Exploring the Relationship Between Outdoor Sports and Environmentalism
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Introduction
What do soccer, track, softball, rowing, and climate change mitigation all have in common? They can all be done within the great outdoors. Climate change is one of the most relevant topics in the environmental realm. It is one of the most troublesome global challenges, with extensive ecological, social, and economic implications. One potentially influential factor that has received limited attention in climate change research is the role of outdoor sports. Outdoor sports include a wide range of physical activities that take place in natural settings, such as hiking, biking, skiing, and rock climbing. These activities not only provide recreational and health benefits but also offer valuable opportunities for people to interact with the natural environment firsthand.
Although environmentalism is not the focus of an athlete’s activities, nature plays an integral role in the execution of the sport. It provides the landscape for which the sport can be played, making nature a necessary condition for a sport’s performance. Consequently, there is clearly some sort of relationship between outdoor sports and environmentalism. As such, participation in outdoor sports may help shape positive attitudes toward the environment, and therefore climate change mitigation. This research proposal aims to investigate the benefits of playing outdoor sports on individuals' perceptions regarding climate change, recognizing the need to fill in the gap in existing knowledge on this important topic.
Literature Review
Outdoor Sports & Nature Connectedness
Engaging in outdoor activities often involves spending time in natural settings, which can foster a greater connection to the environment (Mayer and Franz, 2004).
Those with deeper connections with nature tend to support environmentally responsible behavior (Nisbet et al., 2009; Brügger et al., 2011).
Playing an outdoor sport can help remedy the disconnect between humans and nature (Eigenschenk et al., 2019).
Sport Ecology
Sport ecology is defined by McCullough et al. (2020) as the study of the natural world and sports, highlighting their reciprocal relationship.
Playing an outdoor sport creates interactions with the environment conducive to reconciling culture and nature (Trendafilova & Ziakas, 2022).
Reducing human/nature disconnect via sport ecology creates more befitting sustainability efforts (Trendafilova & Ziakas, 2022).
Sports & Environmental Degradation
Sports like mountain biking can cause the following issues: erosion, vegetation loss, and disturbance of species (Marion & Wimpey, 2007)
MacIntyre et al.’s (2019) interviews with extreme athletes suggest that they often recognize participating in an outdoor sport requires them to exploit the environment to some degree, sparking feelings of hypocrisy when simultaneously seeking to appreciate the environment through sport
How can outdoor sports shift perceptions of climate change in a beneficial way when the activities themselves contribute to environmental degradation?
Research Question
The introduction and literature review present the following question:
How does engagement in outdoor sports influence individuals' attitudes and perceptions toward climate change?
The research question is important because :
Neither sports nor climate change are disappearing anytime soon; therefore, it is essential to fill in current research gaps by continuing to explore how society can benefit and/or avoid negative consequences from the relationship between the two.
It aims to reconcile the opposing concepts of environmental degradation and pro-environmental attitudes by investigating how participating in outdoor sports can influence individuals' views toward climate change.
Theoretical Framework & Justification
First, we must examine playing an outdoor sport. Then, its potential effects (environmental degradation and interactions with nature) can be studied.
Connectedness with nature can result from nature-based interactions and create a space to study sport ecology. The resulting connectedness can spark pro-environmental attitudes and conservation efforts.
However, the framework is not entirely straightforward. The diagram points out that combining environmental degradation from an outdoor sport with pro-environmental attitudes creates hypocritical environmental views. The concepts seemingly contradict each other and so it is necessary to further explore their relationship.
Methods & Justification
Research Methods: The study will utilize mixed methods, combining components of both quantitative and qualitative research through utilizing surveys and interviews as data collection methods.
Qualitative data (people’s words, in this case) is essential because it can be difficult to quantify one’s feelings towards nature. Qualitative data adds value to the research by allowing participants to openly describe their experiences and the concepts that resonate with them.
Quantitative data will allow the results to be more easily comparable across participants by reducing discrepancy. For example, using questions based on the Likert Scale, such as asking participants to what extent they believe that climate change is a pressing issue, will produce a limited range of data from one (strongly disagree) to five (strongly agree) (Biggs et al., 2021).
Research Methods Justification: Biggs et al. (2021) and Angelsen et al. (2011) support the use of mixed methods in sustainability studies. They suggest that combining qualitative and quantitative approaches forces us to understand multiple viewpoints on a topic, providing a more comprehensive view of complex issues than one method can.
Sampling Method: The study will use random sampling based on a population of 18 to 30-year-old long-term outdoor athletes in the United States.
It is important that they are long-term athletes (defined for the purpose of this study as individuals with ten or more years of outdoor athletic experience) so that they have considerable time to potentially build a connection with sports and/or the environment.
This specific age group was selected in order to narrow the focus of the study to young adults; considering all age groups would add undesirable complexity to the study as age may play a role in climate attitudes.
Sampling Justification: random sampling is beneficial to this study because it reduces bias and offers each individual an equal chance for selection (Noor et al., 2022).
Threats to Validity
Threats:
Participants may feel pressured to answer a certain way during an interview instead of providing an honest answer. This may be because they want to please the interviewer or feel embarrassed to tell the truth.
As an athlete, I have my own experiences with sports and nature that could unfairly shape the results (through bias) if not appropriately addressed.
Solutions:
I can pre-test the survey/interview questions on individuals outside of the participant group to observe if people tend to interpret the questions incorrectly, feel pressured to answer a certain way, and/or get confused by any of the questions before they are finalized.
I can create a comfortable environment for interviews, conducting them in a cozy and welcoming space so that participants feel more relaxed/open.
To address concerns about bias, I must remember to put my own experiences aside or discuss them separately from the rest of the data collected. That way, my personal experiences will not interfere with the results.
Works Cited
Angelsen, A., Larsen, H., Lund, J., Smith-Hall, C., & Wunder, S. (2011). Measuring Livelihoods and Environmental Dependence: Methods for Research and Fieldwork. 10.17528/cifor/003341.
Biggs, R., De Vos, A., Preiser, R., Clements, H., Maciejewski, K., & Schlüter, M. (2021). The Routledge Handbook of Research Methods for Social-Ecological Systems. 10.4324/9781003021339.
Brügger, A., Kaiser, F. G., & Roczen, N. (2011). One for All? Connectedness to nature, inclusion of nature, environmental identity, and implicit association with nature. European Psychologist, 16(4), 324–333. https://doi.org/10.1027/1016-9040/a000032
Devine‐Wright, P., & Clayton, S. (2010). Introduction to the special issue: Place, identity and environmental behavior. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 30, 267-270.
Eigenschenk, B., Thomann, A., Mcclure, M., Davies, L., Gregory, M., Dettweiler, U., & Inglés, E. (2019). Benefits of Outdoor Sports for Society. A Systematic Literature Review and Reflections on Evidence. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 16(6), 937. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph16060937
MacIntyre, T. E., Walkin, A. M., Beckmann, J., Calogiuri, G., Gritzka, S., Oliver, G., Donnelly, A. A., & Warrington, G. (2019). An Exploratory Study of Extreme Sport Athletes' Nature Interactions: From Well-Being to Pro-environmental Behavior. Frontiers in Psychology, 10, 1233. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2019.01233
Marion, J.L., & Wimpey, J.F. (2007). Environmental Impacts of mountain biking: Science review and best practices. Mountain Biking: IMBA's Guide to Providing Great Riding.
Mayer, F. & Frantz, Cynthia. (2004). The Connectedness to Nature Scale: A Measure of Individuals’ Feeling in Community with Nature. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 24. 503-515.
McCullough, B. P., Orr, M., & Kellison, T. (2020). Sport Ecology: Conceptualizing an Emerging Subdiscipline Within Sport Management. Journal of Sport Management, 34(6), 509-520. https://doi.org/10.1123/jsm.2019-0294
Nisbet, E. K., Zelenski, J. M., & Murphy, S.A. (2009, September). The nature relatedness scale: Linking individuals’ connection with nature to environmental concern and behavior. Environment and Behavior, 41(5), 715-740.
Noor, S., Tajik, O., & Golzar, J. (2022). Simple Random Sampling. International Journal of Education & Language Studies, 78-82.
Trendafilova, S. & Ziakas, V. (2022). Sensitizing the social-ecosystems of outdoor sport environments: A comprehensive framework. Frontiers in Sports and Active Living, 4, 1-12.
Weiss, O., Norden, G., Hilscher, P., & Vanreusel, B. (1998). Ski tourism and environmental problems: Ecological awareness among different groups. International Review for the Sociology of Sport, 33(4), 367-379.
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