Brief Summary of Minutes of Annual Meeting

Accomplishments

2016/17 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

• During this period, Larson and associates continued work on a number of projects exploring links between green space and public health. Larson concluded a series of conceptual papers and secondary data analyses examining the health-green spaces relationship and associated environmental justice concerns. Other ongoing work in this area includes a study of health benefits associated with urban greenways and state park use. Graduate students are leading both of these projects. Looking to the future, the Larson group launched a new project funded by the USFS National Urban and Community Forestry Advisor Council (funded from 2016-2019) that will examine the impacts of natural environments on symptom expression in children with autism.
• University of Florida researchers conducted a visitor assessment of use of Hillsborough County, Florida's parks and preserves. The Stein group determined that visitors' most important motivations for visiting these areas was for their physical and emotional health. These results were directly used by county officials in the development of their parks and preserves strategic plan, which will better incorporate the health of residents into site design.

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.

• The Larson group continued working on a project funded by the Boy Scouts of America exploring the correlates of positive youth development (PYD) in low-income, rural and urban adolescents, where they are testing the hypothesized positive influence of connection to nature on PYD. We also launched two new projects in 2017 (one funded by NSF, another by the NC Wildlife Resources Commission) that will evaluate the environmental learning and conservation outcomes associated with citizen science participation for youth and adults. Graduate students are heavily involved in all of these projects.
• University of Florida staff conducted Kids in the Woods Program with Sixth Grade Science students from Westwood Middle School, Gainesville, Florida. The program works to integrate nearby nature into the science curriculum to not only better teach the natural sciences, but it also helps to connect youth to their local natural areas.

Objective 3: Demonstrate and expand the evidence for the role of park and outdoor recreation services in promoting community vibrancy and resilience.

• Fix and associates created the Public Lands Recreation Research Partnership (PLRRP), a partnership of researchers that have focused on assisting the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) in identifying beneficial outcomes associated with recreation. Assessments of beneficial outcomes were conducted at the individual, household, and community levels.  The resulting information was incorporated into BLM Resource Management Plans, which seek to monitor beneficial outcomes.  The PLRRP completed two pilot projects during the reporting period: at BLM-managed lands near Missoula, MT (including hunters, winter recreationists and summer visitors at historic site) and at the Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks National Monument, near Las Cruces New Mexico. The pilot projects consisted of focus groups and visitor surveys.  The pilot projects consisted of researchers in Alaska, Arizona, Colorado, Montana, and New Mexico.  Eight project reports resulted from that work.
• The Bricker group is in their third year of a study which explores the value of nature-based programs for veterans with PTS. Bricker also continues to work on a study with communities outside Theodore Roosevelt National Park on enhancing QOL and collaboration.
• Brady will be presenting a paper at a conference at Arizona State University on the effect of outdoor recreation on home values in November, 2018.
• The Larson group remain engaged in several projects related this theme. The first explores the impacts 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 are also continuing to use a variety of data sources and methods to 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) across diverse contexts. Other recently concluded work related to resilience includes studies of ecotourism and local livelihoods in developing countries and explorations of factors that influence local government’s capacity to respond to environmental change. A new strand of research that looks at the promise and potential impacts of hunter recruitment and retention efforts targeting college students (as well as the broader implications for conservation) will be a priority in coming years.
• Working with the Florida Cooperative Extension Service, University of Florida researchers conducted two needs assessments in two Florida counties: Collier and Pinellas counties. The Collier County needs assessment was completed in early 2018 while the Pinellas County needs assessment is nearing completion. Results of the Collier County assessment show landowners who are involved in agritourism are already well established in the tourism industry and look for information to help them better promote agriculture in the county and tell their story better. They are looking to build upon their success. Nature-based tourism professionals are still new to the county; there needs are more basic, and they look to learn about the industry itself, basic marketing and promotion skills, and other information to help them begin their businesses. Overall, results are showing that stakeholders look to Extension to not only provide information and education, but they also believe Extension agents can help lead collaborative and joint marketing efforts.

Training, professional development, and information dissemination

Objective 1: preventive health benefits

• Scholl, K. (September, 2017). Integrating Theory with Practice: College Campus Landscapes as a Learning Ecosystem. University of Northern Iowa. Cedar Falls, IA.
• Stein, T.V. and Ward, C. 2017. Giving Locals a Say in Promoting Tourism by Enhancing Recreation in the Wildland Urban Interface in Florida, USA. Paper presented at the IUFRO 125th Anniversary Congress, 19-22 September 2017. Freiburg, Germany.
• Co-organizer and co-host for Panel Session: Taff, B. D., Allen, D., Larson, L. R., Thomsen, J., Van Riper, C., Newman, P., Hipp, J. A., Jennings, V., Brownlee, M., Bricker, K., Koontz, L., & Richardson, L. (2017). Healthy Parks Healthy People: State of the evidence and paths to improve the science. George Wright Society Conference on Parks, Protected Areas, and Cultural Sites. Norfolk, VA: April 2-7, 2017.
• Gullion, M. and Stein, T.V. 2017. Non-traditional outdoor recreation in Hillsborough County: Identifying constraints and developing strategies to encourage participation. Southeastern Recreation Research Symposium, March 20-22, 2017. Asheville, NC.
• Ward, C. and Stein, T.V. 2017. Understanding visitors’ attitudes and preferences to better integrate recreation into wild and urban interface conservation areas. Southeastern Recreation Research Symposium, March 20-22, 2017. Asheville, NC.
• Co-organizer and host for Panel Session: Larson, L. R., Jennings, V., Allen, D., Zarr, R., Schultz, C., & Taff, B. D. (2017). Nature-based health promotion: Integrating ecosystem services, human health and well-being across diverse populations. National Council on Science and the Environment - National Conference and Global Forum: Integrating Environment and Health. Washington, DC: Jan. 24-26, 2017.
• Presentation: Wilcer, S., Larson, L., & Hallo, J. (2016). The ‘First Day Hike’ phenomenon: a unique interpretive opportunity. National Association for Interpretation National Conference. Corpus Christi, TX: November 8-12, 2016.
• Betrabet-Gulwadi, G., & Scholl, K. (October 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.

Objective 2: environmental literacy and connections with nature

• Stein, T.V. and Paudyal, R. 2017. Recreation users’ perception of scenic beauty and recreation satisfaction from red-cockaded woodpecker habitat. Paper presented at the IUFRO 125th Anniversary Congress, 19-22 September 2017. Freiburg, Germany.
• Presentation: Larson, L., Bowers, E., & Stephens, L. (2017). Connection to nature supports positive youth development. Pathways to Success Conference: Integrating Human Dimensions into Fisheries and Wildlife Management. Estes Park, CO: Sept. 17-20, 2017.
• Paudyal, R. and Stein, T.V. 2017. Role of activity of participation, knowledge, and ecological information on recreationists’ perceptions of prescribed burning and visit satisfaction. Southeastern Recreation Research Symposium, March 20-22, 2017. Asheville, NC.

Objective 3: Community vibrancy and resilience

• The Fix research group participated in a Bureau of Land Management training session (August 7 – 11, in Salt Lake City, Utah). The purpose of the training session was to build capacity to implement Outcomes Focused Management, a framework that identifies positive outcomes resulting from recreation to individuals, households, and communities.
• Presentation: Larson, L., Stayton, B., Sharp, R., & Ahlers, A. (2017). College students’ beliefs about hunting and wildlife conservation: implications for the future. Pathways to Success Conference: Integrating Human Dimensions into Fisheries and Wildlife Management. Estes Park, CO: Sept. 17-20, 2017.
• Keynote and Panel Guest: 2017 Bricker, K. U.S. Speaker and Specialist Program for India (August, 2017). Visiting Specialist in Sustainable Tourism. Provided several presentations to industry, academe, and government.
• Keynote: 2017 Bricker, K. Linking Ecotourism, Health, and Well-being (May 11, 2017). SNOW17, Tromso, Norway.
• Presentation: Singh, D., Khandal, D., Shaikh, P., & Larson, L. R. (2017). Ecotourism impacts on conservation and local livelihoods: a case study of Ranthambore National Park, India. George Wright Society Conference on Parks, Protected Areas, and Cultural Sites. Norfolk, VA: April 2-7, 2017.
• Poster: Stayton, B., Larson, L. R., Sharp, R. L., & Ahlers, A. (2016). Hunting-related attitudes and behaviors of college students: Implications for wildlife conservation. The Wildlife Society Annual Conference. Raleigh, NC: October 15-19, 2016.