Research reveals that outdoor recreation and other green environments improve quality of life, promote environmental stewardship and enhance community well-being. However, there are important research and educational gaps in the understanding the extent of and means by which these outcomes occur. Similar voids exist in knowledge of the factors that motivate, constrain, and sustain outdoor recreation activity among various population groups. Furthermore, the role of outdoor recreation, parks and other green environments need to be studied in the context of the socio-ecological systems in which they are embedded. Equally as important, implications of existing research have not permeated the policy arena, community planning or professional training programs.


Quality of life is highly dependent on good health, yet Americans are less physically active today than in the past, a trend that is related to the obesity epidemic. In a 2009 literature review, Godbey found that only a quarter of adults in the United States engaged in recommended physical activity levels and 29% reported no regular physical activity during leisure time. Only half of those aged 12-21 said they regularly participated in vigorous physical activity, and 25% reported no vigorous physical activity at all. The challenge is particularly acute among US youth as one third of US children are overweight and one sixth are obese (Accessed May 14, 2012 from http://prevention.nih.gov/healthtopic_obesity.aspx). Obese children have 2-3 times more risk of being hospitalized. Recent scientific research suggests that the mere act of being outdoors can lead to healthier, active lifestyles for people of all ages. Being outdoors decreases the health effects of pollution from indoor spaces, reduces the chance of overeating, increases physical activity and lowers stress. Studies document that physical activity increases among families that have access to parks, trails and other green environments (e.g., Sallis & Bauman, 1998; Sallis, Hovell, & Hofstetter, 1990, Giles-Corti et al., 2005).


Intuitively, increased outdoor recreation and contact with nature improves environmental literacy. Conversely, a widespread assumption is that contact with nature, particularly among youth, is declining and, in turn causing environmental literacy to decline. While some research exists to support this supposition, the results are scarce, contradictory and mostly correlational. Nonetheless, governments are committing hundreds of millions of dollars in appropriated funds as if the assumption of a cause-effect relationship between outdoor recreation and environmental literacy was supported by empirical evidence. There are few guidelines directing the expenditure of these funds into nature-based recreational programs and infrastructure that bolster environmental literacy, particularly among youth. Early childhood experiences with nature are associated with environmental awareness, advocacy and entry of young people into natural resource careers. If contact between youth and nature is on the decline, it is important to know the consequences related to concern for the environment at a time when global climate change is impacting human systems. A rising research area is focusing attention on the interrelationships among environmental education, environmental conditions, environmental literacy and citizen science group dynamics. One aim of this emerging research effort is the development of effective climate change policies and environmentally responsible behaviors.


Beyond improved individual health and increased environmental literacy, outdoor recreation spaces contribute to community vibrancy and resilience. Natural amenities promote vibrant communities by attracting visitors, new residents and businesses, as natural amenities are correlated with population growth, augmented property values and increased economic prosperity in these communities (Crompton, 2000; Wainger & Price, 2004; Crompton, 2007). The resilience of human communities is linked to the health of ecological systems. Population growth and adverse environmental impacts can affect the qualities (i.e., natural amenities) that attracted new residents and businesses. Understanding of the role of outdoor recreation, parks and other green spaces in developing and sustaining vibrant and resilient communities is still in its nascent stages.


According to the United Nations population division, Homo sapiens became an urban species in 2008. By 2030, around 70% of humans will live in urban settings, most of which are becoming less influenced by natural features and increasingly marked by human objects and human-made climate. Little is known about the negative consequences associated with diminished contact with nature. Even less is known about the mechanisms by which positive effects occur. The purpose of this Multi-State project is to augment understanding of the extent and means by which outdoor recreation, parks and other green environments connect individuals to nature and lead to healthier people, natural resources, and communities.


Importance of the Work.

This research will lead to improved understanding of the links between parks and green spaces, outdoor recreation, health, environmental literacy and community vitality. Knowledge from this research will provide the basis for evidence-based practices and policies at national, state and local levels. Such policies will result in lower healthcare costs by providing preventative methods and infrastructure. A 2012 study released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) projects that the proportion of Americans who are obese will rise from 35% to 42% by 2030, resulting in $550 billion in obesity-related health care costs. According to CDC studies, childhood obesity, also on the rise, is strongly related to adult obesity. One of CDC's recommended remedies is to improve access to parks and playgrounds. An outcome of the proposed research is decreased national health care costs related to obesity and allied illnesses. Further, promoting active and healthy lifestyles among children will improve future generations' quality of life. Studies show that children who spend time outdoors are more physically active than their indoor counterparts, but little research addresses children's outdoor play time as it relates specifically to health outcomes and environmental literacy. This project will attempt to fill the research void by examining the extent to which diminished contact with nature contributes to increases in childhood obesity and allied illnesses, and decreases in environmental literacy.


Quality of life will also be promoted from this research by enabling professionals to design outdoor recreation opportunities where green infrastructure serves to not only retain and sustain ecosystems but also provides ecological services upon which human health is dependent. Furthermore, green infrastructure promotes vibrant and resilient communities by attracting young families and tourism businesses. Third, advancing new, participatory approaches to environmental literacy will meet the long-term goal of public adoption of behaviors that will help address environmental challenges, such as climate change. Increasing environmental literacy will also increase citizens' and policy makers' ability to make responsible informed decisions about the environmental future.


Executive Order in 2002 (Exec. Order No. 13266) mandated land management agencies to promote the use of outdoor recreation areas for improved health. Since then, federal land management agencies have moved forward in a variety of ways to address health issues. For example, the National Park Service established a Health and Wellness Steering Committee to explore the role of national parks in promoting health and implement health-related initiatives (US Department of Interior, National Park Service, 2010.); the USDA Forest Service has estimated the caloric expenditures of recreation activities on Forest Service lands (Kline, Rosenberger & White, 2011). The role of outdoor recreation for a healthier US is recognized as an important study area in the most recent Outdoor Recreation Research and Education strategic plan (USDA CSREES, 2007). More generically, this project addresses a McIntire-Stennis strategic plan (NAUFRP, 2010) priority to understand human behavior and attitudes related to natural resources.


By integrating extension specialists and field educators, the project will guide the next generation of park planners and recreation practitioners via curricular changes and enhancements, trained undergraduate and graduate students, and practitioner outreach.


Technical Feasibility of the Research.

There is a cadre of qualified researchers at land-grant institutions, other public and private institutions, federal agencies, state agencies, and nongovernmental organizations contributing to research efforts related to the scope of this project. There are few technical limitations in outdoor recreation research. Advanced study designs utilizing such systems and procedures as GIS, photo elicitation, psychometric scaling, modeling, behavioral and physiological monitoring devices, cognitive concentration tests, experimental designs and qualitative and mixed methods techniques are being employed. The challenge and opportunity is coordinating across states and projects to effectively share projects, methods and results to achieve the intended outcomes and impacts. Standardization of methods, assessing reliability across populations and strong leadership will enhance success project outcomes. Coordinated research that establishes common metrics will enable replication and expand the generalizability, thereby advancing recreational research and creating synergies not yet realized.


Value of a Multi-State Approach.

A Multi-State effort, will allow (a) the assessment of many more settings, which will reveal patterns in outdoor physical activity, literacy and community resilience according to geographic region, place characteristics and demographic groupings, (b) replication in different environments to assess the robustness of results, (c) establishment of baseline data for the tracking of trends, (d) multidisciplinary research, including the fields of health, public health, nutrition and geography and (e) understanding of the extent to which outcomes generalize to broad classes of mechanisms and experiences.


A Multi-State initiative will allow assessment of many more physical activities and outdoor recreation areas at a wider geographic scope (local, state and national) than could be obtained by an investigator in one state. The utility of the research is directly proportional to the number of observations, and since much outdoor recreation activity is concentrated in the warmer months, the number of observations that can be made by any one research team is limited. To illustrate, if each participating college or university investigates three outdoor play environments for level of activity, there may be as many as 60-70 samples to assess. Also, a Multi-State effort will foster the study of more types of possible mechanisms (immune system functioning, physical activity, etc.) by which contact with nature impacts human health.


Research on the relationships between environmental education, childhood and adult experiences with nature and environmental literacy has been largely sporadic and piecemeal. There has been no coordinated effort directed at refuting or substantiating causal connections. As environmental education efforts, requirements and integration with learning standards vary between states, a Multi-State project will allow assessment of environmental literacy that can determine causal links between contact with nature, environmental literacy, and pro-environmental behaviors. Cross comparison between states will help in identifying critical exposure time frames, optimal contact settings, and the most fundamental environmental knowledge. A coordinated effort will also enable replication across environmental settings to assess the robustness of environmental literacy determinants, as well as the long-term implications of nature contact and environmental literacy.


Given the multiple recreation-related indicators of community vibrancy and resilience, there is a need for a coordinated effort to solidify the role of parks and other green spaces on community-level outcomes. In other words, a Multi-State effort would enable more quantitative assessments to identify the influences that park and recreation services have on promoting community vibrancy and resilience. To complete such a complex task, a coordinated effort is needed to develop, refine and employ instruments that can consistently measure the role of parks, green space, and recreation services on community vibrancy and resilience. Once key measures of community vibrancy and resilience are determined, a Multi-State project will further enable replication to determine the robustness of the measures.


This research will be coupled with extension efforts in each state that will disseminate results to recreation, health, educational and community professionals through workshops, presentations, and publications. Results will be widely disseminated through synthesis articles, centers and institutes, land grant outlets at colleges and universities, professional organizations (NRPA, SAF, IANSR, etc.), and Cooperative Extension. A coordinated approach will facilitate the incorporation of extension efforts during research design, data collection and generation, and interpretation of results. This will facilitate the practical application of the Multi-State effort.


Expected Impacts.

We expect this work to lead to improvements in the health of Americans, which will in turn decrease national health care costs due to the prevention of illnesses known to be associated with obesity, lack of physical activity and diminished contacts with nature. Promoting active and healthy lifestyles and environmental literacy among youth will improve future generations' quality of life. Quality of life will also be promoted from this research by supporting vibrant and resilient communities, in which outdoor recreation opportunities and green infrastructure serve not only to protect and sustain ecosystems but also to provide ecological, economic, social, physical and psychological services upon which human health depends. We expect this work to have broad positive effects on human, community and ecological health.