Summer outdoor programs: their participants and their effects

Abstract

In a study of the benefits of various summer programs, especially those involving wilderness experiences, the use of pretests for all the groups made possible evaluation of the degree of self-selection as well. Similar tests 6 months later showed the influences of the summer programs themselves. The results suggest that even a relatively short encounter with the out-of-doors results in pervasive changes, the most striking of which relate to increased competence in skills required in the woods.

Parent Publication

• Children, nature, and the urban environment: proceedings of a symposium-fair

Citation

Kaplan, Rachel. 1977. Summer outdoor programs: their participants and their effects. In: Children, Nature, and the Urban Environment: Proceedings of a Symposium-Fair; Gen. Tech. Rep. NE-30. Upper Darby, PA: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Northeastern Forest Experiment Station. 174-179