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"Benefits and Values of Outdoor Recreation." Outdoor Recreation in America. Ed. Clayne R.
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Benefits and Values of Outdoor Recreation

DOI: 10.5040/9781492597438.ch-003
Page Range: 39–48
Increased means and increased leisure are the two civilizers of [society].
—Benjamin Disraeli
The first great admirers of the American outdoors were the continent’s indigenous
inhabitants. The natural environment was their heritage, and they were intimately
connected to it. They lived directly off the products of the land; their diets were oriented
to local food sources, and their clothing and utensils were made from the materials at
hand. But the land was not simply their economic resource; for many Native Americans
the earth was a sacred mother to be respected and cared for.
Since those pre-European days we have moved through other eras, from the conquest of
the American wilderness to isolated homesteads and detached rural villages. These are
largely relics of the past. However, each era contributed to the character of our nation
and helped shape our present circumstance.
During the past century, as our population has shifted from rural to urban, many
Americans have become detached from the natural environment, which has essentially
become inaccessible to them. Despite the advantages inherent in urban living, for many it
lacks the wholeness found in more rural settings.
We seem to be realizing and taking seriously the negative consequences of such a
separation from the natural world. In the long run, when humans modify natural areas,
bigger facilities or parking areas are not always better, and more sophisticated equipment
or facilities may well mean less involvement with the outdoors. Industrialized humans
evolved in the natural world, but are removed from it by a barrier of high-tech civilization.
We must take action to help protect and preserve the natural environment.
While taming the wilderness, settling the frontier, and developing the nation, the people
of America were also “tamed.” In the process, the stage was set for the most
technological and success-oriented country in the world. The land frontier is totally gone
now, and the new challenge is not conquering the land, but restraining ourselves from
destroying it.
With an ever-increasing demand for outdoor recreation and use of our natural resources,
we are challenged in two ways: to keep from “loving it to death” through overuse and
from “using it up” through overdevelopment. Yet, although outdoor recreation is popular,
it is not generally recognized as valuable or important—it is often seen primarily as “just”
recreation.
Many people engage in outdoor recreation primarily because it is “fun.” However, “fun”
is an insufficient reason for our society to accept recreation as important. As professionals,
we need to help others understand the value and benefits of outdoor recreation and the
protection of our natural resources.
Benefits of Outdoor Recreation

As mentioned in chapter 1, recreation provides substantial benefits. These benefits can
be put into four categories: personal, sociocultural, environmental and educational, and
economic.
Personal Benefits
Outdoor recreation supplies a number of benefits to individuals. It contributes to personal
psychological, spiritual, and physical well-being. It also provides challenge and adventure
to keep our lives from becoming stale.
Psychological Well-Being
Knowing that we live in a world filled with crisis does not diminish the importance of
individual experiences with nature. In fact, it increases the significance of nature in our
lives. Through nature we learn about the basic realities of life, and sometimes we learn
more about ourselves than about the land. Being in nature can be an exploration of the
soul. Perhaps Walt Whitman was correct when he said, “Now I see the secret of making
the best persons. It is to grow in the open air and to eat and sleep with the earth.”
In the early 1900s one of the founders of the Wilderness Society, Robert Marshall,
emphasized that some people need the “psychological urge for challenge and adventure
and above all, the freedom of wilderness.” He advocated that nature offers a sanctuary, a
place of solitude and silence that can ease strain and encourage contemplation. Since
then, many surveys have reported that Americans find great solace in the outdoors.
Relaxation has consistently been an important reason why Americans participate in
outdoor recreation, with up to 80% of Americans citing that value (Roper-Starch, 1999).
On the other hand, much outdoor recreation involves physical activity. The psychological
benefits of physical activity are well documented. It has been observed that nature and
natural scenery exercise the mind without fatigue, tranquilize the mind and yet enliven it,
and create the effect of both rest and invigoration to the whole system. The field of
adventure education relies on the psychological benefits from outdoor adventures.
4/27/2021
Outdoor Recreation in America
Emerson wrote, “The happiest man is he who learns from nature the lesson of worship.”
Spiritual Values
In the 1800s the spiritual values of wilderness were among the strongest arguments for
protection of wilderness. This idea was found earlier in the writing of the French naturalist
philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau (early 1700s), who popularized the idea that truth is
found in nature. To him and his followers, experiencing the natural environment was a
spiritual episode.
Transcendentalists Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau advanced Rousseau’s
concept. Emerson evoked the power of outdoor experiences to generate feelings of
freedom, serenity, and humility in these lines (Emerson, 1899):
Whoso walketh in solitude,

and inhabiteth the woods,
Choosing light, wave, rock, and bird,
Before the money-loving herd,
Into that forester shall pass,
From these companions, power and grace.
William Cullen Bryant advised that anyone who had seen enough of the sorrows, crimes,
and cares of civilization should “enter the woods and view the haunts of nature” (to
experience peace and serenity). Further, he proclaimed, “the groves were God’s first
temples.” He explicitly expressed his delight at being close to nature alone.
In defense of nature, John Muir stated, “Thousands of tired, nerve-shaken, over-civilized
people are beginning to find out that going to the mountains is going home; that
wilderness is a necessity; and that mountain parks and reservations are useful not only as
fountains of timber and irrigating rivers, but as fountains of life” (Muir, 1901/1992a, p.
459).
Today, spiritual sources can help people navigate through life. Likewise, spirituality often
represents a person’s higher nature— moral values and a respect for humanity, the
environment, and the earth itself. It helps cultivate a perception of order and purpose.
And, it can lead people to want to act responsibly.
In our contact with nature, we can be aware of a presence around and beyond us,
manifested in marvels ranging from the smallest snowflake to the grandeur of the Milky
Way. Natural events furnish evidence of the order and creation of which we are a part. For
many, these daily miracles provide feelings of contentment, security, and reassurance.
The daily miracle and vast spans of the ocean can help people seeking outdoor recreation
for spiritual purposes. PHOTO COURTESY OF RAGEN E. SANNER
Leisure offers time for meditation and contemplation about values, and about one’s place
and conditions of existence. It offers time for a vision of life separate from work and daily
chores. In turn, spiritual involvement during leisure can lead to higher thought and
feelings and to real joy. The highest level of leisure activity is when the participant
becomes emotionally involved in a positive way. This often occurs in nature, when one’s
involvement provides more than a physical form of recreation. It allows attainment of a
spiritual level of oneness with the environment. Just as we need beauty as well as bread,
we all are strengthened and enriched by pleasant places where nature heals, consoles,
and refreshes the body and soul.
In addition to the previously stated views of noteworthy writers, an abundance of
contemporary evidence reveals that human experiences with natural beauty and nature’s
processes can have spiritual meaning. Practically every organized church and every major
religion entwines nature and experiences in natural settings into its doctrine and its
sponsored experiences. Nature does indeed play a significant role in the spirituality of
humankind.
Physical Well-Being
Long ago, John Muir advised his fellow citizens to “climb the mountains and get their
good tidings, nature’s peace will flow into you as sunshine flows into trees. The winds will
blow their own freshness into you and the storms their energy, while cares will drop off
like autumn leaves” (Muir, 1901/1992a). This is advice that should still be heeded today.
Obesity is considered a national epidemic, with 60% of Americans overweight or obese.
As a consequence, diabetes is increasing at an alarming rate. Heart disease
(cardiovascular disease) in the United States continues to be a national crisis. Every year
about 1 million Americans die and many others are disabled from cardiovascular
disorders, a rate higher than that of any other country. Since 1979, although the mortality
for heart disease has been gradually decreasing for men, it has been increasing for
women. It is the cause of 40% of deaths in the United States, and kills more people than
the next five causes of death. It costs $230 billion per year (American Heart Association,
2003).
Through mechanization, people labor much less to accomplish work, chores, and leisure.
Two modern machines— the television set and the computer— keep Americans idle for
more than 22 hours a week outside of work.
Ninety percent of Americans agree that outdoor recreation is the best way to be
physically active. Even more agree that if more people participated in outdoor recreation,
Americans would be healthier (Roper-Starch, 2000). The 1990s saw a decade of
substantial growth in outdoor recreation participation.
However, since 2000, a discouraging trend has emerged. The number of participants, and
more significantly the frequency of participation, in outdoor recreation decreased,
especially in the 18-to-29 age range. The drop is more noticeable among those with
Internet access (RoperASW, 2004). Because our society does so little to promote physical
activity, it may be a credit to Americans that we engage in as much physical activity as we
do.
A nation is no stronger than its people, and physical vigor is as much a part of the nation’s
strength as good education. Such activities as hiking, rock climbing, bicycling, and
swimming raise the body’s level of efficiency. Even the simple pleasure of walking in
scenic places provides fun, adventure, and health. In fact, an adequate amount of walking
is one of our most healthful activities. All told, outdoor recreation offers tremendous
opportunities for the improvement of people’s health and fitness.
Challenge and Adventure

In early Europeanized America, challenge and adventure were part of people’s everyday
lives. Pioneers had trees to fell, animals to tame, streams to ford, mountains to climb,
wilderness to explore, and wildlife to pursue. Through daily adventure, they achieved
interdependence with the natural world. Today life is much different, but we still look for,
and find meaningful challenges in, a multitude of adventurous pursuits.
Generally, adventurists accept that adventure gives meaning to life. However, what counts
as adventure varies with the individual. For some, climbing a mountain is an adventure; for
others, driving to the mountain is an adventure. As discussed in chapter 1, adventure is so
meaningful that it has been incorporated into education and counseling and adopted by
the popular media. Unfortunately, the concept has been so broadened and distorted by
the media as to be virtually meaningless.
Prior to the media distortion, adventure implied challenge, risk, and uncertainty.
Challenging activity that involves personal testing can lead to discovery and have a
positive influence on one’s self-concept. The desire for challenge and adventure propels
all sorts of people to mountaintops, tropical forests, deserts, and the Arctic, as well as
into the air and under the sea where they endure hardships and privations in a search for
new sights and sensations.
Adventure activities involve personal risk. Certainly, we should not advocate unnecessary
danger, but we should recognize that absolute safety has never been our greatest need.
Adventure and challenge with a reasonable chance for success have always ranked high.
Most of us at least dream of adventure, and many enjoy it vicariously. One way to get
excitement out of life is to approach it as a great adventure. For those who do, adventure
is not only outside the person, it is inside.
It is interesting to note that despite the media attention on extreme adventure
competitions, most people engage in outdoor recreation primarily for relaxation, little
more than half seek excitement, and relatively few seek competition (Roper-Starch, 1999).
White-water rafting is one of the many outdoor activities that satisfy the human need for
challenge and adventure. PHOTO COURTESY OF USDA FOREST SERVICE
Sociocultural Benefits
Sociocultural benefits are those that encourage people to interact socially, help society as
a whole, and provide a cultural history or identity.
Social Values
People with common interests who participate in activities together tend to relate to and
feel a bond with each other. In fact, being with others is one of the primary reasons
people participate in outdoor recreation. Taking people out of their everyday
environments and distractions provides opportunities for communication and bonding.
Often close and lasting friendships develop among people who pursue the same
recreation. For example, rock climbers may band together to share experiences and for
camaraderie and mutual support. The same is true of hunters, hikers, skiers, and
participants in many other activities. Sometimes they form participation groups and even
formal organizations including clubs, associations, and societies.
Family togetherness is another social benefit of outdoor recreation. The phrase “families
that play together stay together” is more than just a rhyme; it has meaning and truth. In
fact, surveys show that the family is the most common participation unit in outdoor
recreation. Consider, for example, the frequency of family outings, trips, and vacations
built around boating, camping, hiking, skiing, and the like. These are family social events
as well as adventures and enjoyable recreation. More than half of all Americans feel that
outdoor recreation opportunities are an important consideration for raising children, and
the average American family participates in outdoor recreation at least once per month.
Fun, adventure, and camaraderie with friends and family in the great outdoors is part of
our past and our present, and part of the fiber that runs through American society. It
contributes to our social strength and unity.
Societal Benefits
Most people like challenge and excitement. If this need is not satisfied in socially
acceptable activities, then it may precipitate less desirable ones. Consider, for example,
the teenage thief who inspired the judge to observe, “This youngster should have been
stealing second base”—or perhaps some other socially acceptable and legal activity, such
as an adventure on the ski slope, a hike through the woods, or a canoe trip. Outdoor
experiences such as these are highly acceptable, and when done in the right way, with
positive social circumstances, they can build character.
A number of states are devoting financial resources to treatment programs for
behaviorally troubled youth. Research indicates that outdoor programming may be more
effective than other therapeutic interventions, with less recidivism and longer-lasting
effects on behavioral and emotional changes (Neil, 2003; West & Crompton, 2001).
Cultural Significance
Although many people think of culture as just the arts, a culture includes language, arts
and crafts, the built environment, technology, history, education, common modes of
thought, leisure activities, and many other features.
Throughout human existence, women and men have added beauty to utility. The first
pottery, for example, was made for utility alone; then a touch of decor was added. As
civilization advanced, pottery came to be valued as much for its beauty as for its function.
Little by little, this balance between beauty and utility has appeared in our attitudes
toward nature. Consequently, nature has become less threatening and more charming.
The literary heritage of America reveals the powerful influence of the outdoors. William
Cullen Bryant, botanist and poet, frequently escaped the city to seek refuge among the
groves along the Hudson River, and his literary achievement inspired the Hudson River
School of Art. Nature also became a recurring theme in the popular work of such writers
as Ralph Waldo Emerson, Walt Whitman, Mark Twain, Henry David Thoreau, and Robert
Frost. Sarah Jewett wrote mostly about people in the late 1800s, but she found her
source of inspiration on the coast of Maine among the firs and the sea fog. In the same
century, Emily Dickinson wrote poetry of nature that few have matched, and the great
novels of James Fenimore Cooper alternated environments from forest to sea. Among the
noteworthy romantic nature writers of the past are Samuel Williams, DeWitt Quinton,
Washington Irving, John Muir, and Joel T. Headley, to mention a few.
The natural wonders of America have had as much influence on the visual art as on
literature. In his book America As Art, Joshua Taylor (1976) referred to the “second
discovery of America,” which he claimed was more exciting than the first. This discovery
was of fresh ideas and imagination that emerged at the hands of artists from America’s
great outdoors.
By the mid-1800s, several American landscape artists had gained prominence. Thomas
Cole, for example, achieved preeminence in capturing the American wilderness on
canvas. John Audubon was drawing birds in Kentucky, while Samuel Seymour and Titian
Peale were painting scenes in the mountain ranges of the Rockies and the Cascades in
connection with frontier expeditions. Over the years, the American landscape has inspired
the timeless works of such outstanding artists as George Catlin, Thomas Moran, George
Bingham, John Stanley, James Aldin, Randolph Kurz, Albert Bierstadt, Frederic
Remington, Charles Russell, and Georgia O’Keeffe.
In terms of music, many classical, patriotic, and folk songs suggest that their composers
had a great depth of feeling about the land, rivers, and seashores of America. Such
diverse songs as “This Land Is Your Land,” “America the Beautiful,” and “Rocky Mountain
High” express the grandeur of nature. In addition, numerous country ballads and folk
songs have emerged from American musicians. Nature and natural beauty continue to
have a strong influence on certain forms of music, particularly modern versions of so-
called “country music,” which has different variations related to specific geographic areas
of our nation.
Historical and cultural preservation and interpretation is an important component of the

mission of the National Park Service. Services provided by an interpreter are important to
outdoor recreationists; it makes their recreation experience more meaningful because it
helps visitors understand natural, cultural, and historical resources. Many believe that
education and an informed public, as provided by interpretation, is an important part of
maintaining a democratic society.
A common culture is what binds a community together. Especially as we become more

culturally diverse, we need to develop community. Genuine communities, in contrast with
mere aggregates of people, share common values and goals; they interact with each
other and are interdependent. A genuine community embraces different worldviews and
religions by accepting individual differences, and is strengthened through this
acceptance. By building a sense of community, we obtain a sense of national identity and
pride (Knudson, Cable, & Beck, 2003) and diminish polarization and divisiveness.
Cultural preservation can also provide reservoirs of information to help us with ecological
literacy. For example, studying ancient and local fishing knowledge can assist land
managers in managing local fisheries more effectively. More generally, historical and
cultural knowledge can help us understand ecosystem health. Many years ago, Aldo
Leopold stated, “We literally do not know how good a performance to expect of healthy
land unless we have a wild area for comparison with sick ones” (1949/1989c, p. 197).
Today we have so little wild area left that preserving and studying the past may be our
only way of determining the characteristics of a healthy land.
Environmental and Educational Benefits

The outdoors has much to teach for those who are willing to learn. Aldo Leopold
acknowledged the educational value of the outdoors when he wrote: “Every woodland or
forest in addition to yielding lumber, fuel, and posts, should provide those who frequent it
with a liberal education about nature. This crop of wisdom never fails but unfortunately it
is not always harvested” (Leopold, 1949/1989c, p. 73). He went on to explain that man
should learn to see himself as part of an ecological system, advocating that if we work
with that system, we can survive and flourish. If we work against it, however, it will
gradually grind us down. He stressed that recognizing nature as a community is a basic
concept of ecology, but loving and respecting nature is essential for having an
appropriate ethical attitude toward the land, an attitude necessary for our continued
health.
Some students who are bored in the classroom can be stimulated to learn through
outdoor experiences. Outdoor education is the study of the outdoors; more important,
education in the outdoors provides an exciting and stimulating environment for learning.
Finally, outdoor education can also be conducive to further learning. For example,
observing wildlife is educational in itself. But, recognizing that wildlife is part of a larger
system can also stimulate a person to want to learn more about other aspects of biology
and ecology.
Nature teaches us that all living things require constant nourishment and nurturing. It
teaches that change is a vital part of life. Weather and seasons change, plants and animals
change, and so do people. We are all part of a dynamic, ever-changing environment. Each
part has a relationship to other parts, causing change in one part to alter the total system
in some way.
In nature, everything is related. For example, consider the complex interrelationship of

the food chain, which runs the full gamut of the biological ecosystem. A problem for us as
humans comes when we look at our lives only in terms of anthropocentric organizations
and procedures instead of as a highly interrelated whole. Nature teaches us that what
happens with one part affects all parts. It also helps us to realize that every person is
important, and each contributes to the welfare of others. In nature, as well as in human
societies, understanding the interrelatedness of component parts is essential.
That we are a part of nature may be perhaps the most important thing we can learn from
nature. All of nature’s laws and principles apply to us in essentially the same way as they
apply to other elements in the world. We are a small part of the whole, and
understanding the whole adds meaning to our existence.
Economic Benefits
As important as the personal, sociocultural, environmental, and educational benefits of
outdoor recreation are, the economic benefits usually carry more weight with policy
makers. Outdoor recreation has a substantial economic impact, and outdoor recreation is
an important economic contributor.
Leisure services represent the largest economic sector of the country. Recreation and
tourism are two of the top three economic sectors for generating income and
employment (Driver, 1999). Economic benefits occur in a number of ways:
✜ Parks, especially national parks, attract large numbers of foreign visitors as well as
American travelers. Money is spent on transportation, food, housing, souvenirs, and
so forth.
✜ Often a host of support services are brought in, or supported, by the tourist
business.
✜ Locally, parks spend money on staff and facilities.
✜ Expenditures from tourism associated with parks have a multiplier effect.

Businesses that receive money from tourists go on to spend that money themselves,
often locally. This secondary expenditure will in turn cause further expenditures. Thus,
the effect of the original expenditure is multiplied (Wang, 1997).
In addition to outdoor recreation, our natural resources themselves are the basis of the
affluent and comfortable lifestyle many in America possess. Whether or not our resources
continue to provide that lifestyle depends on how they are used.
Objectives of Outdoor Recreation Professionals

Leaders in the recreation profession (resource managers and outdoor recreation program
providers) have not always agreed on well-defined goals for outdoor recreation
participants. Based on the preceding discussion of the value and benefits of outdoor
recreation, we suggest the following goals:
✜ Appreciation of nature. Because most people in our urban society have contact
with the natural environment only during an occasional trip to the country or visit to a
scenic or historic site, they are disinterested and uninvolved in conserving and
preserving natural resources. It is therefore critically important that outdoor recreation

experiences increase people’s understanding of nature and their awareness of sound
conservation and preservation practices.
✜ Personal satisfaction and enjoyment. To increase people’s enjoyment of the

outdoors, resource management agencies should aggressively provide enjoyable
recreation opportunities with aesthetic, historical, geological, archaeological, and
biological significance, as well as attractive scenery.
✜ Physical fitness. One of America’s most crucial problems is the diminution of

physical fitness and the increase in obesity. Many forms of outdoor recreation
increase fitness by pushing participants beyond their usual performance levels. For
instance, hiking, climbing, cycling, swimming, skiing, and canoeing can provide
unusual physical challenges. Recreation managers should promote fitness through
outdoor recreation by providing attractive opportunities and encouraging
participation. Even short hikes on nature trails provide needed exercise.
✜ Positive behavioral patterns. In many parts of the country, the days of experiencing
solitude in the outdoors are nearly gone. Today we often drive on a busy highway to
reach a recreation site, fish on a lake crowded with boats, hunt where there seem to
be more hunters than game, and pitch our tents in a colony of other campers.
Fortunately, the values of courtesy, consideration, and sincere respect for others are
still a part of the culture of outdoor recreation. However, challenges such as these
represent an opportunity for outdoor recreational programmers to teach and expect

these values.
✜ Environmental stewardship. Practicing stewardship of the out of doors requires a
keen perception of nature and a commitment to caring for it. All outdoor recreation
agencies should foster a keen sense of stewardship.
Saga of a River
It has been said that once embraced by the sea you can never escape its lasting charm.
It is proclaimed that mountains are the holiest of places because their peaks reach
nearest to heaven, and that a river is the ultimate traveler and a joy to all who share its
bounty. Sagas have been written about these and other elements of our natural
environment, and their entertaining content helps us better understand the
significance and value of nature. Following is one such saga about rivers.
Rivers are the friendliest of the waters. They bear life, stimulate life, and protect life.
Rivers flow deep through our nation’s heritage. Native Americans lived and worked
along their banks for hundreds of years, and later, settlers traveled the rivers to explore
a new continent and build a nation. Now these same rivers are used in many other
ways, including for recreation.
Even in its youth, a river has a name and a place on the map. Maybe it is a child of the
Rocky Mountains, shimmering through green valleys. It may be a daughter of the
Cascades, hurrying down the aisle to marry the sea. Or it may be a sentry of the Great
Plains, meandering slowly toward the ocean as it passes countless towns and witnesses
every kind of land and living thing.
Before a river settles in its summer bed, early spring campers come to its side to shed
the weight of winter. Snow-fed waters hold a promise for new beginnings as humanity
and river reunite for another long season of sunlight and blooming.
Rivers bear witness to all aspects of life on their travels to the sea.
Out West, freshly watered horses carry adventurers alongside a swift stream as they
weave their way toward the high country, and they see the river gradually dwindle as it
branches into tributaries that vanish under snowbanks near mountain peaks.
In the East, a person in no hurry can ease a johnboat along a river and into American
history. Granted, the scene has changed considerably since the first person floated by.
But the twinkling surface still sparkles in the sun like specks of gold in a prospector’s
pan.
Sometime in late September summer slips away from a river into the mist like the wake
of a canoe on a foggy day. Schoolchildren return to their more practical concerns, and
the waterfowl rehearse their journey to the South. Late hikers discover the river’s
summer handiwork. Now the river flows through the countryside like a thin thread of
nature appealing for a thicker screen of trees and a wider apron of beauty to guard its
privacy and enhance its charm.
This is when the smartest of the curious come to the river to make one final probe for
driftwood and pebbles before the days turn dark too soon. Amid the golden flame of
autumn, the anglers who never say die remain for one more cast, just one more. Then
as if shopping for an autumn wardrobe, the river borrows colors and textures from the
sky and shore, altering them with taste and wearing them with originality. It basks in
the haze of Indian summer and paints its dream on liquid canvas.
The shortening autumn days loosen the chilling air, preparing the river for a long
season of meditation and mending, anticipating the first frost and perhaps an overcoat
of snow. The river seems to slow in its tracks, as though looking backward to its
birthplace and its friends— Native Americans from past centuries, pioneers, and
vacationers from last month. Then, seemingly aware of the dependence of all life upon
its progress and purity, the river rolls on to its appointment with another springtime.
(Much of this information is adapted from the film Wild Rivers, produced by the U.S.
Department of the Interior, Washington, D.C., 1966)
Key Points
✜ Many people fail to understand the importance and substantial benefits of

outdoor recreation. Outdoor recreation professionals need to know, understand,
and communicate these benefits to others.
✜ Outdoor recreation provides psychological, spiritual, physical, social, societal,

cultural, and economic benefits. Adventure experiences obtainable in the outdoors
satisfy a need for adventure and provide educational benefits.
✜ Our natural resources are the basis of our economy and lifestyle. Protection of
cultural resources and wildlands provides an understanding of ecosystem health.
Protection of our natural resources is necessary for maintaining our lifestyle.
✜ Outdoor recreation professionals should understand and promote appreciation

of nature, personal satisfaction values of the outdoors, the importance and value of
outdoor recreation toward physical fitness, positive behavioral patterns toward the
outdoors, and a sense of environmental stewardship.
Discussion Questions and Student Activities
1. Choose three artists, musicians, or writers who have been influenced by the
American outdoors and explain this influence in their works. Write a brief summary
about each person and bring an example of their artistic work. Share with a small
group or the class.
2. Get into small groups. Examine the statement “A nation is no stronger than its
people.” Would you agree? Why or why not? What contributions can outdoor
recreation make in creating a nation of strong people? On the board or a large
piece of paper make three columns. Ask one student to write student responses on
the board and another to record them on paper. Likewise, create a statement for
how outdoor recreation can create a nation of strong people.
3. The opportunity to elevate and renew the human spirit can be essential in
productive human development. How have outdoor recreation experiences
contributed to your personal development? Compare your answer with that of a
partner.

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4/27/2021 Outdoor Recreation in America

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Benefits and Values of Outdoor Recreation

Benefits of Outdoor Recreation

Whoso walketh in solitude,

Challenge and Adventure

Historical and cultural preservation and interpretation is an important component of the

A common culture is what binds a community together. Especially as we become more

Environmental and Educational Benefits

In nature, everything is related. For example, consider the complex interrelationship of

✜ Expenditures from tourism associated with parks have a multiplier effect.

Objectives of Outdoor Recreation Professionals

preserving natural resources. It is therefore critically important that outdoor recreation

✜ Personal satisfaction and enjoyment. To increase people’s enjoyment of the

✜ Physical fitness. One of America’s most crucial problems is the diminution of

represent an opportunity for outdoor recreational programmers to teach and expect

✜ Many people fail to understand the importance and substantial benefits of

✜ Outdoor recreation provides psychological, spiritual, physical, social, societal,

✜ Outdoor recreation professionals should understand and promote appreciation

Discussion Questions and Student Activities

group or the class.

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