WHAT WERE THE VOLUNTEERS FAVORITE OUTDOOR ACTIVITIES AND WHY?
The respondents listed many different outdoor activities they enjoy, including common activities like walking or gardening, to more unusual ones (at least for urbanites) like dog sledding and paleontology. Yet there was one overriding reason why volunteers enjoyed these activities: getting closer to nature. Examples of comments about gardening as an activity include: “[gardening] satisfies creative needs and enjoyment of green beauty, feeds curiosity,” “because I can coexist with nature and observe,” “connection with nature/plant growth process,” “it makes me feel one with the earth and nature,” and “allows for developing knowledge about plants….” These comments highlight an important component of the need for improved interactions with nature. For some, this interaction is driven by curiosity and a need for exploration. The Nature Conservancy thinks of some of their volunteers as “citizen scientists” (Ross, 1992). Citizen scientists often become experts in an aspect of savanna resto
