Beyond Recreational Value: The Greater Outdoors
—Szwak, Americans Outdoors, U. S. Govt Printing House, 1987

"Beyond Recreational Value: the Greater Outdoors Preservation-Related and Environmental Benefits," pages 1-3-113 in Szwak, Laura B., ed., Americans Outdoors: a Literature Review, Values and Benefits Section,. Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1987. Online at: http://hdl.handle.net/10217/41101

The word recreation contains the word creation. On first analysis, recreation typically benefits Americans because it re-creates, rejuvenates them when they are worn from work. At deeper analysis, when such recreation takes place in the natural environment, the creation is the context of human re-creation. Persons leave the built, cultured environment to seek the natural environment. At times this may be just recreation, quite beneficial and hardly different from indoor recreation. But often there is more, and this "more" needs to be explored. In the outdoors, one "touches base" with something greater than can be found indoors. Encounter with creation re-creates. Such benefits are philosophical and intangible, but real and deeply felt.