Removing Barriers
Diversifying the outdoor-recreation participation for your agency
By Jeremy Hoffman and Michael A. Mulvaney
Outdoor recreation is a growing industry. Broadly defined as activities that engage a participant with nature, outdoor recreation involves activities such as camping, hiking, mountaineering, snowboarding, skiing, fishing, hunting, and climbing. While interest in these pursuits has climbed steadily over the past 10 years, the interest has grown exponentially during the pandemic when traditional forms of recreation were temporarily shut down. For example, the 2021 Special Report on Fishing found first-time fishing participation increased by 42 percent in 2020, compared to 2019 with 55 percent of those participants planning to continue this activity in 2021.
yns plt, Unsplash
Outdoor recreation has also been shown to provide a variety of benefits when it comes to the human condition. Benefits ranging from increased levels of relaxation, enhanced energy levels, better self-esteem, better sense of connection with nature, and self-efficacy are commonly identified by outdoor-recreation participants.
First-time participation in outdoor recreation is often facilitated by local park and recreation agencies. It is through these services that individuals often develop an interest in outdoor recreation and a long-term commitment to these pursuits.
These local agencies have the opportunity to play a significant part in the establishment of a more diverse community of outdoor-recreation participants. Park and recreation agencies can help foster a larger, more diverse, and more inclusive number of participants.
Potential Barriers
But professionals and their agencies must combat societal norms (i.e., gender stereotypes, age, racial profiling, etc.) and barriers that are oftentimes present in outdoor recreation. A few of the societal norms that can create potential barriers include the following:
“Outdoor recreation is just for boys.” Research has repeatedly found an inequitable gender representation within several areas of outdoor-recreation programming. Marketing-analysis studies have found a disproportionately higher occurrence rate of males represented in outdoor-recreation advertisements compared to females. This includes the way these individuals are portrayed in the marketing material. This unequal representation enforces the harmful stereotype in society that suggests feminine individuals are not able to participate in outdoor-recreation pursuits without the presence of a male.
“I’m not seeing people here like me.” Society often operates based on the identities that individuals hold and how these identities are perceived by other people. This becomes more complex when considering that individuals often embrace multiple identities at one time. This becomes a barrier when participants believe they cannot be positively viewed among their peers in an outdoor setting. This perception can include multiple variables such as racial representation, gender representation, lack of a unified leisure identity with the group, socioeconomic status, and much more. Research has routinely found outdoor recreation to be viewed, by current and prospective participants, as a domain for white, college-educated, middle-class males. Thus, individuals who do not self-identify with that perception can be discouraged from initially participating.
“It is who I am.” Another barrier is a participant’s leisure identity. Leisure identity refers to how an individual relates to a particular outlet of leisure. For example, somebody who rock climbs may identify as a “rock climber,” and therefore seek out opportunities to reaffirm that identity, making it more prominent in their lives and acting as a primary motivator for behavior. In contrast, individuals looking to start a specific outdoor pursuit may not hold that leisure identity yet. For these “new” participants, there can be a heightened sense of vulnerability as they contemplate whether they will participate and/or continue the outdoor-recreation pursuit. It is during this time that individuals can be heavily influenced by external factors, such as information overload (about the pursuit) or social-norm intimidations (i.e., initial reluctance, lack of ability, lack of mentorship, etc.) that might potentially ruin their leisure-identity formation and future participation.
Amir Samoh, Unsplash
Increasing Diverse Participation
So, what can you and your agency do to address these barriers and encourage more diverse participation? Research has identified several strategies that can be effective:
Tip #1: Be aware of the agency’s outward presentation. An agency can use a variety of practices to foster a more diverse and inclusive participant pool. One of the major practices a company can start with is its outward presentation or marketing of these outdoor-recreation services. As noted earlier, outward appearances are incredibly powerful in enforcing social norms, as well as presenting the type of individual typically seen in an outdoor activity. But this imagery can be exclusive and subconsciously prevent new people from participating. Agencies can be more conscientious of the images used to market services (i.e., individuals portrayed, possible underlying messages the images may portray, etc.). In fact, these images are typically the first thing many people encounter, and this advertising influences how individuals perceive the welcoming or unwelcoming environment of a particular outdoor-recreation activity.
Tip #2: Hiring a diverse staff. Having representative professionals in an agency is also key to fostering a more diverse and inclusive participant pool. Participants who do not see people they can easily identify with among the outdoor-recreation staff are less likely to seek out the agency for assistance and support. Having proper representation in staff members is important, as these professionals interact with participants that goes beyond marketing efforts.
Tip #3: Critically reviewing current policies and practices. The steps taken within an agency will also be key to fostering a more diverse and inclusive participant pool. This can include marketing efforts but also common practices such as staff trainings, services provided at facilities (i.e., signage, accessibility, all-gender bathrooms, etc.), hiring practices, program tuition costs, and attendance fees. This effort even extends to follow-up practices after a program has started. Early on, industries often used the words “diversity” and “inclusive” without follow-up on policy changes. Essentially, companies used these terms as empty gestures to gain some value with the public. The establishment of diversity and inclusive departments or committees can keep the momentum of these efforts going in the promotion of a safer and more inclusive environment for both staff and participants. In addition to other initiatives, these departments or committees can review agency policies with a critical lens to help lessen the possible negative impacts these policies may have on less-represented populations.
© Can Stock Photo / fizkes
Tip #4: Establishing an inclusive culture. Establishing an inclusive culture is another strategy in fostering a more diverse participant pool. This can be a difficult and time-intensive process as issues of inclusion and barriers often lie deep within the culture of an agency. Establishing a new culture requires an ongoing and honest critique of the agency’s inner workings. Asking tough “why” questions and challenging pre-existing norms and practices take time but have been shown to improve agency effectiveness in several areas, including service/program quality. Furthermore, improved retention of participants and staff members has also been linked to inclusive cultures. As the creation of this culture can, at times, be intimidating, support from management (i.e., advocacy, dedicated time to support various initiatives, resource support, etc.) is critical.
Outdoor-recreation pursuits are gaining the attention of the public, and thus growth in the industry. With the number of benefits participants receive from these recreational experiences, it is important for providers to ensure their agency practices and policies support a wide range of participants. Doing so will not only make these benefits accessible to all individuals, but also allow the agency to grow and learn from the participants and their diverse perspectives.
Jeremy Hoffman is a Transportation Logistics Manager for NOLS Alaska in Palmer, Alaska. Reach him at (309) 292-8855, or jermjhoff@gmail.com.
Michael. A. Mulvaney, is a Professor and Program Director for the School of Kinesiology & Recreation at Illinois State University in Normal, Ill. Reach him at (217) 519-1983, or mamulva@ilstu.edu.