PRTM faculty and graduate students receive funding from REI Cooperative Action Fund to develop nature-based health and wellness programs

Faculty and graduate students in the Clemson University Department of Parks, Recreation and Tourism Management (PRTM) have received funding from the REI Cooperative Action Fund to develop nature-based health and wellness programs in local communities.

The REI Cooperative Action Fund has invested over $3.8 million in 60 organizations nationwide to improve community health and well-being through increased time spent outdoors. Recipients in the PRTM department include Matthew Browning, Ph.D., Corliss Outley, Ph.D., and doctoral students Elliot Floyd and Hsuan Hsieh.

The funded projects include:

Nature Unbound

Browning, associate professor and co-director of the Virtual Reality and Nature Lab (VRNL) at Clemson, has received $199,843 for Nature Unbound, a project to explore disparities in nature visitation across sociodemographic groups in the United States using quantitative and qualitative research methods. In collaboration with Olivia McAnirlin, co-director of the VRNL, and other researchers, the team will conduct a nationwide survey of 6,600 adults using NatureDose™, an app to track outdoor activity. The comprehensive survey is among the first of its kind to produce results comparing indoor, outdoor and nature-based activities.

Rooted in Solidarity

Outley, professor and director of the REYSE Collaboratory at Clemson, received $166,595 for Rooted in Solidarity, an initiative dedicated to supporting underrepresented youth in Appalachia. Alayna Schimdt, doctoral candidate in the PRTM department serves as project director. This initiative will use art and creative praxis to deliver transformative experiences, promote mental and physical well-being through nature and amplify youth-led advocacy. Rooted in Appalachian traditions, youth will explore their connections to nature by learning arts-based storytelling from regional artists and community organizers and share their personal and collective visions for the future.

Influence of Park Prescriptions on Low-income Parental Leisure Constraints and Stress

Floyd, Ph.D. candidate in the Department of Parks, Recreation and Tourism Management, received $10,000 to work with Kids in Parks on the Influence of Park Prescriptions on Low-income Parental Leisure Constraints and Stress study in collaboration with pediatric providers in Charleston, South Carolina. The study will assign park prescriptions, or recommended time outdoors, to random participants. Floyd will collect data on barriers to park use and participants’ stress at the beginning of the project and again after one month to determine prescriptions’ effectiveness. The project seeks to provide valuable insights into the benefits of park prescriptions for low-income families, addressing a gap in nature-health research.

Green Safety Net of Nature Rx: Enhancing Health in College Students through Forest Therapy

Hsieh, Ph.D. candidate in the PRTM department, received $10,000 to lead the Green Safety Net of Nature Rx: Enhancing Health in College Students through Forest Therapy project. Hsieh will implement and evaluate guided forest therapy and meditation classes at the South Carolina Botanical Garden on Clemson’s campus to help students develop coping mechanisms, reduce stress and improve health through a connection with nature. Additionally, researchers will gain expertise in nature-based mental health interventions and earn a forest therapy guide certification from the Association of Nature and Forest Therapy.

“Support from the REI Cooperative Action Fund allows our faculty and students to delve further into the relationship between nature and personal health,” said Bob Barcelona, chair of the Department of Parks, Recreation and Tourism Management. “Each of these innovative, nature-based programs investigates the intersection of individual, community and environmental health and well-being to advance the College of Behavioral, Social and Health Sciences’ mission to build people and communities in South Carolina and beyond.”

The Department of Parks, Recreation and Tourism Management is a part of the College of Behavioral, Social and Health Sciences. Established in July 2016, CBSHS is a 21st-century, land-grant college that combines work in nine disciplines – communication; nursing; parks, recreation and tourism management; political science; psychology; public health sciences; sociology, anthropology and criminal justice – to further its mission of “building people and communities” in South Carolina and beyond.