The Benefits of Leisure and Recreation

As with nearly every activity, benefits arise to individuals and society through leisure and recreation. However, until the last 40–50 years, such benefits were not the focus of either research or management in natural resources, except for identification of economic benefits. Beginning in the late 1940s and throughout the 1960s, more and more people were engaged in recreation and leisure pursuits and an interest in the benefits of outdoor recreation and leisure began to emerge. What were people looking to gain from their participation in leisure and recreation and what could managers of park and recreation areas do to help people realize the benefits they were seeking?