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Research Focus

People’s Outdoor Activities

Environmental stewardship, outdoor recreation, and gathering of nontimber forest products (NTFPs) such as mushrooms, fruits, and tree boughs are examples of outdoor activities of people on both public and private lands.  Many of these activities have cultural or other personal connections and may involve individuals, families, or community groups. 

We study people’s diverse outdoor activities in order to understand their motivations and to consider the implications for management and policy decisions in parks, public forests, and other public open spaces. Click on the links below to find about more about our research in each category.

• Urban Environmental Stewardship
  • Models for Ecological Restoration in Urban Areas: Lessons from the US and Germany
  • Restorative Commons: Creating Health and Well-Being through Urban Landscapes
  • Living Memorials that Commemorate the 9/11 Attacks
  • NYC STEW-MAP: The Stewardship Mapping and Assessment Project
• Outdoor Recreation
  • What Attracts and Repels Visitors to Urban Recreation and Environmental Education Sites?
  • Eating Sport-caught Fish from an Industrial Urban Area: Anglers Consider the Risks
  • Talking with Hmong Americans about Their Culture and Use of Public Lands
  • Rapid Issue Tracking: Taking the Pulse of Media Attention and Public Discussion
• Gathering Nontimber Forest Products
  • Culturally and Economically Important Nontimber Forest Products of Northern Maine
  • Gathering of Nontimber Forest Products in Scotland
  • Morel Mushroom Gathering at Two National Park Sites