Senior Degree Project: Young People and Our National Parks
I have always loved being in the outdoors. The connection I have with nature is a huge part of my life, so it has always surprised me when other adults my age don’t have a similar type of relationship with the outdoors. This inquiry, which has lived in the back of my mind for years now, is what truly sparked the concept for my graphic design senior degree project. I will be working directly from the question, “How can an interactive design system be used to encourage more young people to spend time in the outdoors by visiting national parks?”
This is a daunting question that seems almost too complex to try and solve. In order to make tackling this project more manageable, it’s important for me to highlight some smaller sub-questions that will help me to focus my energy while researching and eventually lead me to a final solution for my main query. Some of these pinpoint questions will help me to better understand my audience such as, “Is there a practical way to lessen the financial burden of going to national parks for visitors?” and “What if this audience’s energy surrounding environmental advocacy could be used to not only save these spaces through awareness but also increase their use of the parks as well?” Certain sub-questions relate directly to the design aspects of the project: “How can a designed artifact make the benefits of being outdoors more visible?” and “Can interactive design, something that is inherently technological, be effectively utilized to advocate for spending more time outside and away from screens? ” Lastly, it is important for me to explore the history of National Parks and how diverse groups are currently interacting with them, so inquiries such as, “How does the history of these parks shape their current functionings and how can this be used to increase visitation?” will need to be investigated as well.
My proposed audience for this project is young adults, about 18–29 year olds. I chose this group because they are hungry to explore and see new places, yet are often hindered from doing so by financial hurdles, safety concerns, and by being distracted by the adventures that can more readily be found through technology. This generation is eager to advocate for environmental causes and keeping public lands undisturbed by development, yet they don’t experience these spaces for themselves as often as they could. Because of these characteristics, I would place young adults as having a “ready to act” relationship with this problem. There are also many stakeholders who are affected by this issue and who would be invested in my process and solution. These people include national park faculty, outdoor enthusiasts from older generations, and current networks and groups who bring folks together in nature.
Some things I am looking forward to learning about from this investigation including why young people aren’t using public lands as much as their older counterparts do and are there any cultural or generational characteristics which creates this lack of visitation? It is also important to know about minority trail users — how do BIPOC feel about these spaces and what does safety within these national parks look like for different groups. It is so important to me to create a solution which could be used effectively by any and every young adult. Another aspect of this is understanding the full and true history of national parks, including how they were appropriated from Indigenous groups, how this has shaped the way these parks function as “public” areas, and how present day members of these tribes view and interact with these spaces.
My approach to this project will be heavily research based. I will begin by doing secondary research, especially surrounding the history of national parks and statistics regarding visitors and usage. I have already found so many reliable resources regarding many of my questions. Interviewing people will also be a critical component to this process. I hope to talk with park officials, park visitors from older generations, and young adults who have never spent time in these outdoor spaces before. Questionnaires and brain-storming sessions will help me to better understand the interests and needs my audience and other potential users have. I think it would also be incredibly beneficial for me to conduct an observation at a national park in order to know who is interacting with these spaces and what they do while they are there. After this research phase I will begin to hypothesize and ideate possible solutions to this quandary, exploring as many avenues as time will allow. If a physical interactive system ends up being the final deliverable, I will get in touch with University of Arkansas faculty who work in related fields as soon as possible to receive guidance and suggestions during this physical creation portion of the project.
The community should care about this exploration because these public lands were historically created to be experienced and enjoyed by everyone, yet as time has moved forward that need for a connection with nature has unfortunately faded. All working citizens pay taxes that go towards the upkeep and care of these public lands and so many people advocate for the preservation of these important spaces, so why not enjoy them in person? As a designer this issue matters to me so much because I work in a field that habitually keeps me desk and computer bound; encouraging others like myself to get out into the wilderness and find a way to separate themselves from the constant buzz of technology and their hectic lives is incredibly important. Being in nature is physically and mentally good for everyone’s well being and when more individuals are less stressed and happy, the whole community benefits! The main goal for encouraging young adults to explore the outdoors by visiting national parks more is simply to improve the lives of this generation and to set a precedent of healthier activity for future ones.
