Investigating the Impact of Zoos on the Ecological Identity of Citizens

The present study is an analytical documentary that seeks to answer the question "What is the impact of the zoo on the ecological identity of citizens?". In this regard, after providing a clear explanation of the basic theoretical foundations of research, it was tried to explain the impact of environmental education on the ecological identity of citizens, by clearifing the functions of zoos; as a piece of nature cake; in urban spaces. The purpose of this paper was to make a discourse on the functions of zoos, especially in offering environmental education, with an emphasis on the protection of biodiversity as a prerequisite for the development of citizens' ecological identity and motivate citizens to participate in environmental management and planning processes in cities. The results of the present study suggest that environmental education based on lived-experiences in the zoos can play a constructive role in the development of citizens' ecological identity by combining direct and indirect experience methods. In this regard, audience recognition is very important. Therefore, during the research, the audience was divided into four categories: "Children", "Youth", "Adults" and "Elderly, Disabled and Sick" and the requirements of each were discussed in detail. At the end, suggestions were made.