NE1962_OLD: Outdoor Recreation, Parks and Other Green Environments: Understanding Human and Community Benefits and Mechanisms

(Multistate Research Project)

Status: Inactive/Terminating

Project Menu

SAES-422 Reports

Annual/Termination Reports:

[04/29/2013] [04/02/2015] [04/02/2015] [03/31/2016] [03/23/2017]

Date of Annual Report: 04/29/2013

Report Information

Annual Meeting Dates: 04/06/2013 - 04/07/2013
Period the Report Covers: 09/01/2012 - 04/01/2013

Participants

Vogt, Christine - Michigan State University; Seekamp, Erin - North Carolina State University; Propst, Dennis - Michigan State University; Barbieri, Carla - North Carolina State University; Bricker, Kelly - University of Utah; Kerstetter, Deb - Penn State University; Fix, Peter - University of Alaska Fairbanks; Amsden, Ben - Plymouth State University; Siemer, William - Cornell University; Nelson, Charles - Michigan State University; Klenosky, David - Purdue University; Kuehn, Diane - SUNY ESF; Ingrid Schneider - University of Minnesota; Lekies, Kristi - Ohio State University; Edwards, Michael - Texas A&M University; Trautvein, Nate - University of New Hampshire; Schneider, Paige - East Carolina University; Dann, Sherri - Michigan State University; Wilhem Stanis, Sonja - University of Missouri

Brief Summary of Minutes

This was the first NE1962 Multistate Project annual meeting. As such, the project's advisor, Fred Servello (University of Maine), described the nature and structure of the NIFA Multistate Project endeavor. An brief history of the project's origination was presented by Dennis Propst (Michigan State University). The chair, Christine Vogt (Michigan State University), provided an overview of the goals of the annual meeting and the outcomes for Year 1 of the project. The chair-elect, Erin Seekamp (North Carolina State University), provided a summary of the three project objectives and the key variables of interests, suggested types of research designs, and strategies for achieving each objective. The remainder of the meeting was set aside for breakout sessions to identify common research areas, research funding opportunities, and strategies for engaging in collaborative, multistate research. The meeting concluded with the project's advisor describing some of the administrative components of a Multistate project and elections for next year's chair-elect (Ben Amsden, Plymouth State University), and next year's annual meeting location and month (Washington DC, January 2014).

Minutes Attachment:

Attachment

Accomplishments

Publications

Impact Statements

Date of Annual Report: 04/02/2015

Report Information

Annual Meeting Dates: 01/30/2014 - 01/31/2014
Period the Report Covers: 10/01/2012 - 09/01/2013

Participants

Amsden, Ben - Plymouth State University; Anderson, Dorothy - North Carolina State University; Barbieri, Carla - North Carolina State University; Bocarro, Jason - North Carolina State University; Chapple, Reginald -U.S. Department of the Interior - National Park Service; Chase, Lisa - University of Vermont; De Urioste-Stone, Sandra - University of Maine; Decker, Daniel - Cornell University; Edwards, Michael - AgriLife Research; Fix, Peter J - University of Alaska Fairbanks; Floyd, Myron - North Carolina State University; Harrolle, Michelle - North Carolina State University; Hipp, James - Washington University in St. Louis; Jordan, Rebecca Rutgers University; Kaczynski, Andrew - University of South Carolina; Klenosky, David B - Purdue University; Lekies, Kristi - Ohio Cooperative Extension; Leung, Yu-Fai; North Carolina State University; Morse, Wayde - Auburn University; Qian, Xinyi - University of Minnesota; Rakow, Donald - Cornell University; Reiter, Douglas - Utah Cooperative Extension; Roemmich, James - USDA-ARS/ND; Schneider, Ingrid - University of Minnesota; Schuett, Michael - Texas AgriLife Research; Seekamp, Erin - North Carolina State University; Seguin, Rebecca - Cornell University; Siemer, William - Cornell University; Tidball, Keith Cornell University; Vogt, Christine - Michigan State University; Wilhelm Stanis, Sonja - University of Missouri - Columbia

Brief Summary of Minutes

Brief Summary of Minutes of Annual Meeting

January 30, 2014: Meeting called to order approx. 9:10. E. Seekamp welcomed group and gave overview of agenda. After introductions from participants, Leaders from each working group (Community Vibrancy and Resilience, Environmental Literacy, and Health) provided brief overview of recent events and distributed “Objectives, Opportunities, and Outlook” (available upon request) Brief discussion ensued.

F. Servello provided overview of Hatch Act funding, and discussed strategies for securing travel funding through Extension, departments, etc. E. Nyland discussed NIFA and areas of relevance to NE1962. Q+A ensued. Breakout sessions then organized for each working group.

Discussion commenced with agency Representatives. T. Smith (NRPA) described the Proragis Database – operations management data with 3000 members providing opportunities for surveys and benchmark data. D. Berrigan (National Cancer Institute) discussed risk factors of diet, obesity. D. McGranahan (ERS) gave overview of ERS/ARS, and described overall condition of rural areas. T. Fish (NPS) gave an overview of his organization and described the CESU (Cooperative Ecosystem Services Unit). M. Ivy (FERC) described how organization can be partner for outdoor recreation. P. Gobster / D. English (USFS Northern Research Station) discussed land management, the relationship between monitoring and research, and the National Recreation Strategy. M. Walls (Resources for the Future) described think-tank research. W. Chang (US Army Corps of Engineers) described agency’s role in recreation, and role in national economic development. Breakout sessions were organized for each working group, and agency representatives rotated through working groups.

January 31, 2014: Meeting called to order approx. 8:15 by E. Seekamp, and began with updates from three work group areas.

General discussion with B. Ratcliffe and others, focusing on project alignment in areas of Human Dimensions of Natural Resources, changing visitation patters across parks and forests, strategies for sharing of various projects/findings, facilitating partnerships between research and funders in the private sector. Breakout sessions were organized for each working group. Group discussion of next steps / action items, group logistics, and future meetings. Annual Meeting adjourned.

Accomplishments

Objective 1: Demonstrate and expand the evidence for the role of park and outdoor recreation services in promoting physical activity and associated preventative health benefits, particularly among youth, as well as constraints to this activity. Proposal developed to study the importance of human-nature interactions n outdoor recreation and restoration activities among returning war veterans, especially women and those disabled in combat, to account for how these interactions relate to individual, community, and social-ecological resilience. (K. Tidball). Focus group and survey methodology is in development for a study assessing health and social outcomes to residents of Fairbanks that result from recreation taking place in the Fairbanks North Star Borough. An additional goal of this research is to understand barriers to participation among those not currently using public facilities and engage the business community to identify ways in which they can better facilitate recreation. (P. Fix) Seven visitor counters were installed to provide an accurate estimate of visitors to the Florida National Scenic Trail (FNST), develop profiles on the diversity of visitors to the FNST, and provide the US Forest Service and managing agencies suggestions on appropriate management strategies that integrates FNST visitors with resource management goals. (T. Stein) Objective 2: Demonstrate and expand the evidence for the role of park and outdoor recreation services in promoting environmental literacy among youth, and document the long-term influences of early lifespan connections with nature. Data collected to investigate student use of campus spaces to explore the perceived effects of campus space experiences on students’ environmental sensitivity, their health and well being, and their academic learning. (K. Scholl) A research presentation, published article, undergraduate honors thesis, and master's thesis were all accomplishments of a research project designed to obtain greater understanding of the linkages between childhood experiences in nature and environmental attitudes and behaviors in later life, particularly young adulthood. (K. Lekies) A survey was developed to obtain greater understanding of the opportunities that childcare centers in Ohio provide to preschool-age children to learn about and interact with nature (i.e., outdoor settings, soil, plants, and animals), as well as barriers to outdoor play. (K. Lekies) Key members identified to participate in a collaborative of youth-serving organizations to promote North Country (NH) youth engagement in outdoor activities. (J. Seaman & E. Sharp) Over 250 6th and 7th grade students participated in multi-day outdoor science learning projects in the Hogtown Creek Watershed (Gainsville, FL). This project improved students’ enthusiasm and motivation to participate in outdoor recreation in their local environment. (T. Stein) Objective 3: Demonstrate and expand the evidence for the role of park and outdoor recreation services in promoting community vibrancy and resilience. Surveys of visitors and volunteers to two state parks in Central New York were completed to identify the factors that encourage the participation of these individuals in stewardship programs (a pro-environmental behavior) in the two parks. (D. Kuehn) Data is currently being collected at 15 state parks to document the contribution of state parks to local economies (sales, employment and household income) in relation to state investments (operating budgets). (E. Seekamp) Data collection is underway to investigate the criteria birders use when making travel-related decisions. The data generated and collected from this study will be used in the redesign of a NC Cooperative Extension Service training program for rural entrepreneurs to market and cater to birders. (E. Seekamp) Project developed to estimate the economic impact of bicycling in Minnesota, including bicycling industry, events, and the economic value of the health benefits associated with bike commuting. The project will also systematically estimate the bicycling infrastructure in Minnesota, while understanding the health effects of bike commuting. (Q. Xian)

Publications

None during the reporting period

Impact Statements

Increased awareness of the NE1962 effort to coordinate research and extension efforts beyond the university walls
Engagement of agency and organization representatives in discussions related to leveraging funding and/or data sources to support our objectives
Increased participation rates in active outdoor recreation, particularly among youth
Promotion of healthy lifestyle choices in school-based recreation programs
Citizen engagement with natural resources, including participation in environmental education, interpretation and conservation stewardship programs
Citizens engage in proximate nature based recreation opportunities
Public awareness of active recreation opportunities and relationships to personal health
Increased public awareness of environmental and ecosystem processes
Awareness among community leaders and entrepreneurs of the role of park and outdoor recreation services in promoting community vibrancy and resilience
Increased understanding of the ecological, economic and social contributions of recreation to community vibrancy and resilience
Increased understanding of outdoor recreations role in larger socio-ecological systems in terms its contribution to human health, environmental literacy and community vibrancy and resilience
Inclusive and tailored recreation opportunities for a diverse public
Scientific capacity to address contemporary problems by applying and revising state-of-the-art knowledge

Date of Annual Report: 04/02/2015

Report Information

Annual Meeting Dates: 01/29/2015 - 01/30/2015
Period the Report Covers: 10/01/2013 - 09/01/2014

Participants

De Urioste-Stone, Sandra (sandra.de@maine.edu) - University of Maine;
Edwards, Michael (mbedwards@ncsu.edu) - AgriLife Research;
Fix, Peter (pjfix@alaska.edu) - University of Alaska Fairbanks;
Lekies, Kristi (lekies.1@osu.edu) – The Ohio State University;
Schneider, Ingrid (ingridss@umn.edu) - University of Minnesota;
Scholl, Kathleen (Kathleen.scholl@uni.edu) – University of Northern Iowa;
Seekamp, Erin - North Carolina State University;
Servelo, Fred (fred.servello@maine.edu) – University of Maine;
Siemer, William (wfs1@cornell.edu) - Cornell Unversity;
Stein, Taylor (tstein@ufl.edu) – University of Florida;
Vogt, Christine (vogtc@msu.edu) - Michigan State University;

Brief Summary of Minutes

Thursday, January 29

Agency guests in attendance: Thursday: Dorothy Morgan, Bureau of Land Management; Friday: Eric Norlund, USDA-NIFA; Travis Smith, National Recreation and Park Association; Bob Ratcliffe, National Park Service; Stephanie Tepperberg, National Park Service; Jennifer Stein, National Park Service; Dorothy Morgan, Bureau of Land Management; David Berrigan, National Cancer Institute

I. General Business

Participants discussed the need to complete an annual report. We reviewed the list of people on the NE 1962 project list and discussed if people who have been inactive should come off of the list. Fred later reported that there are complications with removing people from the list. We decided to send people the minutes, let them know the current status of activities, encourage their participation, and see what their current level of interest is. If their name is on the project, we will need to get a report from them for reporting purposes. New people can still join the project.

Travel to multistate projects was discussed. Funding for travel is discretionary and up to each institution. Fred suggested providing a meeting agenda to chairs and directors when funding is requested and to talk with them further about the meeting.
We are currently in project year 3. Ideally, we should start a new pre-proposal for 2017 (after Year 5 ends) at the end of 2016. March 2017 should be the very latest for writing to start the cycle. What we propose can be similar to the current project. Submitting a pre-proposal should be on the 2016 meeting agenda.
Christine had a 2007 CREES report and wanted to know the history of this report. Erin indicated it was used in the planning for the NE 1962 project. Ingrid suggested a one-page history be put together for project continuity and institutional knowledge. Fred provided some background information. Chris asked if we could use any previous work in discussions with federal agencies about shaping future work.

II. Group Updates

A. Health and Physical Activity: The group has stayed networked and has had several conference calls throughout the year. The ideas developed at the Cooperstown meeting have been discussed further with the National Park Service in 2014. Some collaborations have occurred between people from different states. Chris Vogt, Ingrid Schneider, and Kathy Scholl reported on recent grant applications and research. Additionally, the CDC awarded a grant to NC State to conduct a literature review related to outdoor activity and examine measurement of health indicators and outcomes. It is currently in draft form.

B. Environmental Literacy: Several members of the group met at the Northeast Recreation Research Conference in 2014. Kristi Lekies and Diane Kuehn have an interest in socialization into outdoor recreation. Taylor Stein reported on a Gainesville, Florida project that was started in 2013 using a grant from the USDA Forest Service “More Kids in the Woods” initiative (program grants are awarded to encourage hands-on, nature-based learning and outdoor recreation). The Florida project provides outdoor learning experiences to 6th grade students with the intent of making students more aware of and connected to their local environment, exposing them to careers in science and natural resources, and proving opportunities for students to meet program volunteers who have careers in science and natural resource management. Taylor and a graduate student at UF (Danielle Findlay) have been studying potential changes in attitudes toward nature as a result of the project.

C. Community Resilience: Bill Siemer, Erin Seekamp, and Sondra De Urioste reported on several projects they have been working on related to community resiliency, climate change, and tourism dependent communities. Bill also reported on Keith Tidball’s (Cornell University) work on Wounded Warriors and disaster affected areas and resilience.

III. Breakout session for working groups to meet

IV. Bureau of Land Management.

Dorothy Morgan, Outdoor Recreation Planner, Bureau of Land Management, introduced herself and discussed the work of the BLM. She has been working with Peter Fix.

V. Participant presentations

A. Peter Fix: Applying a Community-Based Approach to Recreation Planning – Study of recreation in interior Alaska

B. Bill Siemer: Revealing the Potential of National Wildlife Refuges to Foster Conservation Recreation and Resilience in Local Communities – Study in New York State

C. Chris Vogt: Health and Recreation Working Group Overview

VI. Discussion

Discussion included topics of aging and accessibility to parks, youth, treatment/control groups, the iCook program, health measurements, motivations for outdoor recreation, and changing recreational habits.

VII. Group Planning

Health and Physical Activity: Discussed agenda for upcoming meeting with the National Park Service

Environmental Literacy: Continued discussion on ways to work together

Community Resilience: Goals for the next year include defining community resilience in the context of recreation, developing a manuscript, working on measures for a survey that will go out in spring, and having quarterly meetings

VII. Additional Business

Kathy Scholl was elected as the new Chair elect. All voted in favor.

The next annual meeting will be held January 28-29, 2016, in the same location.
Fred suggested we have a writing team to work on the next proposal; this year’s co-chairs could help organize this. Fred will organize a time line for Year 5; a working group will be needed to continue efforts.

Friday, January 30

I. Introduction and Overview of 1962 Project Goals

After introductions, Erin Seekamp provided an overview of the NE 1962 project goals and the three working groups. People were encouraged to sign up for Dropbox so they could receive updates and information.
Representatives from the various agencies discussed their agency’s work and funding priorities.

NPS: 2016 will be the Centennial of the National Park Service and various activities and initiatives will be planned. There is a changing paradigm of what defines a park. Outreach to urban communities is planned. There is strong interest in getting youth outdoors and projects related to parks and their benefits.

NCI: Discussed NIH funding and need for collaborations with the public health sector. More grant submissions are coming in related to the impacts of parks; however, only a small amount of physical activity occurs in parks and more needs to be understood about elements that affect physical activity. There is renewed interest in implementation science. The NCI Implementation Science website has good resources to learn more. It was suggested we look at the NIH Reporter for abstracts of funded projects; needed are innovative measurement techniques, justification for case studies, and evaluation.

BLM: Working on recreation planning policy and outcomes focused management – individual benefits, community benefits, and environmental benefits. Discussed how “park” has different meanings and use of the iconic symbols of parks. Funding is available through individual states and field offices. Working on visitor survey tools; there are opportunities for partnerships with universities to collect data; still under discussion.

USDA – NIFA: Overview of NIFA priorities and funding opportunities (capacity funds, formula funds, and competition funds). NIFA has six national challenge areas: food security, climate variability and change, water, sustainable bioenergy, food safety, and childhood obesity prevention. Childhood obesity prevention is a way in which our group could become involved. NIFA needs some stakeholder engagement with childhood obesity prevention for grant program development and thinking about impacts. Conference grants are available. The McIntire-Stennis forestry research program includes outdoor recreation. Central State University in Ohio has become a new 1890’s Land-grant institution.

NPRA: There is a need for agencies and organizations to make better data-driven decisions and to obtain research findings in a form they can use. Also mentioned the literature review NC State is conducting, park prescriptions, working together with other organizations, children’s play, and connections to health. A study has been commissioned on the economic impacts of the parks and recreation industry through George Washington University.

II. General Discussion

General discussion was wide ranging and covered multiple topics. The meeting ended after small group break-out discussions on next steps for each objective.

Accomplishments

2014 Accomplishments (By Project Objective) Objective 1: Demonstrate and expand the evidence for the role of park and outdoor recreation services in promoting physical activity and associated preventative health benefits, particularly among youth, as well as constraints to this activity Accomplishments included relationship building and proposal development. Specifically, the health subgroup organized several calls throughout the year and created a list of existing partners as well as ongoing opportunities for research collaboration. At least 2 grant proposals were submitted. A national in-person meeting with the National Park Service was held Dec 2014 to discuss their specific data needs for individual and communities. A paper entitled "Recognizing Campus Landscapes as Learning Space" was submitted (July 2014) to the Journal of Learning Spaces - accepted and currently in-press (K. Scholl). Data pertaining to student understanding of experiences in university outdoor spaces was collected in Fall of 2013 and Fall 2014 (K. Scholl). Objective 2: Demonstrate and expand the evidence for the role of park and outdoor recreation services in promoting environmental literacy among youth, and document the long-term influences of early lifespan connections with nature. Additional analyses and a manuscript were prepared from a study on childhood experiences in nature. This study examines a range of free play, educational, and recreational activities in childhood and their impacts on environmental attitudes, behaviors, and perceptions of nature in young adulthood (K. Lekies). Data were collected, several analyses were completed, and two research presentations were given from a research project designed to obtain greater understanding of the role that early childhood programs can play in connecting preschool-aged children with nature. In Summer 2014, a survey was sent to child care programs across Ohio about opportunities to engage children with nature inside and outside of the classroom. Research questions focused on indoor and outdoor learning opportunities, the value of outdoor play and learning, and features of outdoor play areas and neighborhoods in which centers are located (K. Lekies). Data from a study of New Hampshire youth engagement in outdoor activities were analyzed and reported (J. Seaman & E. Sharp). Research related to the Florida National Scenic trail resulted in defining clear market segments of trail users and useful management strategies to improve how land managers can improve recreation opportunities for those markets (T. Stein). Investigators implemented the first year of the More Kinds in the Woods Program for sixth-grade science students at Westwood Middle School. This project improved students’ enthusiasm and motivation to participate in outdoor recreation in their local environment (T. Stein). Objective 3: Demonstrate and expand the evidence for the role of park and outdoor recreation services in promoting community vibrancy and resilience. Preparations were completed for a bicycling industry survey. Activities included: assembling contact information and secondary economic data for all bicycle-related industries and firms in Minnesota, conducting interviews with key industry experts in Minnesota to gather information about the industry and to inform the survey design (questionnaire, sampling plan, and data analysis), and developing a sampling plan and a questionnaire for the survey. This survey will provide data to estimate the economic impact of the bicycling industry in Minnesota (little analysis of the bicycling industry exists in Minnesota). Industry analysis can also be helpful to economic development organizations seeking to support firms, by uncovering opportunities for public sector action to support future development of the industry statewide (X. Quian). Efforts to collect, review, and summarize existing estimates of bicycling infrastructure use in MN were initiated in August 2014 and will end in May 2015; the final deliverable will be a technical memorandum that summarizes magnitude of bicycling in Minnesota, including a description of available information about bicycle use throughout the state, estimates of the range of bicycle traffic volumes in different locations on different types of facilities. This work will provide evidence of demand for bicycling (X. Quian). Preparations were completed for a bicycling event survey. This survey will provide data to estimate the economic impact of bicycling events in Minnesota Investigators assembled a list of bicycling events in Minnesota, completed a sampling plan, and developed a questionnaire for use in surveys at bicycling events. This work will produce information on the market reach of and consumer spending generated by bicycling events. This information can bring together event organizers and officials of economic development, transportation, and tourism to orchestrate the effort of using bicycle-related events to promote the facilities on which the events take place, the communities in which the facilities are located, and bicycle tourism as a whole (X. Quian). Investigators initiated secondary analysis of data from the Coronary Artery Risk Development in Young Adults Study, which is an ongoing cohort study of young adults followed for the past 25 years in the Minneapolis/St. Paul metro area as well as three other metropolitan regions. This analysis, which will end in summer 2015, demonstrate the extent to which bicycling reduces the risk of obesity, cardiovascular disease, and diabetes. This research will estimate the economic value of health benefits associated with bike commuting. Information from this study will be provided to health and transportation officials as well as health care providers, who could use it to promote active commuting via bicycling as a type of physical activity that can be integrated into daily lives through policies and intervention programs (X. Quian). Personal interviews were completed with managers of natural resource management areas, parks, and wildlife refuges in Suffolk County, New York, leading to identification of study areas for a project that will investigate linkages between nature-based recreation, sense of place, community involvement, and place-enhancing behaviors (W. Siemer). Interviews and focus groups have been conducted with recreation and tourism managers and providers, in a project that seeks to assess and build community climate readiness on the North Shore of Lake Superior (Minnesota). The project is evaluating current capacities of communities to adapt to projected climate change related impacts to the natural resources and tourism demand. Impacts should enhance community resilience and vibrancy by enhancing knowledge of changes in tourism demand and strengthening communities' adaptive capacity (E. Seekamp). Interviews of birders were completed and a survey was implemented to investigate the criteria birders use when making travel-related decisions. The data generated and collected from this study will be used in the redesign of a NC Cooperative Extension Service training program for rural entrepreneurs to market and cater to birders (E. Seekamp). Investigators completed a survey (phase 1) investigating whether combat wounded veterans that are involved in hunting and fishing as therapeutic recreation want to learn more about wild fish and game processing, preparation, and presentation. (see attached). A follow up survey is to be launched within the next 30 days and results are to be published (K. Tidball). Investigators conducted 30 semi-structured interviews with combat wounded veterans engaged in hunting and fishing as therapeutic outdoor recreation. These interviews have all been transcribed and are currently under analysis (K. Tidball). Working with managers that provide recreation in and near the Fairbanks North Star Borough (FNSB) we developed a unique web-based survey that measured how FNSB residents desire to benefit from recreation on public lands, including BLM-managed lands. Focus groups with local recreationists provided insight to survey design. Design of the study was reviewed by a researcher at Colorado Mesa University, as well as BLM staff in Colorado (P. Fix).

Publications

Deason, G., & E. Seekamp. (2014). Birder travel decisions: Initial insights from tourists at a birding festival. [Final report]. Tourism Extension, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC. 11pp. Lekies, K. S., & Beery T. H. (2013). Everyone needs a rock: Collecting items from nature in childhood. Children, Youth, and Environments, 23(3), 66-88. http://www.jstor.org/stable/10.7721/chilyoutenvi.23.3.0066?origin=JSTOR-pdf Lee, K., & Schuett, M.A. (2014). Exploring spatial variations in the relationships between residents' recreation demand and associated factors: A case study in Texas. Applied Geography, 53, 213-222. Lu, J., & Schuett, M.A. (2014). Examining the relationship between motivation, enduring involvement and volunteer experience: The case of outdoor recreation voluntary associations. Leisure Sciences, 36(1), 68-87. Schuett, M.A., Kyle, G.T., Leitz, J., Kurzawski, K. & Lee, K. (2014). Anglers’ motivations for volunteering with fishing or conservation organizations. Fisheries, 39(7), 305-311. Seaman, J., & McLaughlin, S. (2014). The importance of outdoor activity and place attachment to adolescent development in Coös county, New Hampshire. Durham, NH: University of New Hampshire Carsey Institute. Seaman, J., Sharp, E. H., Mclaughlin, S., Tucker, C., VanGundy, K., & Rebellon, C. (2014). A longitudinal study of rural youth involvement in outdoor activities throughout adolescence: Social capital as a factor in community level outcomes. Research in Outdoor Education, 12(1), 36-57.

Impact Statements

Increased awareness of the NE1962 effort to coordinate research and extension efforts beyond the university walls
Engagement of agency and organization representatives in discussions related to leveraging funding and/or data sources to support our objectives
Increased participation rates in active outdoor recreation, particularly among youth
Promotion of healthy lifestyle choices in school-based recreation programs
Citizen engagement with natural resources, including participation in environmental education, interpretation and conservation stewardship programs
Citizens engage in proximate nature based recreation opportunities
Public awareness of active recreation opportunities and relationships to personal health
Increased public awareness of environmental and ecosystem processes
Awareness among community leaders and entrepreneurs of the role of park and outdoor recreation services in promoting community vibrancy and resilience
Increased understanding of the ecological, economic and social contributions of recreation to community vibrancy and resilience
Increased understanding of outdoor recreations role in larger socio-ecological systems in terms its contribution to human health, environmental literacy and community vibrancy and resilience
Inclusive and tailored recreation opportunities for a diverse public
Scientific capacity to address contemporary problems by applying and revising state-of-the-art knowledge

Date of Annual Report: 03/31/2016

Report Information

Annual Meeting Dates: 01/28/2016 - 01/29/2016
Period the Report Covers: 10/01/2014 - 09/30/2015

Participants

Amsden, Ben - Plymouth State University;
Bocarro, Jason - North Carolina State University;
Bricker, Kely – University of Utah;
Bruskotter, Jeremy – The Ohio State University;
Chase, Lisa - University of Vermont;
Colemore, Christian – Alabama A & M University;
De Urioste-Stone, Sandra - University of Maine;
Decker, Daniel - Cornell University;
Edwards, Michael - AgriLife Research;
Fix, Peter J - University of Alaska Fairbanks;
Floyd, Myron - North Carolina State University;
Hipp, James - Washington University in St. Louis;
Jordan, Rebecca Rutgers University;
Kaczynski, Andrew - University of South Carolina;
Kerstetter, Deb – Penn State University;
Klenosky, David B - Purdue University;
Kuehn, Diane – SUNY-College of Environmental Science and Forestry;
Lekies, Kristi – The Ohio State University;
Leung, Yu-Fai; North Carolina State University;
Morse, Wayde - Auburn University;
Nelson, Charles – Michigan State University;
Probst, Dennis – Michigan State University (Emeritus);
Qian, Xinyi - University of Minnesota;
Rakow, Donald - Cornell University;
Reiter, Douglas - Utah Cooperative Extension;
Schneider, Ingrid - University of Minnesota;
Schneider, Paige – East Carolina University;
Scholl, Kathleen – University of Northern Iowa:
Schuett, Michael - Texas A & M University;
Seaman, Jason – University of New Hampshire;
Seekamp, Erin - North Carolina State University;
Seguin, Rebecca - Cornell University;
Servelo, Fred – University of Maine;
Sharp, Erin – University of New Hampshire;
Siemer, William - Cornell University;
Smalldone, Dave – West Virginia University;
Stein, Taylor – University of Florida;
Tidball, Keith Cornell University;
Trauntvein, Nate – University of New Hampshire;
Vogt, Christine - Michigan State University;
Warnick, Rod – University of Massachussetts;
Wilhelm Stanis, Sonja - University of Missouri – Columbia;
Young, Michael – University of New Hampshire Cooperative Extension;

Brief Summary of Minutes

Minutes Attachment:

Minutes of 2015 Annual Meeting.pdf

Accomplishments

<h2>2015 Accomplishments (By Project Objective)</h2> Objective 1: Demonstrate and expand the evidence for the role of park and outdoor recreation services in promoting physical activity and associated preventative health benefits, particularly among youth, as well as constraints to this activity <ul> <li>One paper published and multiple presentations delivered on linkages between university campus practices and design and student wellbeing and learning.</li> <li>Data from multiple studies of recreation outcomes on public lands in Alaska were analyzed and substantial progress was made on related The analysis and resulting project reports and journal articles will report on a novel survey method of assessing outcomes of recreation.</li> <li>The Health subgroup organized several calls through the year, building collaborative relationships that led to development of two proposals.</li> </ul>   Objective 2: Demonstrate and expand the evidence for the role of park and outdoor recreation services in promoting environmental literacy among youth, and document the long-term influences of early lifespan connections with nature. <ul> <li>The study "Childhood Experiences in Nature:  Impacts Across the Life Span" examined a range of free play, educational, and recreational activities in childhood and their impacts on environmental attitudes, behaviors, and perceptions of nature in young adulthood.  Several analyses of data 2012 data collected in 2012 were completed, which resulted in two research presentations and a book chapter.   </li> <li>The study "Collecting Biodiversity: The Objects, Places, and Experiences of Childhood" examined childhood nature collecting, nature connectedness, and outdoor engagement among university students in Sweden.  Data were collected through a survey in early 2015 and a related research presentation was delivered.</li> <li>Research related to the Florida National Scenic Trail resulted in better understanding the demographics of trail users, motivations for using the trail, description of type of use, and useful management strategies to improve how land managers can improve recreation opportunities for those visitors.</li> <li>The “More Kids in the Woods” Project completed it's third year. Program outcomes were evaluated to improve the program.</li> </ul> Objective 3: Demonstrate and expand the evidence for the role of park and outdoor recreation services in promoting community vibrancy and resilience. <ul> <li>Thirty-three semi-structured interviews with wounded veterans were transcribed and analysis was begun to determine veteran motivations and perceived benefits associated with outdoor recreation and restorative activities in outdoor spaces.</li> <li>Planning was completed for a survey of non-veteran hosts of outdoor recreation events, to determine community benefits and associated resilience indicators. A website and social media sites are being used to capture comparison data across nature-based programs that serve military veterans.</li> <li>Over 800 Maine residents were surveyed to understand the capacity of tourism destinations in Maine to adapt to opportunities, while mitigating for negative shocks associated with social, economic and environmental changes. Deeper understanding of tourism's vulnerability to climate change and potential behavioral changes was generated. The project identified four major factors influencing vulnerability and potential travel behavior based on climate impact statements.</li> <li>Two surveys, community member focus groups, and community leader interviews were completed on a Minnesota Sea Grant-funded project to build climate readiness in communities dependent upon outdoor recreation and tourism as their primary economic drivers. This project is an interdisciplinary effort to predict changes in tourism demand based on alterations to visitors' travel patterns given changing environmental and climate conditions under moderate and high-level emissions scenarios. Other aspects of this project include assessing current capacities for climate adaptation and estimating the economic impacts of changes in tourism demand.</li> <li>Interviews were conducted and data analysis began on a project to assess communities' adaptive capacity to climate change in a region of coastal North Carolina. The project seeks to assess the adaptive capacity of rural, low-lying communities that are primarily dependent on natural resource based industries, including recreation and tourism, to the impacts of salinization, sea level rise and flooding.</li> <li>A survey of 3,000 outdoor recreationists was completed and analyzed as part of a study to assess connections between recreation, place attachment, and pro-environmental behavior. A set of 31 semi-structured interviews were conducted with volunteers at a national wildlife refuge to obtain qualitative insights on linkages between conservation recreation, local community involvement, and pro-environmental behavior.</li> <li>A multi-faceted research program generated an estimate of the economic impact of bicycling industry in Minnesota, systematically estimated bicycling infrastructure usage in the state, and estimating the health effect of bicycle commuting. Data was collected through interviews with key informants (e.g. manufacturers, parts suppliers, distributors, retailers), visitor profile studies of selected bicycling events in Minnesota, and secondary data analysis.   </li> </ul>   <h3>2015 Training, professional development, and information dissemination </h3> Objective 1: preventive health benefits <ul> <li>Presentation: Davison, A., and Scholl, K. (April 2015). Nature as a mechanism to enhance mindfulness. Midwest Symposium on Therapeutic Recreation - St. Louis, MO.</li> <li>Presentation: Scholl, K. (September, 2015). Presentation to Restorative and Healing Environments course INTDSGN:4184. Elements of Designing Nature Trails and College Campus Green Spaces. University of Northern Iowa. Cedar Falls, IA</li> <li>Presentation: Scholl, K., and Betrabet-Gulwadi, G. (October 2014.). Recognizing Campus Landscapes as Learning Spaces. Highlights and Literature Review for 2014 Graduate College Faculty Showcase</li> <li>Findings from research in Alaska were presented to the various agencies involved, researchers involved in the NE 1962 Hatch Multi-state project, various other researchers at Arizona State University and Colorado Mesa University, and a  snowmobile club in Fairbanks. Findings were disseminated to recreationists through newsletters and websites targeted at off-road vehicle groups, hunters, and anglers.</li> </ul> Objective 3: Community vibrancy and resilience <ul> <li>Results of research on wounded warrior program were disseminated via website, social media, and webinars. The website is http://reworrr.blogspot.com . The Facebook page is https://www.facebook.com/reworrrs/ .  Results are also being shared via a new network of organizations involved in outdoor recreation for veterans called the R4 Alliance (<a href="http://r4alliance.org/">http://r4alliance.org/</a>).</li> <li>Presentation: De Urioste-Stone, S.M. (2015). "Resilience of rural Maine communities to climate change: A pilot study of the nature-based tourism industry." ADVANCE Grant Awardee Luncheon, Pecha Kucha. March 26, Orono, Maine. (Invited).</li> <li>Presenation: De Urioste-Stone, S.M. (2015). "Stakeholder perceptions on vulnerability and adaptive capacity of tourism destinations to climate change in Maine." School of Biology and Ecology Spring Seminar Series. March 20, Orono, Maine. (Invited).</li> <li>Presentation: De Urioste-Stone, S. (2015). "B2B Resident Survey: Quality of Place, Sustainable Economic Development and Community Resilience", for the Social Science and Diadromous Fish Restoration in the Penobscot Watershed. NOAA. February 6, Orono, Maine. (Invited).</li> </ul>

Publications

Jordan, R. C., A. E. Sorensen, and D. Clark. 2015. Urban/suburban park use: links to personal identities? Current World Environment. 10(2): 355-366. Larson, L. R., R. C. Stedman, C. B. Cooper, and D. J. Decker. 2015. Understanding the multi-dimensional structure of pro-environmental behavior. Journal of Environmental Psychology 43:112-124. DOI: 10.1016/j.jenvp.2015.06.004 Parsons, A. A., G. M. Besenyl, A. T. Kaczynski, S. A. Wilhelm Stanis, C. E. Blake, and D. Barr-Anderson. 2015. Investigating issues of environmental injustice in neighborhoods surrounding parks. Journal of Leisure Research 47(2): 285-303. Paudyal, R.  and Stein, T.V. 2015. Trail uses trend and its association with temporal and meteorological patterns in Ocala section of Florida Trail. Paper presented at the 2015 International Symposium on Society and Resource Management.  June 13-18. Charleston, SC. Scaccia, M., and S. M. De Urioste-Stone. 2015. Understanding the role of climate change on guiding Maine’s tourism industry to the Katahdin region. Annual report. Baxter State Park. 11pp. Scholl, K. G., and G. Betrabet Gulwadi. 2015. Recognizing Campus Landscapes as Learning Spaces. Journal of Learning Spaces 4(1). Schultz, C. L., S. P. Sayers, S. A. W. Stanis, L. A. Thombs, I. M. Thomas, and S. M. Canfield. 2015. The impact of a signalized crosswalk on traffic speed and street-crossing behaviors of residents in an underserved neighborhood. Journal of Urban Health 92(5): 910-922. Sorensen, A. E., D. Clark, and R. C. Jordan. 2015. Effects of Alternative Framing on the Publics Perceived Importance of Environmental Conservation. Frontiers in Environmental Science: Interdisciplinary Climate Studies. 3(36).DOI: 10.3389/fenvs.2015.00036 Stein, T.V.  and Paudyal, R. 2015. Why Take a Hike on a Long Distance Trail? Integrating Tourism and Recreation through Research. Invited Seminar at the School for Natural and Built Environments, University of South Australia. August 21. Mawson Lakes, Australia. Tidball, K. G. 2015. Hunting and the Return of the Warrior: Therapeutic Possibilities for the Chase. Pages 153-160 in D. L. Dustin, K. Bricker, K. A. Schwab, M. Brownlee, K. Schwab, and N. Lundberg (editors) This Land Is Your Land: Toward a Better Understanding of Nature's Resiliency-Building and Restorative Power for Armed Forces Personnel, Veterans, and their Families. Sagamore Publishing, Urbana Illinois.

Impact Statements

Scientific capacity to address contemporary problems by applying and revising state-of-the-art knowledge

Date of Annual Report: 03/23/2017

Report Information

Annual Meeting Dates: 01/26/2017 - 01/27/2017
Period the Report Covers: 10/01/2015 - 09/30/2016

Participants

Participants (*academic only; agency participants not listed)
Amsden, Ben - Plymouth State University;
Anderson, Dorothy - North Carolina State University;
Barbieri, Carla - North Carolina State University;
Bocarro, Jason - North Carolina State University;
Brownlee, Matthew – University of Utah;
Bricker, Kely - University of Utah;
Chase, Lisa - University of Vermont;
De Urioste-Stone, Sandra - University of Maine;
Decker, Daniel - Cornell University;
Edwards, Michael - AgriLife Research;
Fix, Peter J - University of Alaska Fairbanks;
Floyd, Myron - North Carolina State University;
Jordan, Rebecca Rutgers University;
Kaczynski, Andrew - University of South Carolina;
Klenosky, David B - Purdue University;
Larson, Lincoln; North Carolina State University;
Lekies, Kristi – The Ohio State University;
Leung, Yu-Fai; North Carolina State University;
Morse, Wayde - Auburn University;
Qian, Xinyi - University of Minnesota;
Rakow, Donald - Cornell University;
Reiter, Douglas - Utah Cooperative Extension;
Schneider, Ingrid - University of Minnesota;
Scholl, Kathleen – University of Northern Iowa:
Schuett, Michael - Texas A & M University;
Seekamp, Erin - North Carolina State University;
Seguin, Rebecca - Cornell University;
Servelo, Fred – University of Maine;
Sharp, Erin – University of New Hampshire;
Siemer, William - Cornell University;
Smalldone, Dave – West Virginia University;
Stein, Taylor – University of Florida;
Tidball, Keith Cornell University;
Wilhelm Stanis, Sonja - University of Missouri – Columbia;

Brief Summary of Minutes

Minutes of 2016 Annual Meeting (January 26-27, 2016, Association of Public and Land-Grant Universities, Washington, D.C.)

Attendees:

Taylor Stein, University of Florida

Kathy Scholl, University of Northern Iowa

Fred Servello, University of Maine

Lincoln Larson, North Carolina State University

Courtney Schultz, North Carolina State University

Bob Ratcliffe, NPS and Federal Recreation Council

Kristi Lekies, The Ohio State University

Thursday January 26, 2017

9:00: Welcome & Meeting Charge

9:15: Introductions

9:30: Review of NE1962 overall successes and achievements, gaps & challenges 2012-2016

Fred Servello

Reviewed Approval Process for NE1962 Renewal 2017-2022 - Once they approve our “request to write”, then we cut and paste our existing proposal into the system.

March 13 – Multi-state Activities Committee approves pre-proposals

They might just approve and say move forward

They might suggest we modify or add to it (e.g., economics research)

After March 13 We will react to the committee’s recommendation if they have any

June meeting – Approves final proposals

Possible names of academics who are not currently tied to NE1962 project who could serve as proposal reviewers – (3-5 reviewers needed) – Need to ask Fred who were the reviewers for 2012-2017 NE1962 Proposal.

Natalia Buta – Frostburg State University

Alan Ewert – Indiana University Bloomington

Ron Hendrick –Michigan State University

Jen Thomson – Montana State University

Derrick Taff – (NE Region) – Penn State

Matt Browning – University of Illinois

Gowri Betrabet – University of Northern Iowa

Matt Brownlee – University of Utah

Jim Sibthorp – University of Utah

Jordon Smith – Utah State University

Bob Ratcliffe – short update on Outdoor Recreation Satellite Account

Bureau of Economic Affairs (BEA) administers these accounts and create the satellite account

Status

2 years (funded) will look at effect on the economy

Next 2 years (not funded) will look at each state’s effect.

Discussion: Continuing NE1962 Forward – What are the incentives for participants?

Highlighted that multistate projects value many different outcomes

Networking is a common value, which many participants value

Ocassionally they develop large scale projects (potato group), but not always

The role of foundations and developing proposals for foundations is an opportunity

Inventory of the research that is being conducted and promote that research to participants and others.

It’s good for faculty who need to highlight national collaborations

Provides one-on-one connections with researchers

One of the best ways to interact and learn from researchers who are working on similar goals

Need to recruit new participants

Connecting with other conferences and scheduling a NE1962 meeting in collaboration with a larger conference

10:00: Break

10:15: Review original NE1962 Goals & Objectives – New Initiatives to reach G & O

Need to reduce and organize our outcomes and milestones.

Lincoln will organize the outputs, outcomes, and impacts into a Logic Model organization.

Need to create a new web-based drive where we can begin an inventory of projects related to the NE 1962 goals.

Google site with Google Drive – make the files public as people upload.

The chair will have login and password, and each new chair administers the Google Site, but participants can upload to Google Drive, and the chair picks and organizes the documents to the Google Site

12:00: Lunch (on your own)

1:00: Individual / Group presentations

Lincoln Larson (North Carolina State University)—Public Parks and Well-being: Challenges and Opportunities for Nature-Based Health Promotion

Summarized his research.

Several good publications linking health and ecosystem services

Listed three “multistate opportunities” that can build off this research

Mapping eco service sand linking to health and well-being outcomes

Developing standards

Exploring diverse communities

Courtney Schultz, Ph.D. Student (North Carolina State University)—

Connecting outdoor aeas to human health

Well recognized, but not quantified.

Up-coming study:
- Using a discrete choice experiment with providers
- Experiments with patients – actually looking at physiological measures.

Bob Ratcliff – (NPS & Federal Recreation Council) —Update on projects and initiatives

Outdoor Recreation Satellite Account

BEA will be using existing data, and looking at “cells” of expenditures, and sometimes sub-cells (not all climbing shoes are outdoor recreation shoes, maybe only 7% of are outdoors)

Right now it’s “natural resource based.”

When data points are decided upon, they’ll model that data to come up with nation-wide economic impact number.

It is not scalable yet (for states, individual parks, etc.)

Health/Parks Px – Health Parks/Health People

Currently developing the health promotion initiative

Strategy is in development and the NE1962 group can help the NPS create this strategy based on science

Bob is looking to continue to connect with the NE1962 network

Other Visitor and Parks Issues

Alternative transportation initiatives (People Powered Park Days)
- Bikes are becoming a bigger issue; NPS is helping to promote their use.
- Related to awareness, events, and infrastructure and design

National Scenic Trail – 50^th anniversary
- Promoting trails and the Wild and Scenic Rivers
- First Time Hikes

Land agencies in the DoI have the authority to directly hire graduate students through a rigorous internship program

Other “direct hire” opportunities for students

Kristi Lekies – (Ohio State University) — Engaging Urban Youth in Outdoor Recreation: A study of Long-term Impacts

A project from 10 years ago

Evaluation of a program that involves urban youth (African Americans, and others) on their perceptions of the environment and what motivates them to participate.

Kristi is planning a follow up study with many of the participants from the original study

Attitudes towards the environment, recreation participation, etc.

New cohort will also be studied

Kristi will be involved in other projects throughout Ohio

Kathy Scholl – (University of Northern Iowa) — Campus Infrastructure and Sustainable Resource Management Practices: Mapping Campus DNA for Human Resiliency

Comparing organizational and social organizational systems

Discussing the role of greenspace on a campus and it’s role with human resiliency

Lincoln Larson (North Carolina State University)—Connecting Outdoor Recreation and Conservation Behavior: Evidence to Support a Conservation-Recreation Model.

Presented day 2 – need notes.

4:30: Adjourn (dinner on your own)

Friday January 27, 2017

8:00: Continued work on the renewal of the project proposal.

Lincoln organized outputs, outcomes, and milestones.

As a group, items were reworded, added, and deleted

8:30: Agency Representatives: Information and resource priorities overview

Did not occur

9:15: Research & Extension Areas session with Agency representatives (breakout groups if needed)

Did not occur

10:15: Break

10:30: Action Items & Post-Meeting Charges

Revise milestones for proposal

Develop Google site
- Shared related resources
- Creating a repository for publications and measures, with continued growth
- Get acquainted with agency with agency and foundation people

Discuss compilation of 2016 annual accomplishments from individual participants

Kathy will ask Bill to organize the annual report for 2016 (Bill Siemer agreed)

Tasks for Completing 2016 Annual Report

Due 60 days after the meeting (March 28, 2017)

October to October Reporting Cycle

Use template that Erin developed in earlier reporting cycle

Include publications, presentations, grants, etc

Send communication to all NE1962 members and direct them to submit their report to Bill Siemer at wfs1@cornell.edu

Summit report

2017 Chair recognition (Taylor Stein)

Accepted chair and will work with Kathy to ensure renewal goes smoothly

Chair-elect election for 2018

Peter Fix was nominated and Kathy will contact. (Will call this week)

2018 Annual meeting location/date

January 25-26, 2018, Association of Public and Land-Grant Universities, Washington DC

12:00: Adjourn

Accomplishments

2016 Accomplishments (By Project Objective) Objective 1: Demonstrate and expand the evidence for the role of park and outdoor recreation services in promoting physical activity and associated preventative health benefits, particularly among youth, as well as constraints to this activity <ul> <li> Working with colleagues in the US Forest Service and other universities, Lincoln Larson and associates explored links between urban ecosystem services and public health. This led to multiple conceptual papers outlining connections between green space and health outcomes (physical activity, mental/psychological health, socio-emotional health, subjective well-being, etc.). Their work has sought to analyze these issues through the lens of environmental justice and bridge disciplinary gaps between parks and recreation, ecology, and public health. After completing these synthesis papers and secondary data analyses, they are now planning to move towards empirical data collection that should help to answer remaining questions about links between specific aspects of green space and preventative health outcomes.</li> </ul>  Objective 2: Demonstrate and expand the evidence for the role of park and outdoor recreation services in promoting environmental literacy among youth, and document the long-term influences of early lifespan connections with nature. <ul> <li> In addition to continuing many smaller EE evaluation efforts, Larson and associates worked with 2 organizations to understand how parks can facilitate connection to nature across generations and foster positive youth development. Their project with the National Association of State Park Directors (NASPD) is investigating the broader impacts of the First Day Hike experience on participants (over 50,000 Americans participated in a First Day Hike last year). Another project, supported by the Boys Scouts of America, is exploring how residential camp experiences in remote settings impact the environmental attitudes/awareness and development of minority youth with little previous exposure to nature. They plan to analyze data and report the results of both projects in the coming year.</li> <li> The tourism industry is central to the economic development of many rural communities in Maine. Tourism and recreation activities in Maine are highly dependent on weather and climate patterns. A project by De Urioste-Stone surveyed over 2,000 Maine visitors, and interviewed 23 tourism stakeholders to understand climate change perceptions and travel behavior. The project increased understanding on the vulnerability and resilience of tourism destinations in Maine to climate change, identified the information gaps for future research, discovered the areas for improvement among industry stakeholders in terms of adaptive capacity, and improved knowledge on visitor perceptions and travel behavior.</li> <li> Stein et al. focused an investigation on lands where the Florida National Scenic Trail exists. Research related to the Florida National Scenic Trail resulted in better understanding the demographics of trail users, motivations for using the trail, description of type of use, and useful management strategies to improve how land managers can improve recreation opportunities for those visitors. Technical reports, workshops, and presentations on research findings were designed to improve capacity to manage recreation on public lands.</li> <li> Stein et al. investigated the impact of field-based environmental education in motivating sixth grade science students to participate in nature-based recreation. Journal articles, extension publications, and presentations will be given to help middle school educators and recreation professionals understand how field-based education may benefit middle school students. The More Kids in the Woods Project completed it's third year. Results have been used to improve the program.</li> <li> Lekies et al. study, "Childhood Experiences in Nature: Impacts Across the Life Span," examined a range of free play, educational, and recreational activities in childhood and their impacts on environmental attitudes, behaviors, and perceptions of nature in young adulthood.  Of particular interest are direct, hands-on experiences with nature.  Data were collected through a university-wide survey sent to Ohio State University students in 2012 with analysis ongoing. </li> <li> Lekies et al. study, "Connecting Young Children with Nature," examined the role that early childhood programs can play in connecting preschool-aged children with nature. In summer 2014, a survey was sent to child care programs across Ohio about opportunities to engage children with nature inside and outside of the classroom.  Research questions focused on indoor and outdoor learning opportunities, the value of outdoor play and learning, and features of outdoor play areas and neighborhoods in which centers are located.  Analysis is ongoing.</li> <li> Lekies et al. study, "Collecting Biodiversity: The Objects, Places, and Experiences of Childhood," examined childhood nature collecting, nature connectedness, and outdoor engagement among university students in Sweden.  Data were collected through a survey in early 2015 with analysis ongoing.</li> </ul>  Objective 3: Demonstrate and expand the evidence for the role of park and outdoor recreation services in promoting community vibrancy and resilience. <ul> <li> Larson and associates engaged in 2 projects exploring this theme. The first project is investigating the impact of urban greenways on local communities, focusing on trails in Atlanta, San Antonio, and Chicago. Key dependent variables in these studies include crime, community character, and ecosystem services that enhance resilience. They also are continuing work on a multi-year project that tests a conceptual Conservation-Recreation (with the hypothesis that nature-based recreation leads to sense of place, which then fosters pro-environmental behavior and community resilience.</li> <li> Seekamp and associates collaborated on a Minnesota Sea Grant funded project to build climate readiness in communities dependent upon outdoor recreation and tourism as their primary economic drivers. This project, led by Mae Davenport at the University of Minnesota, is an interdisciplinary effort to predict changes in tourism demand based on alterations to visitors' travel patterns given changing environmental and climate conditions under moderate and high-level emissions scenarios. Other aspects of this project include assessing current capacities for climate adaptation and estimating the economic impacts of changes in tourism demand. This project is ongoing with an expected completion date of August 2017.</li> <li> Seekamp and associates worked on an internally sponsored project (College of Natural Resources) to assess communities' adaptive capacity to climate change in a region of coastal North Carolina. Seekamp served as the project's co-lead PI with Ryan Emanuel, and three other North Carolina State University faculty. The project seeks to assess the adaptive capacity of rural, low-lying communities that are primarily dependent on natural resource based industries, including recreation and tourism, to the impacts of salinization, sea level rise and flooding. Two community outreach workshops were delivered, a project website was developed and launched, and 5 fact sheets were developed and placed on the website.</li> <li> The benefits of nature contact as therapy are well documented, including contemplative, recreational, and hands-on habitat restoration activities. Though not yet on the radar screen of policy makers, veterans have initiated nature-based programs focused on hunting, fishing, and other outdoor recreation and restoration activities. Examples include Wounded Warriors in Action, Project Healing Waters, Higher Ground Sun Valley, and Sierra Club Outdoors Military Program. Testimony from participants suggest the programs have powerful impacts on vets. Although research projects have focused on reintegrating vets, a recent literature review revealed only one study of the impact of an outdoor program on veterans, the results of which were inconclusive. Further, despite the rapid emergence of nature-based programs for vets across the US, little information on how officials view such efforts exists. Projects by Tidball and associates investigate the importance of human-nature interactions in outdoor recreation and restoration activities among returning war veterans, especially women and those disabled in combat, to account for how these interactions relate to individual, community, and social-ecological resilience. During this reporting period 53 semi-structured interviews with wounded veterans were completed and analysis was initiated to determine veteran motivations and perceived benefits. Planning was completed for a survey of non-veteran hosts of outdoor recreation events for veterans, which will determine community benefits and associated resilience indicators. A website and social media sites were used to capture comparison data.</li> <li> Fix and associates continued a research effort that identifies beneficial outcomes for visitors to BLM-managed lands. A second research program by Fix and associates is attempting to assess how communities adjacent to BLM managed lands benefit from direct use of these lands, other uses, or merely from the land's presence. This research has three objectives: 1) refine methods for assessing beneficial outcomes of onsite users; 2) build on and refine, efforts to assess community benefits associated with recreation; 3) contribute to both generalizable knowledge regarding the relationship between recreation and positive health benefits and demonstrate how such information can be incorporated into management. To achieve these objectives, this research will: 1) conduct studies gathering primary data from onsite users of recreation areas in Alaska; 2) conduct focus groups with various affected communities regarding benefits that can be realized from recreation on public lands; 3) collaborate with local recreation managers to incorporate information; 4) work with a larger network of researchers on research projects to improve measures of the relationship between recreation and community benefits. During this activity period a multi-state study team worked closely with the Bureau of Land Management (with the BLM personnel located in Colorado, Idaho, and Washington, DC) to refine the survey instruments previously used for Outcomes-Focused-Management Research. A proposal to develop a multi-state focused research center at UAF to implement the BLM's vision for OMB was developed and submitted to the BLM. Two pilot projects, using the refined survey instruments were initiated.</li> <li> Decker and associates collected quantitative and qualitative data to improve understanding of how wildlife-dependent recreation (WDR) and conservation recreation (CR) contribute to vibrancy and resilience of communities near a wildlife management area (WMA) and a national wildlife refuge (NWR) in New York State. During this project period they continued analyzing data from a survey of over 3,000 recreationists using one of the study areas [Rocky Point Natural Resource Management Area (Suffolk County, NY). They confirmed the reliability of scales used in the survey instrument to assess relationships between outdoor activity involvement and other concepts in the Conservation Recreation Model (e.g., place attachment, community involvement, place-enhancing behaviors). Aggregate avidity of participation in recreation was found to be predictive of social environmentalism (i.e., working with others to address an environmental problem, participating in a local environmental group, volunteering to do local environmental activities). This provides some evidence that recreation contributes to more community involvement, which is one component of building resilient communities.</li> <li> Decker and associates also completed analysis of data from qualitative interviews with staff and volunteers associated with Wertheim National Wildlife Refuge, to provide qualitative insights about relationships between variables in the Conservation Recreation Model. Interview subjects consistently indicated that engagement in nature-dependent activities on the Refuge enhanced their local environmental awareness and their concern for protecting local natural resources, both on and outside the Refuge. Many respondents also indicated participation in these activities on the Refuge enhanced their familiarity with local community members. These results suggest that such refuges can help facilitate communication between local residents, provide experiential learning opportunities, and provide direct and indirect community building opportunities. All of these functions may contribute to community resilience.</li> </ul>  2015 Training, professional development, and information dissemination  Objective 1: preventive health benefits <ul> <li> Poster: Wilcer, S., Larson, L., & Hallo, J. (2016). Exploring the First Day Hike phenomenon: Who hikes and why? College of Behavioral, Social and Health Sciences Research Forum. Clemson, SC: April 20, 2016.</li> <li> Poster: Harris, B, Ogletree, S., & Larson, L. (2016). Urban greenways and crime: What can we learn from Chicago’s 606? College of Behavioral, Social and Health Sciences Research Forum. Clemson, SC: April 20, 2016.</li> <li> Poster: Keith, S. J., Larson, L. R., Hallo, J. C., Fernandez, M., & Shafer, C. S. (2016). A tale of two trails: Comparing urban greenway use and benefits in Atlanta, GA, and San Antonio, TX. College of Behavioral, Social and Health Sciences Research Forum. Clemson, SC: April 20, 2016.</li> <li> Presentation: Scholl, K. (2016). Mapping Campus DNA. Presentation to Critical Theories and Practice course HPELS 7410, University of Northern Iowa, October, 2016.</li> <li> Presentation: Betrabet-Gulwadi, G., & Scholl, K. (2016). Campus Infrastructure and Sustainable Resource Management Practices: Mapping Campus DNA for Human Resiliency. World Symposium on Sustainable Development at Universities: Designing Tomorrow’s Campus: Resiliency, Vulnerability and Adaptation — Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Cambridge, MA, USA, October, 2016.</li> </ul>  Objective 2: environmental literacy and connections with nature <ul> <li> Presentation: Beery, T. H., & Lekies, K. (2016). Childhood collecting in nature: Quality experience in important places. Poster presentation at the North American Association of Environmental Education conference, Madison, Wisconsin: October, 2016.</li> <li> Presentation: Lekies, K. (2016). Children, youth, and nature: Developing an understanding of experience. Presentation at the Institute for Applied Research on Childhood, Youth, and the Family (IFK), Staffelde, Germany: May, 2016.</li> <li> Presentation: Brensinger, J., Lekies, K. S., & Beery, T. (2016). Holding on to childhood memories: The impact of childhood nature collecting. Paper presentation at the Coalition for Education in the Outdoors conference, Bradford Woods, Indiana: January 2016.</li> <li> Presentation: Paudyal, R. & Stein, T. V. (2016). How do season and weather patterns affect recreation participation in Florida? Paper presented at the 2016 International Symposium on Society and Resource Management, Houghton, MI: June 22-26, 2016.</li> <li> Presentation: Rostock, T. & Stein, T.V. (2016). Minority youths’ attitudes towards and perceptions of nature and nature-based recreation. Southeastern Recreation Research Symposium. Asheville, NC: March 21-23, 2016.</li> <li> Presentation: Stein, T.V., Ward, C., Paudyal, R., Findlay, D., & Rostock, T. (2016). Understanding Nature-Based Recreation through the Eyes of Youth from Diverse Backgrounds. Paper presented at the 2016 Society of American Foresters National Convention. Madison, WI: November 2-6, 2016.</li> <li> Presentation: Stein, T.V., Gullion, M., Paudyal, R., Harris, L., & Northrop, R. (2016). Identifying New Recreation Opportunities for Conserved Areas in the Wildland-Urban Interface. Paper presented at the 2016 Society of American Foresters National Convention. Madison, WI: November 2-6, 2016.</li> </ul>  Objective 3: Community vibrancy and resilience <ul> <li> Presentation: Dayer, A., Phillips, T., Cooper, C., Sullivan, B., & Larson, L. (2016). The surveys say birdwatchers are conservationists. North American Ornithological Conference. Washington, DC: August 16-20, 2016.</li> <li> Presentation: Seekamp, E., Smith, J. W., & Davenport, M. A.. (2016). The influence of daily weather conditions on recreationists’ response to contingent trip-taking behavior questions. Paper presented at the 22nd International Symposium on Society and Resource Management (ISSRM). Houghton, Michigan, June 22-26, 2016.</li> <li> Presentation: McCreary, A., Smith, J. W., & Seekamp, E. (2016). Parameterizing agent based models of contingent trip-taking behavior with on-site survey data. Paper presented at the 22nd International Symposium on Society and Resource Management (ISSRM). Houghton, Michigan: June 22-26, 2016.</li> <li> Presentation: Fix, P., & Morgan, D. (2016). A data collection process to support implementation of H-8320-1. Webex video presented to Bureau of Land Management staff nationwide on January 27, 2016.</li> <li> Presentation: Virden, R., & Fix, P. (2016). Overview of multi-state research being conducted for the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) on beneficial outcomes for visitors to BLM-managed lands. Presentation to BLM Staff, BLM National Training Center. Phoenix, AZ: April 19, 2016.</li> <li> Presentation: Doyle-Capitman, C. (2016). Promoting environmentally aware communities through local public participation in wildlife-focused activities on a refuge. Northeast Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies Conference. Annapolis, MD: April 4-6, 2016.</li> <li> Multiple one hour webinars were produced and disseminated on the benefits of outdoor recreation activities and expeditions for veterans in transition. Results are being disseminated via multiple websites, social media outlets, and via appropriate Department of Veterans Affairs channels.</li> </ul>

Publications

De Urioste-Stone, S.M., Le, L., Scaccia, M. & Wilkins, E.. (2016). Nature-based tourism and climate change risk: Visitors’ perceptions in Mount Desert Island, Maine. Journal of Outdoor Recreation and Tourism doi: 10.1016/j.jort.2016.01.003. De Urioste-Stone, S.M., Scaccia, M. & Howe-Poteet, D. (2015). Exploring visitor perceptions of the influence of climate change on tourism at Acadia National Park, Maine. Journal of Outdoor Recreation and Tourism, 11, 34-43. doi: <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jort.2015.07.001">dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jort.2015.07.001</a>. Jennings, V. L., Larson, C. K., & Larson, L. R. (2016). Ecosystem services and preventive medicine: a natural connection. American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 50(5), 642-645. doi: 10.1016/j.amepre.2015.11.001 Jennings, V., Larson, L., & Yun, J. (2016). Advancing sustainability through urban green space: cultural ecosystem services, equity, and social determinants of health. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 13: 196. doi: 10.3390/ijerph13020196 Larson, L. R., Conway, A. L., Hernandez, S. M., & Carroll, J. P. (2016). Human-wildlife conflict, conservation attitudes, and a potential role for citizen science in Sierra Leone, Africa. Conservation & Society, 14(3), 205-217. doi: 10.4103/0972-4923.191159 Larson, L. R, Jennings, V., & Cloutier, S. A. (2016). Public parks and wellbeing in urban areas of the United States. PLOS ONE, 11(4): e0153211. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0153211 Lekies, K. S., & Brensinger, J. (2016). Is rural closer to nature? Comparing childhood nature experiences across residential settings. Pages 67-86 In C. Freeman and P. Tranter (Eds.), Geographies of children and young people major reference work, Vol. 12, Risk, protection, provision and policy. Springer. Lekies, K. S., & Whitworth, B. (2016). Exploring age cohort differences in children’s nature experiences and connection to nature.  Proceedings of the 2014 Northeast Recreation Research Symposium. <a href="http://scholarworks.umass.edu/nerr/2014/Papers/8/">http://scholarworks.umass.edu/nerr/2014/Papers/8/</a> Betrabet-Gulwadi, G., & Scholl, K. (2017). Campus Infrastructure and Sustainable Resource Management Practices: Mapping Campus DNA for Human Resiliency. World Sustainability Series. Springer, pp 103-118. Skupien, G. M., Andrews, K. M., & Larson, L. R. (2016). Teaching tolerance? Effects of conservation education programs on acceptance capacity for the American alligator. Human Dimensions of Wildlife, 21(3), 264-279. doi: 10.1080/10871209.2016.1147624 Smith, J., E. Seekamp, A. McCreary, M. Davenport, M. Kanazawa, K. Holmberg, B. Wilson, J. Nieber. (2016). Shifting demand for winter outdoor recreation and tourism along the North Shore of Lake Superior under variable rates of climate change: A finite-mixture modeling approach. Ecological Economics, 123, 1-13.

Impact Statements

(1) Increased awareness of the NE1962 effort to coordinate research and extension efforts beyond the university walls. (2) Engagement of agency and organization representatives in discussions related to leveraging funding and/or data sources to support our objectives