Throughout the semester, my research included a literature review that looked into how the outdoors and learning about nature affect the youth in our communities. To learn more about the Columbus community I worked to interview relevant community members and organizations. Few organizations were available to be interviewed, but I did gain valuable information from the Boys and Girls club at the K.I.P.P clubhouse. Additionally, my group presented our findings on the project’s three focus groups: Disadvantaged Youth, New Americans and Native Americans, and the Disabled Community. This webpage features all of our research findings and resources applicable for each community group.
Exercise and Time spent outside
The main findings of my research revolved around the importance of getting kids outside and engaging with the world around them. When kids play outdoors they learn valuable skills and are exposed to new ideas. While simply going outside and playing benefits a child, simultaneously focusing on education vastly improves a child’s likelihood of engaging with nature again. Research by Ekenga et. al showed that showing kids what they can do and learn outdoors increases the chances that the kid and parents will engage with nature or the Metroparks.
Barriers- Transportation
Transportation is a major barrier to accessing the park as many children are too young to bike or ride the bus alone. There are multiple transportation options to reach the park. Every park has parking lots available for use. For those who are old enough, the COTA bus offers routes to some of the parks. To plan your route, you can use the COTAs trip planner by following this link: https://www.cota.com/
Barriers- Time and Money
Many parents do not have the time to bring their children to enjoy the parks and do not have the funds to sign them up for extra programs. The Boys and Girls Club has helped combat this issue by creating scholarships and low fees or payment plans for parents to utilize. Doing so enables kids to benefit from its programs despite their families financial situation. No programs or options were found for what the Metroparks are currently doing to ease the financial strain that their community faces.
Barriers- Acceptance
Many of the parks are being renovated or improved in low income areas. Unfortunately, the improvement of parks has a negative affect on minority communities using the parks. Instead of putting in new playground equipment, the communities want to see the culture and history of their community incorporated. Including these aspects into the nature centers of the park will help to increase the feelings of acceptance the minority groups have within their community.