“Signage, it doesn’t really work”. If I had a pound for every time I had heard this sentiment from both recreation managers and users I could retire pretty soon. One reason for this became clear in our 10 years of research in the Cairngorms National Park: it is not simply a lack of cognitive knowledge (of the kind that is typical on signage) that creates problems as recreational users attempt to share space with each other and other species. It is the motivation and ability to put it into practice in the specific moments and places in which it is relevant. It is about connecting what we know in our heads to bodily experience; of specific social and material environments. There is plenty of scope to do this better and more imaginatively in outdoor recreation management. In this workshop we will explore this potential, kicking off the discussion with the example of managing recreation in areas with protected wildlife.
Outdoor Recreation Network > Other Publications > Moving towards experiential interventions for behaviour change: Lessons from 10 years of recreation research in the Cairngorms National Park, Dr Katrina Brown