Option 4:
Outdoor Recreation
- WHAT IS THE VALUE OF OUTDOOR RECREATION?
- WHAT ARE THE TECHNICAL SKILLS AND UNDERSTANDING NEEDED FOR SAFE
PARTICIPATION IN OUTDOOR RECREATION?
- WHAT IMPACT DOES GROUP DYNAMICS HAVE ON THE OUTDOOR EXPERIENCE?
What is the Value of outdoor
recreation?
Summary of Content:
 Reasons for participation in outdoor
recreation:
- stress management/relaxation
- enjoyment, challenge and excitement
- social interaction
- appreciation on the environment
- health and fitness
Reasons for Participation in
Outdoor Recreation
Complete the activity on page 96-97 of your exercise booklets.
Type of Outdoor Recreation
Reasons for Participating
Skiing/snowboarding
Fun, fitness, enjoyment, competition
Rock Climbing
Adrenalin, strength, challenge, enjoyment
Trial Bike Riding
Enjoyment, fun, coordination, adrenalin,
competition.
Sailing
Relaxation, team work
White Water Rafting
Exhilarating, competition, team work.
Hiking
Fitness, relaxing, sight seeing.
Reasons for Participation in
Outdoor Recreation
Stress Management and Relaxation
Feelings of anxiety and stress are increasingly common in society today. Some of the reasons for these
feelings include:
Urbanisation: communities being over-crowded and polluted e.g. Large cities.
Unemployment: resulting in poverty and family pressures to survive contributing to higher stress
levels.
Increased Responsibility: longer hours at work, people commuting greater distances to work lead
to less time at home with the family.
Social Changes: the change in traditional family roles, family breakdown increase stress levels.
Disadvantaged Groups: experience discrimination, harassment, drug abuse, poverty and
unemployment.
Outdoor recreation can be an avenue to alleviate stress and anxiety caused by everyday life. It is seen
as an escape from a regular routine and gives a person the opportunity to ‘re-create’ themselves.
Outdoor recreation can promote feelings of relaxation or excitement that distracts people from
the stress in their lives.
Reasons for Participation in
Outdoor Recreation
Enjoyment, challenge and excitement
Activity (complete in your book)
1.
Reflect on any experiences you may have had in outdoor recreation that filled you with a sense of
excitement and challenge. Why did it make you feel this way?
2.
In groups, research and note the feats of one or more of the following outdoor adventurers.
Consider the role of challenge and excitement in their motivation to complete their expeditions.
a)
Paul Caffyn – kayaked around the coast of Australia, mainly solo.
b)
Kay Cottee – first woman to sail solo around the globe.
c)
Sir Edmund Hillary – first successful mountaineering expedition to climb Mt Everest.
d)
Brigitte Muir – first Australian woman to climb Mt Everest
e)
Gerrard Gosens – blind adventurer and paralympian, climb Mt Everest and many other feats.
Reasons for Participation in
Outdoor Recreation
Social Interaction
Individuals choose activities according to their needs,
personality and lifestyle. Some people enjoy the
opportunities for social interaction that outdoor recreation
can bring.
It can join friends with similar interest together and allow
people to make new friends in the process of participating.
In contrast, other people prefer to escape crowds and seek out
isolated wilderness areas. For these people, solace and
isolation can be a valuable spiritual experience.
Reasons for Participation in
Outdoor Recreation
Appreciation of the Environment
The Australian environment offers some of the world’s most
spectacular and varied scenery, including alpine, tropical,
desert and coastal landscapes.
Individuals and communities do not have to venture far
from home to enjoy and appreciate some magnificent
natural environmental settings.
Participation in outdoor recreation can be an avenue that
allows individuals to immerse themselves in the natural
world.
Reasons for Participation in
Outdoor Recreation
Activity: Complete in your exercise book
1. List recreational activities that can be
enjoyed in your local region.
2. Which activities appeal to you? Why?
3. What outcomes could result from
participation in these activities? E.g. An
increased respect for rainforests.....
4. In which activities could a person in a
wheelchair or an elderly person participate?
Reasons for Participation in
Outdoor Recreation
Health and Fitness
Many outdoor recreation pursuits involve physical activity and can contribute to the development and maintenance of
fitness.
The components of fitness developed vary depending on the activity chosen.
E.g. Cross country skiing is
an excellent aerobic activity.
In contrast rock climbing and
canoeing develop muscular endurance.
Fitness requirements for many outdoor
recreational activities are quiet specific.
Whilst regular involvement in sport and
fitness activities is beneficial for general
conditioning, it may not be adequate to
prepare for specialised activities such as
a hard bushwalk carrying a heavy backpack
over several days.
Reasons for Participation in
Outdoor Recreation
Activity:
Draw the table below in your exercise books, discuss and fill in the relevant information.
Outdoor Activity
Component of Fitness Required
Reasons for Participation in
Outdoor Recreation
Activity: Page 100 of your Work Booklets
Research the Duke of Edinburgh Award Program. Complete the table that
outlines the requirements of each award and answer the questions
that follow. http://www.dukeofed.com.au/
BRONZE
AGE
SERVICE
EXPEDITION
PHYSICAL RECREATION
RESIDENTIAL PROJECT
SILVER
GOLD
Reasons for Participation in
Outdoor Recreation
Questions:
1. What is the aim of the program?
2. Identify some of the unique aspects of the award.
3. What is the criterion for gaining an award?
4. Outline what the award requires students to do.
5. What are the requirements for entry into the
program?
6. List reasons why students may be interested in
participating.
7. What costs are involved?
8. How long to awards take to complete?
Reasons for Participation in
Outdoor Recreation
Research three types of outdoor recreational activities. Complete the table on page 102
of your Work Booklet using information from your research:
Outdoor
Recreational
Activity
What the Activity
Involves
Benefits
Cost