The benefits of using nature contact/outdoor recreation with Service members are well documented, including contemplative, recreational, and hands-on habitat restoration activities. This webinar will help military service providers identify the value of transitioning service members’ participation in outdoor recreation; analyze research related to using outdoor recreation; become familiar with formal and informal opportunities; and prepare to refer Service members to recreational/outdoor opportunities.

1. Returning Warriors:
Using Outdoor Recreation for
Restoration & Resilience
This material is based upon work supported by the National Institute of Food and Agriculture, U.S. Department of Agriculture, and the Office of Family
Readiness Policy, U.S. Department of Defense under Award Numbers 2010-48869-20685, 2012-48755-20306, and 2014-48770-22587.
https://learn.extension.org/events/2307

2. Research and evidenced-based
professional development
through engaged online communities
www.extension.org/militaryfamilies
Sign up for webinar email notifications at www.extension.org/62831

3. Providing education and resources for professionals working with
military families to build resilience and navigate life cycle transitions
On Facebook at MFLN Family Transitions
On Twitter @MFLNFT
On Instagram @ mflnft
https://www.youtube.com/user/MilFamLN

4. Available resources
https://learn.extension.org/events/2307
Find slides and additional resources under ‘event materials’

5. Keith Tidball, PhD
Cornell University
Researcher and Senior Extension Associate –
Department of Natural Resources
Licensed New York State Guide –
Small Boats, Camping, Hiking, Hunting, Fishing
4H Shooting Sports Instructor –
Shotgun, Rifle, Archery
Aspiring 46er –
Adirondack High Peaks over 4000 ft
Veteran –
US Army National Guard and US Army
Reserves, Infantry

6. • Received commission from Ole Miss in 2000
• Served in Bosnia (03-04) & Baghdad (06-
07)
• Used climbing and outdoor experiences as
the foundation for overcoming addiction /
PTSD, etc.
• National Geographic Adventurer of the
Year in 2014 w/Nick Watson for work in
getting veterans outdoors
• SHIFT Adventure Athlete of the Year in
2015
• Helped launch the Great Outdoors Lab in
2014 w/Cal-Berkeley
• Launched Make Adventure Not War in
2015
• Brand Ambassador for The North Face &
Keen Shoes
Stacy Bare
Director of Sierra Club Outdoors
(SCO)
SCO supports more than
250,000 people getting outdoors
ever year in 3 main buckets:
Military Outdoors, Inspiring
Connections Outdoors (youth), &
Local / Community Outings

7. Learner Objectives:
• Identify the value of participation in outdoor recreation for returning
service members
• Analyze research related to using outdoor recreation with Service
members
• Become familiar with existing formal recreational/outdoor programs
as well as informal opportunities in a Service member’s local
community
• Become prepared to refer Service members to recreational/outdoor
opportunities

8. Please tell us about your work
(type your number in the chat pod)
1. Civilian
2. Military Branch
3. Community-based
4. Extension

9. How can outdoor recreation help
service members, veterans and
military family
with transitions?

10. Time spent in nature
promotes mental health, emotional resiliency, and leadership development prior to deployment
helps returning vets enjoy and engage with nature upon returning from deployments

11. How can Outdoor Recreation help when
service members, veterans and military
families are transitioning?

12. A new generation of conservation leaders & supporters

13. How does Outdoor Recreation help with service
member, veteran and military family transitions?
Outdoor recreation programs :
• build a sense of community
• promote skill development
• provide stress relief and enjoyment

14. Evidence?

15. Evidence?
• 98 veterans comprising the study sample were
recruited and surveyed one week before, one week
after, and approximately one month after
participating in a wilderness recreation
experience.
• In addition to assessing demographic and
background information, survey instruments
were used to measure changes in psychological
well-being, social functioning, life outlook, and
activity engagement over time.

16. Evidence?
• Study participants reported significant
improvements in psychological well-being, social
functioning, and life outlook one week after the
outdoor experience.
• There was also some indication that these
improvements persisted over the next month.

17. Evidence?
• Participants reported that they were much more
likely to take part in activities that involved
exploration and listening to and helping others
after the outdoor recreation experience.
• Changes in psychological well-being, social
functioning, life outlook, and activity engagement
were particularly strong for veterans who had
initially reported more severe ongoing health
issues.

18. Evidence?
“Service members have a much
higher success in reintegrating
into the community when they
are actively involved in
recreational programs and
support groups meant for
rehabilitation.”

19. Evidence?
“For the physical challenges… we sometimes provide
rehabilitation trips . . . where the guys go rock climbing or
whitewater rafting. When you complete some thing like that,
something scary—where you could fall out of the boat, hit your
head on a rock—when people pass that, they’re like, ‘Wow!’ That
helps out a lot. Once you get them up . . . challenge them, and
they complete that challenge , they feel like they can do
anything.”

20. REWORRRS – RETURNING WARRIORS OUTDOOR RECREATION,
RESTORATION, AND RESILIENCE STUDY
“COLLABORATIVE ‘CUT AND PASTE’ CONCEPT MAPPING” (C3M)
Two Collaborative ‘Cut and Paste’ Concept Mapping” (C3M) posters
developed by combat veterans in the Fort Drum area.

28. .

30. Please share reflections on the findings
from the
“Collaborative ‘Cut and Paste’
Concept Mapping”

31. Key Takeaways
• Time spent in nature promotes mental health, emotional resiliency, and
leadership development
• Time spent outdoors eases the transition home after a deployment and
improves both mental health and social skills
• Outdoor recreation programs build a sense of community, promote skill
development and provide stress relief and enjoyment

32. Stacy Bare

33. How did we get here?
• As a Nation, we don’t incentivize health
• Major stigmas on having any sort of identified mental health challenges
• Even more stigmas around engaging in health treatment or a willingness to
admit you have a problem, let alone engage in problem solving
• Service Members and Veterans are fearful of losing benefits

34. How did we get here?
• PTSD in veterans (anecdotally) is assumed to be chronic; PTSD in non-
veterans (anecdotally) is assumed to be temporary
• Treatment protocols focus on CBT, PET, or a reliance on prescription drugs
because that’s what has ‘research’ behind it
• Lack of PTSD awareness. For every veteran diagnosed with PTSD there are
5 non-veterans diagnosed with PTSD

35. How did all that impact me (and other veterans)?
• American disengagement with foreign policy + my lack of social integration =
There’s nothing wrong with me; I’m not angry you’re just stupid
• We tried to fight a modern war with a Vietnam mindset
• We came home to an underfunded VA struggling to cope with its broad
mandate

36. How did all that impact me (and other veterans)?
• PTSD diagnosis requires a lot of work and battle for the veteran;
– early diagnosis required veteran to remember, name, social, rank, and unit of the
American service member they saw get killed—non-Americans or non service members
didn’t count
• Penalized for seeking out treatment and alternative therapies to healing
• Don’t pursue VA treatment

37. What challenges/issues
are you seeing with the
service members
you work with?

38. So what are possible solutions?
• Refer returning veterans, or better yet, service members and their families
AND returning veterans to create identities and capture the positive aspects
of service outside of uniform
• Invite people by playing up the positive, not reminding them of the negative:
– Come outside for a great adventure! vs. Come outside to heal!
– You can do cool stuff! vs. You’re broken and need me to fix you!
• Support opportunities that integrate non-veterans on the trip and ensure
multiple opportunities for repeat engagement
• Research: are you doing something fun, or something that has lasting
positive impacts?

39. Pitfalls to avoid
• Absolutes: THIS IS THE BEST ACTIVITY FOR ALL VETERANS
• Prescribing outcomes for an event:
– everyone will feel differently about different events and will likely need a different amount of
‘touches’ along the way;
– program may be the starting point or just a rest stop along the journey
• Ego
• Fearing data and feedback
• Unwillingness to adapt to changing demographics of veterans and communities
• Striving on after the mission is complete or has changed

40. Community Action
• Finding overlap for programmatic integration between organizations
• Supporting each other, promoting each other
• Developing best practices
• Collecting and promoting research and awareness

41. Community Action - continued
• Don’t bash the VA; they’re a critical component to the
solution
• Focusing on who a veteran wants to be
• Promoting access to the outdoors and healthy landscapes
• Stretch as an individual or entity, but don’t feel like you
have to do it all

42. What possible solutions
and
community actions
would you suggest?

43. What’s Next
• Great Outdoors Lab; initial findings
show up to a 35% decrease in PTSD
symptoms for an over night white water
raft trip that stays for at least a week
• New research is indicating that PTSD
may be a sleep disorder—time outside is
shown to improve sleep even in
individuals with PTSD
• More health care systems, like Kaiser-
Permanente are prescribing parks
• VA has stood up a whole health
integrative program focusing on
prevention

44. What’s Next
• Brand new world of health care and health
care practices is emerging; if we’re smart with
the science and research, outdoor recreation
should be well placed to capitalize on the
opportunity
• Public lands, clean air and clean water remain
under threat, protecting those things protects
what it is we as veterans fought for—our
country and our health
• Next research gathering—2016? AORE?
SORP? Stand alone?
• The first book of its kind just got released….

49. Other Opportunities?
Cooperative Extension 4H military youth camps –
http://4-hmilitarypartnerships.org/military-liaisons/partnership/index.html
Lots of links to organizations with programs at http://reworrr.blogspot.com/
Sierra Club Military Outdoors
http://content.sierraclub.org/outings/military

50. What outdoor recreation
programs for
military service members and
families
are you aware of?

51. Key Takeaways
Being open to alternative therapies to healing may provide unique
opportunities for service members.
Not all outdoor recreational programming will meet all service
member’s needs.
Formal and informal recreational/outdoor programs opportunities
exist for Service members and their families.
Refer service members /families to recreational/outdoor opportunities
in a positive way.

52. Dr. Keith Tidball
kgtidball@cornell.edu
Stacy Bare
stacy.bare@sierraclub.org
Contact Information:

53. Evaluation and
Certificate of Completion
The MFLN Family Transitions Concentration Area is offering a
Certificate of Completion for this professional development webinar.
To receive the Certificate of Completion please first complete the
evaluation at:
https://vte.co1.qualtrics.com/SE/?SID=SV_aVNDssMD048oQo5

54. MFLN - Family Transitions
Upcoming Events
February 17th & 24th, 2016
Parenting In Times of Transition
2-part series
March 31st, 2016 Community Partnerships
For more information on MFLN - Family Transitions:
http://blog/.extension.org/militaryfamilies/life-cycle-transition-support/

55. Personal Finance
Military Caregiving
Family Development
Nutrition & Wellness
Family Transitions
Network Literacy
Community Capacity Building
This material is based upon work supported by the National Institute of Food and Agriculture, U.S. Department of Agriculture, and the Office of Family
Readiness Policy, U.S. Department of Defense under Award Numbers 2010-48869-20685, 2012-48755-20306, and 2014-48770-22587.
www.extension.org/62581
Find all upcoming and recorded webinars covering: