No abstract

Nature centers, museums, zoos, and other exhibit-based institutions need to sustain or increase visitation for economic viability. To generate visitor interest, exhibits have become more interactive, with immersion exhibits becoming increasingly popular. Visitor research has traditionally focused on learning or social aspects of the visitor experience rather than psychological dimensions related to attitudes, values, and behaviors. Yet nature-focused institutions increasingly support broad-based issues, such as encouraging connection to nature and environmentally responsible behavior. This paper explores how an immersion exhibit without personal interpretation, impacts connectedness to nature, intentions for environmentally responsible behaviors, and other aspects of visitor experiences. Short visits to a free-flying butterfly exhibit were found to augment visitors’ connectedness to nature and environmentally responsible behavioral intentions. Visitors also described how they appreciated the intensely beautiful surroundings, were awe-struck, felt a great deal of peace and relaxation, and felt oneness with nature.

As part of a larger research program examining the impacts of nature-based experiences on veterans with Post-traumatic Stress Disorder, this study focused on changes in their depression and meaning in life after participating in a four-day river rafting experience. Results showed that there were statistically significant improvements over time for both depression scores and meaning in life scores. Results also indicated a weak statistically significant, negative association between depression and presence of meaning in life. The study’s results are useful for practitioners who may be considering nature-based programs for their clients, as well as researchers seeking to better understand the psychological health benefits of river rafting.

Appreciative Inquiry was employed to understand the mutual impact of Theodore Roosevelt National Park and nearby communities' relationships with tourism. Specifically, the goals of this study were to: understand the role of Theodore Roosevelt National Park related to stimulating regional tourism; to ascertain gateway community resident perceptions of benefits from tourism as it relates to economic development and quality of; and, to explore nearby communities' relationships with the park and how those communities may help influence quality visitor experiences, advance park goals, and develop and leverage partnerships. Results include a collection of emergent themes from the community inquiry related to resource access and tourism management, citizen and community engagement, conservation, marketing, and communication between the park and neighboring residents. These findings illuminate the need to understand nearby communities' relationship to public lands and regional sustainability support between public land managers and these communities.While public participation can help PPA managers and local community members achieve shared goals, engaged public participation is difficult. For example, public involvement techniques traditionally used to meet all legal requirements, such as open house meetings and the distribution of technical planning documents, have been found ineffective in promoting meaningful collaboration [13]. While PPA managers often acknowledge the need for collaboration, additional barriers including a lack of resources, high staff turnover, long-distance commuting, and a reliance on technical jargon have hindered the adoption of alternative strategies [13,14]. Even when these barriers can be overcome, determining which public engagement strategies to pursue can be challenging. For example, evidence suggests that policy and engagement strategies that work well in one community may not work well in another [15][16][17][18].Due to the importance of and challenges associated with effective public participation relative to PPAs management, identifying and assessing the use of alternative public engagement processes with application to a diversity of communities is warranted. In 2017, Theodore Roosevelt National Park initiated a strategic planning process, which included research to understand how visitors use the park and perceptions of residents within three gateway communities surrounding the park. Theodore Roosevelt National Park partnered with the University of Utah, Kansas State University, and Clemson University to launch this collaborative, multi-focal study encompassing a variety of perspectives and data-points. The focus of this paper is on research related to gateway communities surrounding the park. The purpose of this paper is to explore the usefulness of the appreciative inquiry (AI) methodology towards understanding gateway community views, goals, and connections with PPAs. Specifically, this study aims to: