JUICEBOX
INTO THE WILD
I remember my first camping experience at 16 partaking in the Duke of Edinburgh experience . It was cold , hard-work , frustrating and dirty but there is an ever-growing appeal to camping worldwide and we tried to understand why . When I first heard of camping , I labelled it as a boring hobby and could never understand why at one point it became the very “ in ” thing to do until it went out of fashion again once everyone realised that it ’ s actually less fun and games than stress and hard work . Nevertheless , the actual experience of camping hasn ’ t gone anywhere , in fact it ’ s bigger and more popular than ever before .
So what ’ s driving this sudden growth in the great outdoors ? Since the recession occurred there has been a massive increase in expenditure in the outdoor recreation industry has rocketed and is growing to become significant economically and not just in the UK but worldwide . For example , previously in America consumers were collectively spending more money on airplane tickets and travelling fees , they are now paying almost 5x the amount on cycling gear and camping trips . In the UK a similar growth is occurring in the same ways . Between 2013-2014
British adults collectively visited any kind of natural environment 3billion times . On the other side of the world in China , the outdoor recreation market has blown up and is almost 20 billion RMB whereas ten years ago it was only 1 billion .
However , the recession is not the only thing that has driven the increase in the demand for the outdoors . Recently there has been a rise in the number of people prescribed a “ nature break ” as part of medication by healthcare professionals .
The 10 year old concept of ‘ eco-therapy ’ had been
30 disregarded by many until the University of Essex conducted a study a few years ago had findings that walks in the countryside actually reduces depression in 71 % of patients . More medically involved , there is also a study that proves that the more outdoor exposure
a person gets the better the immune system .
Dr . Robert Zarr the head of DC Park Prescription says “ It ’ s time to move away from merely recommending ‘ diet and exercise ’. It ’ s time to work with our communities and nation ’ s natural resources to get Americans to move more outside ”,