Nature and Recreation in a Pandemic: The Impact of COVID-19 on Outdoor Recreation
Abstract
Community lockdowns to hinder the spread of SARS-CoV-2 significantly altered the daily lives of people around the globe. Shifting from commuting to work to a work-from-home lifestyle compressed daily life into single spaces, such as bedrooms, home offices, and living rooms. The purpose of this study is to understand how COVID-19 lockdown catalyzed reconfiguration of leisure time, specifically outdoor recreation usage and connection to nature. This research conducted in-depth semi-structured interviews with four outdoor recreationists to develop an understanding of changes in outdoor recreation participation using Grounded Theory. Results suggest that individuals experienced a collapsing of their once separated lives into a life that lacked distinctive separate of work and leisure time. This collapsing was catalyzed by their perceptions of COVID-19 and the impact of safety precautions in response to the pandemic. Despite a shift in their separated lives, participants used multiple techniques to adapt to this change, including purposeful recreation, recreation justification, finding nature close to home, and alternative recreation.
Department
Recreation, Park and Tourism SciencesCitation
Pilgreen, Daniel (2023). Nature and Recreation in a Pandemic: The Impact of COVID-19 on Outdoor Recreation. Available electronically from https : / /hdl .handle .net /1969 .1 /197610.
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