Outdoor participation survey

gloo

{insert witty remark here}
Joined
Jan 22, 2012
Messages
151
While doing some random internet browsing instead of working on an important paper, I ran across this:
http://www.outdoorfoundation.org/research.participation.2010.html

Seems interesting, I wonder about the methodology on this a lot but nonetheless its an interesting read. I only skimmed over it because the PDF is long and I really shouldn't be reading it page to page (I will) but I figure I'd share this. Enjoy!

I've always been worried about the whole "nature deficit disorder" thing that is brought up in Richard Louv's book last child in the woods. I have a slew of friends who I have to really push to go outdoors and enjoy the world around us - even just to hike or car camp (although I'm slowly/naturally morphing to change to friends who are more inline with nature, due to similar interests) I have been interested in how to sell the outdoors because to those who aren't familiar with its amazingness it just doesn't seem fun. They don't understand that taking a 25-30lb pack up 3000 feet and 9 miles to some backcountry lake to stay for 2 nights can be one of the best experiences of their life, for example.

This whole disconnect with nature worries me. Not so much that they won't enjoy it, that's their choice and loss. But that important figures in society don't/won't appreciate what there is to offer. And thus will not treat it better in the future. We worry about access issues now, but I fear it's not nearly as bad as it will be when my generation becomes the leaders. I mean, even some of my peers whom I have been out enjoying the great outdoors with have no respect for it. its not that hard to pack out what you take in. Its like 6 beer cans and a box of cheese its. man up. If I ever gain the motivation to spend the next 7 years to life searching for my phd in psych, this whole subject is along the lines of what I'd like to research.
 
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