Author(s): Piper Deamer
Mentor(s): Britt Mace, Julie Johnson-Pynn
Institution SUU
Since the COVID-19 pandemic visitation to national parks has increased dramatically. This undoubtedly includes people who have various forms of disabilities. This study aims to examine how the perceived accessibility of national parks affects one’s environmental identity and connectedness to nature while experiencing a disability or not.The prevalence of discrimination against disabilities within the national parks scene will be investigated to improve accessibility awareness in the national parks. Participants will complete the Environmental Identity (14 items) and Connectedness to Nature Scale (14 items) before seeing images of either accessible or non-accessible trails; then they will take a post-test on these measures. The images are coming from Bryce Canyon and Zion National Park. At the end of the survey, the participants were asked an open-ended qualitative question. This question will be “What does accessibility in national parks mean to you?” It is predicted that participants who see images of accessible trails will have an increase in their environmental identity and connectedness to nature; the participants shown the images of the non-accessible trails will have a decrease in their environmental identity and connectedness to nature. This effect will be more pronounced in participants with a disability. I predict the qualititaive responses will show apathy towards accessibility in national parks from those without disabilities and those with will have a stronger response. This study emphasizes the importance of encouraging inclusivity and understanding discrimination against those with disabilities in the national parks. Hopefully, these results will shed light on making national parks accessible to all visitors.