantly associated with children's species knowledge.


Sustainable development and biodiversity
Given the environmental challenges earth is facing, it is crucial that future generations have the knowledge about nature and the willingness to make right decisions for sustainable development.This paper investigates animal species identification skills of local species by 5-6 years old Norwegian kindergarten children during their last year in kindergarten.Such skills are considered the first step towards the understanding of ecosystems and nature complexity, and the ability as adult citizens to make future decisions to facilitate the United Nations' goals for sustainable development, including reversing land degradation and halting biodiversity loss (https://sdgs.un.org/goals).Since knowledge about biodiversity has been described as one of the major pathways to sustainability, it is crucial that the next generations have the necessary knowledge and motivation to conserve biodiversity (Gayford, 2000).

The global reduction of biodiversity and the lack of knowledge
The intrinsic value of nature should be a sufficient reason to protect biodiversity (Cafaro & Primack, 2014).Moreover, our own existence is depending on ecosystem services, such as oxygen production, climate mitigation and water cycling, which in turn depend on a complex natural environment (Gascon et al., 2015).Nevertheless, global biodiversity is declining due to human activities such as habitat destruction and fragmentation, introduction of exotic species, overexploitation of natural resources and pollution (Almond et al., 2020;Ceballos et al., 2015Ceballos et al., , 2017;;Dirzo et al., 2014;Hooper et al., 2005).)Therefore, conservation of biodiversity has become an urgent environmental topic and reaching out to the public about biodiversity is becoming increasingly important.In order to engage people in biodiversity conservation and achieve public support, increasing awareness of biodiversity is considered a good starting point.Deeper understanding about biodiversity and biodiversity conservation may empower people to take responsible decisions about their life and the natural environment (Mankin et al., 1999), and to care about something requires knowledge about what there is to care about (Balmford et al., 2002).On the other hand, human's contact with nature and wild animals and people's general level of species knowledge have declined significantly over the last decades and is considered generally low (Gerl et al., 2021;Hooykaas et al., 2019;Kaasinen, 2019;Lindemann-Matthies & Bose, 2008;Palmberg et al., 2015;Randler, 2008;Yli-Panula & Matikainen, 2014).The concept of biodiversity might even seem rather unknown among people due to the decline of contact with nature (Soga et al., 2016) A Swiss study from 2008 showed that 60% of the study participants (grammar school pupils, non-graduates and graduates) had never heard about the term biodiversity (Lindemann-Matthies & Bose, 2008).Knowledge of biodiversity is considered fundamental to develop attitudes towards nature conservation (Chawla, 2007;Collado et al., 2015).

The levels of biodiversity
The definition of the term biodiversity is rather complex and includes both genetic, species and ecosystem diversity, and should preferably be transformed into smaller entities to make learning and understanding easier.The most common entity used is the species concept (Van Weelie & Wals, 2002).Basic knowledge about animal or plant species, their identification and life history is considered a fundamental aspect for learning and understanding biodiversity (Jaun-Holderegger et al., 2022;Palmberg et al., 2017;Randler, 2008).Species knowledge (used as synonymous of species literacy) is not only about naming, but also about the ability to recognise species in their habitats (i.e.species identification skills), knowing how and where they live, and how they interact with other species.In other words, species knowledge also includes ecological knowledge (Bilton, 2014;Skarstein & Skarstein, 2020).Given the environmental problems humanity is currently facing and considering that the future of the planet lies in the hands of future generations and their actions, biodiversity learning is an essential part of sustainable education.Therefore, it is a topic that children should learn about already in their early years (Edwards & Cutter-Mackenzie, 2013).

Value of early nature experiences
Positive nature experiences in early childhood and the company of positive adult role models showing interest and appreciation for biodiversity have shown to be important in developing positive attitudes towards nature and nature conservation (Chawla, 2007;Collado et al., 2015;Helldèn & Helldèn, 2008;Palmer et al., 1999).Outdoor educational programs focusing on species knowledge, ecology and experiencing nature have increased the understanding of nature, caused positive attitudes and increased interest towards nature among school children (Fančovičová & Prokop, 2011;Lindemann-Matthies, 2005) and among primary student teachers and kindergarten teacher students (Magntorn & Helldén, 2005;Wolff & Skarstein, 2020).A recent study showed that children (9-12 of age) who consider themselves as more connected to nature tend to perform more sustainable behaviors and report to experience greater happiness (Barrera-Hernández et al., 2020).

Learning about biodiversity in Norwegian kindergartens
Sustainable development is one out of seven core values in the Norwegian Framework plan for kindergartens (Directorate for Education and Training, 2017), the official starting point for local planning and implementation in Norwegian kindergartens.Therefore kindergartens are expected to be important actors in promoting values and practices for more sustainable communities.According to the learning area Nature, environment and technology, "kindergartens shall enable children to learn about nature and sustainability, learn from, and develop respect for nature and gain an early understanding of nature conservation.Children shall be given outdoor experiences and discover the diversity of the natural world, and kindergartens shall help the children to feel connectedness with nature.Experiencing, exploring and learning in and about nature and its diversity is considered as important aspects in developing respect for nature, encouraging environmental awareness and contributing to sustainable development" (Directorate for Education and Training, 2017 pp 52).Studies have shown that children who get early experiences in nature develop stronger connection to nature and are more likely to develop interest in spending more time in nature (Cheng & Monroe, 2012;Skarstein & Skarstein, 2020;Soga et al., 2016).Additionally, childhood interaction with variation and diversity of living and nonliving items from nature allows children learning opportunities, inclusive biodiversity understanding (Beery & Jørgensen, 2018;Prokop & Tunnicliffe, 2010).For that reason, children in Norwegian kindergartens spend a significant amount of time outdoors, both in the kindergarten's premises as well as on nature excursions in nearby areas.Outdoor life (friluftsliv in Norwegian) is also part of Norway's national identity, and it is considered an important part of people's lives (Gelter, 2000).Spending at least one day a week in nature engaging in outdoor activities is normal in many Norwegian families.Learning about animals while being outdoor in nature can help foster the empathy and understanding necessary for education for sustainable development.Species knowledge is as important for building a relationship with and appreciation for nature.

Biodiversity and kindergarten children
Most studies on biodiversity knowledge include older children (school pupils) and adults.Few have referred to kindergarten children's knowledge about species (Mohneke et al., 2016;Randler & Wieland, 2010) and young children's ability to identify and to distinguish between different animal taxa (Alanazi, 2018;Allen, 2014;Tunnicliffe et al., 2008).As far as we can see, no studies have included both kindergarten children's species identification skills and their knowledge about the animal habitats.

Rationale of the study and research questions
The aim of this study is to survey the biodiversity knowledge of 5-year-old kids, who were into their last year in kindergarten.We studied their abilities to identify a selection of animal species living in the Norwegian fauna by their common name and their knowledge about which type of nature each animal inhabit.
More specifically, this study aims to answer the following research questions: (1) Do kindergarten children recognise the animals in the study by their common name?
(2) Are kindergarten children familiar with the habitats of the selected animals?
(3) Do factors such gender, time spent in nature or in conversation about nature with parents and/or with kindergarten staff explain observed differences in species knowledge between children?

Data collection
Children (n = 55 -28 boys and 27 girls) from eight different kindergartens participated in this study.All children were preschoolers aged 5-6 years.The reason for choosing children at the end of their kindergarten curriculum was to explore their knowledge about local species, before starting primary education.Interviews were audio recorded with permission granted by both parents and children.We interviewed all children individually except four children who wanted to conduct the interview in the presence of an adult from the kindergarten staff.Each full interview lasted in average 15 minutes.
The children's parents and one of the kindergarten staff were asked to fill out a short questionnaire focusing on time adults spent together with the children in nature environment and how often nature was a topic in conversations/discussions with the children.Parents were asked how often they spend time together with their children in nature (once a month or less: 2-3 times per month, once a week, 2-3 times a week, 4 times or more a week) and how often they talk with their children about nature (never-seldom-occasionally-often-very often).Kindergarten staffs were asked the same questions, We received complete set of answers from all kindergartens and parents.Three kindergartens were farm kindergartens, while the other five did not have a particular profile.On the other hand, four of the latter five were green flag kindergartens.

Preschool children's knowledge about animal species and their habitat
We collected data by introducing the children to three photographs (A4 size) each showing a specific habitat; a coniferous forest, a freshwater lake and a mountain landscape.We asked the children to identify the three habitats, and in cases they were not able to do so, we suggested the names of the habitats, as "forest", "lake" and "mountain area".
Intentionally, we chose the habitats so at least one of them would be familiar to most kindergarten children, the second one less familiar and so on.All kindergartens in this study were located nearby a forest or a park area and therefore we expected the forest habitat to be well known to the children.The freshwater lake was assumed to be known to them since most Norwegian kindergartens have the opportunity to visit this kind of habitat, but a trip often requires more planning to complete (time used, equipment needed, transportation to and from, staff safety certification, etc.).None of the kindergartens participating in this study was located nearby a mountain area, so it was assumed that this habitat was least familiar.
We then introduced (one at a time) pictures of 12 different animal species common to the fauna in the part of the country the kindergartens were located (see Table 1). .The children were asked to identify the animal by its common name as precise as possible.Four animal species presented are typically living in the forest habitat, four in fresh water and four belong to the mountain area.Animal and habitat photos were obtained from available internet sources.
The 12 species were chosen based on their probability of being observed in nature, so to obtain a gradient in identification skills.Some of them, like the squirrel and the ants, can be observed very easily in nearby nature.Others, such as the fox, are relatively easy to observe in Norway, but might avoid humans and/or require that the children visited nature at dawn.Some of the species might be encountered by most of the children only in books or television programs, such as, for example, the lemming and the newts.
We asked the children two closed questions, the first addressed whether the children were familiar with the animal presented.Then, we asked the children if they knew the common name of the animal.The animal species represented several taxa (see Table 1) and we did not expect that the children were familiar with all species We then asked the children to place the animal on the photo of the habitat they believed the animals inhabit, independently of wrong or correct species identification.
We decided to consider the answer fox as the correct answer for both arctic and red fox, the answer woodpecker as correct answer for great spotted woodpecker and beetle/water beetle as the correct answer for predacious diving beetle.Identifying the trout as a fish was not considered as correct answer since this freshwater species is the most abundant fish species in this part of the country.

Ethical considerations
The Norwegian Agency for Shared Services in Education and Research (SIKT) approved the study.The children's parents filled out a written participation form for each child.Participation was voluntary, and it could be discontinued at any time without providing any reason.After the link between data from different sources was established, we anonymized all data.Each data set (sound files included) was given an individual identification code in case the child and/or its parents wanted to withdraw from the project.During the interviews, we tried not to give the impression that the children gave a wrong answer.However, if the children asked for the name of an animal, we told them the correct name.

Statistical analysis
Data collected from interviews and questionaries' were quantified to fit standard statistical models to compare groups of answers (i.e. for comparison of correct identification of a species was given the value 1 and incorrect answer was given the score 0).Since children from the same kindergarten cannot be assumed to be independent from each other, non-parametric tests were chosen.To compare two groups (such as gender) we used a Mann-Whitney test, while a Kruskal-Wallis test was used to compare more than two groups such as species knowledge related to different habitats.The analysis was performed using the software Minitab 18 (Minitab Inc.).For 18 analyses the significance threshold was set at P < 0.05.A generalised linear model (GLM) with a Poisson error distribution was run using R 3.6.1 to test whether kindergarten profile, time spent in nature with kindergarten staff and parents, and time spent talking about nature with parents and kindergarten staff associated with the number of correctly identified animal species (Full model: species knowledge ~ time spent in nature with parents + time spent in nature with kindergarten + time spent conversing about nature with parents + time spent conversing about nature with kindergarten + Sex).

Species identification
On average, the preschoolers in this study identified four animal species by their common Norwegian name (average 4.3 ± 1.7, stdv.).The highest individual score was eight species correctly identified (two children), and the lowest score was zero correctly identified (one child).Boys recognised in average 4.6 ± 1.7 species and girls recognised on average 3.9 ± 1.7 species, although differences were not significant (P˃0.05).
Figure 1 shows that squirrel, forest ants and red fox were very well known among the children in this study, while great spotted woodpecker, beaver, predacious diving beetle, reindeer and arctic fox species achieved low to moderate identification rates.
The Newts, ptarmigan, brown trout and lemming turned out to be the least known species with identification rates lower than 10%.
The overall identification skills of forest animals were significantly higher than fresh water and mountain species (P˂0.05)(Figure 1).On average, each child identified three forest animals correctly, while the numbers for freshwater and mountain environment were 0.7 and 0.5, respectively.
When animals were incorrectly identified the answer, "I don't know what this is" was the most common answer.However, many of the preschoolers shared their thoughts about the animals and suggested what the animals looked like based on their own prior experiences and knowledge.In particular, the lemming and the newts were the species with most alternative identifications.
Only one child identified lemmings correctly, but several suggested that it looked like "a mouse", "a rat" or "a guinea pig".Only five preschoolers identified the newts correctly, but this was the species the highest diversity of alternative suggestions, such as; "an alligator", "a frog", "a lizard", "a toad", "a gecko" or even "a turtle".Several children told us that they had seen lizards on television or at the zoo and that it was able to change its colors in accordance with the background colors.
Only two children identified the rock ptarmigan by its common name, but several suggested that it looked like "a hen" or "a turkey".Thirteen children were familiar with the species reindeer, but this species was frequently identified as "a moose", while twelve children identified the arctic fox (often called "wolf", "snow wolf" or "polar bear").One child told that she had a book at home with pictures of reindeers, but she did not remember its name.
Time children spent in nature and time spent during conversation about nature with the parents or kindergarten staff did not seem to affect the species knowledge in the present study despite the fact that approximately 38% of parents and 4 out of 8 kindergartens answered that talk with children about nature often or very often.According to time spent outdoors in nature, 25% of parents answered that they spend time in nature with their children once every week or more.Five out of eight kindergartens went on nature excursions 2-3 times or more every We detected no significant correlation between kindergarten profile and mean species identification score.

Habitat identification
On average, the children placed 6.4 ± 1.9 animals in their correct habitat.The highest individual score was 11 species placed in their correct habitats (one child 11), while the lowest registered score was three correct habitats (three children).Boys placed in average 6.37 ± 1.96 species in their correct habitat and girls placed 6.46 ± 1.78 species correctly.Some children suggested that an animal could live in more than one of the present habitats, i.e. one child told us that beetles could live in both forest, freshwater and alpine habitats and another child claimed this is the case also for the red fox and ants.These suggestions were considered as correct answers.
The forest animals were among the species the children significantly (P˂0.05)placed in the correct habitat (Figure 2).The brown trout was the animal with most correct habitat suggestions (Figure 2) followed by the squirrel.
As many as 81.8% of the children placed the great spotted woodpecker in the forest despite only 34.5% identified it by its common name.Forest animals were the most often placed in the correct habitat (Figure 2).On average, each child was able to place three out of four forest animals in the correct habitat, which is rather similar to the number of species correctly identified by name.Some animal species were more frequently placed in their correct habitat even when their common names were unknown to the children.Specially, this was true for the brown trout, the arctic fox, and the rock ptarmigan.When an animal species was unknown to a child, picture characteristics were often used by the child to figure up to correct habitat.Nearly half of the children claimed that the beaver lives in the freshwater habitat even though nearly one-third identified it by its common name.The picture used showed a beaver with wet fur which was observed by several children; "it is wet and therefore it lives in the water".Some children used the same reasoning when identifying the habitat of the predacious diving beetle since it was possible to see that the picture was taken under water.
We found no significant association between kindergarten profiles and mean habitat identification score.There was no correlation between time spent in nature or in conversation with kindergarten staff or parents and correct habitat identification.

Species and habitat knowledge
Table 2 shows that the majority of the children identified both the common name and the habitat correctly for the three species with a high identification rates; squirrel, red fox and forest ants although a significant amount children recognised the common name only for the red fox and the forest ants.

Species and habitat knowledge
On average, kindergarten children identified four out of twelve animals introduced in the presented study.Boys' species knowledge was slightly higher than girls.Gender gaps in species knowledge among children and adults have also been uncovered in several previous studies, without consistent results.Some studies have reported greater knowledge among males (Huxham et al., 2006;Peterson et al., 2008Peterson et al., , 2017) ) and others reporting the opposite (Jimenez & Lindemann-Matthies, 2015;Killermann, 1998;Schlegel & Rupf, 2010) or no significant differences at all (Mohneke et al., 2016).
Four species may seem like a low result and may imply that there is a low baseline level of knowledge in kindergarten children.Several studies have expressed concern about children's poor knowledge of common species (Bebbington, 2005;Hooykaas et al., 2019;Kaasinen, 2019;Randler & Wieland, 2010).
On the other hand, children's species identification in the present study turned out to be significantly higher for animals living in the forest habitat.Based on the location of the kindergartens and the children's homes, we assumed that the children participating in our study spend more time in the forest, being more familiar with the forest habitats than freshwater and mountain environments.Direct observations of species are considered an effective strategy to foster school pupils' identification skills (Hooykaas et al., 2019;Palmberg et al., 2019) and children who often play in nature have a higher chance to encounter animals than children who do not.Our results seem to coincide with a study in German kindergartens, which showed that species that the children can easily encounter were better known (Mohneke et al., 2016).Personal experiences and first hand encounters of children are vital as they construct their knowledge of species (Almeida et al., 2020;Patrick et al., 2013) and outdoor experiences with nature are important sources for learning (Tunnicliffe & Reiss, 1999).Differences in animal and plant species present in landscape drawings by Finnish and Russian children (7-13 years old) were related to earlier everyday experiences and observations (Eloranta & Yil-Panula, 2005), and a recent study including Portuguese and Spanish children (average age 11 years old) suggested that living in rural areas resulted in better knowledge about native animal species living on the Iberian Peninsula then living in urban regions (Almeida et al., 2020).It is therefore plausible that the children participating in our study possess higher knowledge about the forest habitat due to nature in their geographical region of the country.The fact that kindergarten children also managed to locate three out of four forest animals in their correct habitat supports this hypothesis.
All kindergartens in the present study were located close to a forest or a park area, and were close to surrounding residential areas where the children live with their families.A freshwater habitat is often available in a manageable distance from most Norwegian kindergartens, but excursions require more resources and planning, such as equipment and transportation, and employees must have attended a lifesaving course.The travelling distance to the nearest mountain area usually too long for single day excursions.A study including German kindergarten children showed that vertebrate species identification skills were higher for animal species more common in or near urban areas such as squirrel, hedgehog, mole and bat (Randler & Wieland, 2010), while typically forest species such as robin, blackbird and tawny owl were less known.Our study did not distinguish between kindergartens location.Therefore, a complete comparison between the study of Randler and Wieland (2010) and our study is not possible.Interestingly, both studies included a few species in common, such as the squirrel, which was the animal identified by most children in both studies.Both studies also showed that the woodpecker was identified at moderate levels and newts was among the less known animals.
The preschoolers showed a deeper ecological knowledge beyond species knowledge by placing in average more than three forest species in their correct habitat.This has been questioned since children were introduced to three-optional answers, which might open up for guessing.On the other hand, it was obvious that some children used previous experiences when they identified an animal's habitat; for example, the picture showing a beaver with wet fur led often led to the conclusion that the beaver live in the freshwater habitat (regardless of the child's knowledge of its common name).
The findings in the present study raise the question whether resdearchers studying species knowledge among kindergarten children should focus on species living in nearby nature rather than focusing on a wider range of animal species from several habitats.Knowledge about local species may raise the interest in children's surroundings, encouraging exploration and generate connection with nature, and it seems that early positive experience with animals at an early age may have a long lasting impact on future decisions about nature and conservation (Bjerke et al., 2001).A study by Cheng and Monroe (2012) detected a significant correlation between children's connection to nature and nature near their homes and it is not unlikely that this includes higher species knowledge in nearby nature areas compared to other nature types.
In the study by Randler and Wieland (2010), the authors concluded that the species most known by the children were usually depicted in children's literature, i.e. frogs and ducks (Randler & Wieland, 2010).Reading literature such as fairy tales and children's books in childhood might help remembering names on animals (Eloranta & Yil-Panula, 2005;He, 2009).Among the species used in the present study, especially the red fox and the squirrel often appear in Norwegian children's books and songs.During the present study, we did not survey literature about nature available in each kindergarten or at children's homes.However, in an on-going project kindergartens state that they bring field manuals and digital applications (on smart phone and tablets) for species identification when they spend time in nature with the oldest children,and to a lesser extent use children's literature about animals.Field manuals usually cover a number of species from larger regions and when in use, it is not unlikely that the use of such manuals for species identification have contributed to children's ability to identify animal species.
Studies about young children's knowledge about animals have shown that they prefer higherorder species to invertebrates (Borgi & Cirulli, 2015) and that they are more aware of mammals compared to other taxa (Patrick et al., 2013).In the present study, we did not ask the children about their preferences, but the findings do not indicate a pattern towards that preferred taxa, affected the ability to identify the sample of animals.
When children were not able to identify an animal, it was obvious that they used previous experience to describe the animal or to suggest a name.In particular, the newts and the lemming were subject to several suggestions-often connected to species not found in the Norwegian fauna (i.e.alligator, turkey and gecko).Unfortunately, the questionnaires given to parents and kindergarten staff during the present study did not include questions related to other sources for experience with nature available to the children, such as books about animals, television programs or computer games about nature.Previous studies have shown that students and young children often show interest for exotic animals (Gayford, 2000;Tunnicliffe et al., 2008) and implies that children are learning more about exotic species than about wildlife in their own neighborhoods.A study, including older children (11-15 years old) included an inspection of children's books covering ranges from 1 to 10 years old concluded that most of the books included exotic species (Genovart et al., 2013).In a study performed in Chile results show that the native biodiversity and wild landscapes represented in children's books were limited (Celis-Diez et al., 2016).

Species knowledge and time spent together with adults
The present study did not show statistically significant differences in children's species identification skills and habitat knowledge between farm and eco-certified kindergartens.These findings are comparable with a previous study on kindergartens and education for sustainability (Borg et al., 2017).
Neither time children spend in nature with parents and kindergarten staff, nor time spent in conversation about nature with significantly affected the levels of species knowledge.A recent study indicated a positive relationship between kindergarten children's declarative and functional knowledge of sustainability issues and the involvement of teachers and guardians in sustainabilityrelated discussions and activities (Borg et al., 2017).On the other hand, school education and number of excursions into nature had no significant influence on school pupil's species knowledge (Gerl et al., 2021;Jaun-Holderegger et al., 2022).
The Norwegian Framework Plan for the content and tasks of a kindergarten (Directorate for Education and Training, 2017) is a starting point for local planning and implementation and allow for individual interpretations by the staff in the various kindergartens.This means that time spent in nature does not necessarily differ between kindergartens with different profiles.A study including 77 Norwegian kindergartens teachers showed that almost 90% of respondents claimed that "nature and outdoor activities" is an important topic on an average day and more than 80% stated that they in daily outdoors activities focus on animal species (Sageidet, 2016).This is consistent with the findings that Norwegian and Finnish early childhood student teachers argued that species knowledge is important for fostering children's curiosity, increasing their understanding of nature and strengthening their relationship with nature (Skarstein & Skarstein, 2020;Wolff & Skarstein, 2020).It is therefore not surprising that no kindergartens in the present study used the options "never" and "seldom" when time spent talking with children about nature in the questionnaire.Unfortunately, we did not examine the kindergarten teachers and parents levels of species knowledge in our study and it is therefore not possible to compare children's knowledge with the adults.However, the adults accompanying the children should possess both the knowledge and skills to facilitate the diverse learning possibilities that exist in nature (Skarstein & Skarstein, 2020) including species knowledge.Research have shown positive relation between parents' and children's familiarity with species (Jaun-Holderegger et al., 2022;Remmele & Lindemann-Matthies, 2018), and active care for the environment in adulthood is frequently associated with the positive experiences of nature in childhood or adolescence, along with childhood role models who give the nature appreciative attention (Chawla, 2007).
It is reasonable to believe that time spent in nature or in conversation about nature with adults is less important for children's knowledge about local nature than animal observations.Observations of animals in nature are spontaneous situation and it requires silence and a confirmation as the name of the animal rather than several conversations or excursions.Still, species observations need a mediator who brings the knowledge to the children.Three of the four forest animals used in the present study are easy to observe, the red forest ants are often present in large numbers on the forest floor and they are not able to escape when humans are approaching.The squirrel and the woodpecker live in trees above ground level and can easily keep distance within sight of a large group of children is present in the area.The findings in the present study raise the question whether researchers studying children's species knowledge among kindergarten children, should focus on species living in nearby nature or focus on a wider range of animal species from several habitats.Knowledge about local species may raise the interest in children's surroundings, encouraging exploration and generate connection with nature, and it seems that early positive experience with animals at an early age may have a long lasting impact on future decisions about nature and conservation (Bjerke et al., 2001).

Limitations of the study
The study was a part of a more comprehensive pilot project dealing with several aspects of sustainability (Bjørgen et al., 2022;Melis et al., 2020Melis et al., , 2020)).Therefore, the scope was limited to twelve animal species from different taxa living in three different habitats.We cannot exclude that some of the children with a very low identification score could identify more species but were afraid of providing a wrong answer, although we tried to not give them the impression that we expected them to be able to identify the pictures.
Another limitation in our study is that we have a relatively small number of animal species and habitats used in the interviews.Moreover, some pictures made it possible to guess the habitats (i.e.pictures showing wet fur or being taken below the water surface).Future research should include kindergartens located nearby different nature types to survey the suggested context between species knowledge and the nature of areas used for outdoor activities.Moreover, the questionnaires should collect more detailed background data and information about species knowledge of both parents and kindergarten staff and other sources of children's of knowledge about nature, such as tv-programs, games and literature.

Conclusions
The present study showed that by the time children participating in this study completed kindergarten, their overall species and habitat knowledge of the Norwegian fauna was limited to very common species inhabiting forested habitats.Nor time spent in conversation about nature, or time spent in nature, with kindergarten staff and parents seemed to affect this knowledge.We cannot exclude the importance of knowledgeable adults during nature observations since most children spend a fair amount of time with adults exploring nature, both with parents and kindergarten staff.However, the children seem to possess experience with local animals at an early age, which is considered the first step in caring for nature and in future might affect their decisions about nature and conservation.
Our understanding about the sources of kindergarten children's species and habitat knowledge remains limited.We need further studies identifying factors influencing children's knowledge about living species.For example, by including, higher number of children, higher samples of species and using kindergartens with different geographical locations.Moreover, the questionnaires should be more comprehensive and aim for more detailed background data and information about sources of species knowledge such as books, television programs or available computer games from both children, their parents and the kindergarten staff.

Figure
Figure 1. A. Correct identifications of each animal species (in %).Total number of children: N= 55.B. Average species identification by habitat (no. of species).* -significantly from the other values.Stdv.error bars.

Figure
Figure 2. A. Correct identifications of habitats (in %).Total number of children: N= 55.B. Average correct habitat identification by habitat (no.Of species).* -significantly from the other values.Stdv.error bars.