Featured image from Dan Zazworsky.
According to the Outdoor Foundation’s 2019 Outdoor Participation Report, just shy of 50% of Americans did not recreate outdoors in 2018. This is an alarming statistic for those in the Outdoors Industry worried about their bottom line and their overarching mission to get more people outdoors and “steer policy on critical issues like climate change, environmental protection, and public lands.”
According to the report, Americans overall went on 1 billion less outdoor recreation activities than in 2008, a staggering figure considering how many more people it seems like we see when we’re trying to get to our “secret” fishing spot. Another figure that has us concerned is that a whopping 12% fewer kids got outdoors to recreate than in 2012.
“It’s not just the outdoor industry that should care about this,” said Lise Aangeenbrug, the executive director of the Outdoor Foundation. “Study after study indicates that time spent outdoors, particularly active time outdoors, can help us improve our mental health, physical health, academic outcomes and more. We should really be concerned as a nation that we are becoming an indoor nation.”
To continue reading about the report, check out the Colorado Sun’s synopsis, here.
To read the full report, you can download it, here.
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