{"pk":25132,"title":"Exercise and stress levels associated with a visit to Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve","subtitle":null,"abstract":"Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve (TAPR) is a rural protected natural area in Kansas, United States. This parcel of public land provides visitors from varying areas with opportunities to experience a remaining collective of the tallgrass prairie ecosystem that once spanned large areas of North America. TAPR also provides visitors with opportunities to engage in nature-based experiences while also executing active pursuits. The researchers examined the effects of visiting TAPR on individuals’ stress and activity levels during fall 2016. Electronic surveys and accelerometers were used to quantify individual stress levels and exercise. Participants (n = 239) traveled an average of 138 km to visit TAPR and spent an average of 143.7 minutes at the park, with an average of 68.1 minutes in moderate to vigorous exercise. A large majority of visitors (88.3%) also reported feeling less stressed than usual while at the park. The results suggest visiting natural areas have the potential to reduce stress and promote exercise, both well-known factors contributing to individual well-being. The results of this case study also convey the significance that accessible natural areas can have regarding opportunities of people to spend time in public lands and their reception of the benefits (e.g., mental, emotional, and physical) gained from the natural experience(s).","language":"en","license":{"name":"Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial  4.0","short_name":"CC BY-NC 4.0","text":"Attribution — You must give appropriate credit, provide a link to the license, and indicate if changes were made. You may do so in any reasonable manner, but not in any way that suggests the licensor endorses you or your use.\n\nNonCommercial — You may not use the material for commercial purposes.\n\nNo additional restrictions — You may not apply legal terms or technological measures that legally restrict others from doing anything the license permits.","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0"},"keywords":[],"section":"Advances in Research and Management (Peer-Reviewed)","is_remote":true,"remote_url":"https://escholarship.org/uc/item/2mc3s4gv","frozenauthors":[{"first_name":"Sarah","middle_name":"K.","last_name":"Jackson","name_suffix":"","institution":"","department":"None"},{"first_name":"Ryan","middle_name":"L.","last_name":"Sharp","name_suffix":"","institution":"","department":"None"},{"first_name":"Emily","middle_name":"L.","last_name":"Mailey","name_suffix":"","institution":"","department":"None"},{"first_name":"Adam","middle_name":"A.","last_name":"Ahlers","name_suffix":"","institution":"","department":"None"}],"date_submitted":"2021-01-16T02:11:59Z","date_accepted":"2021-01-16T02:11:59Z","date_published":"2021-01-15T08:00:00Z","render_galley":null,"galleys":[{"label":"","type":"pdf","path":"https://journalpub.escholarship.org/psf/article/25132/galley/14762/download/"}]}