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Geocaching, an outdoor recreation activity that uses mobile digital technology combined with online social networks to find outdoor hidden treasure, has gained a strong following of geocachers worldwide. This phenomenological study explored the lived experiences of geocachers as they described connections between themselves, fellow geocachers, informal learning, nature, and technology while engaged in the sport of geocaching. The descriptive phenomenology of Husserl and the methodology of Colaizzi provided the context and structure for this study. Geocachers while involved in geocaching activities participated in self-directed, informal, and incidental learning. Geocachers were motivated to participate in geocaching to experience nature, explore and discover, and to connect with other geocachers. The implications for this research will lead to a better understanding of how geocachers perceive their connections to learning, other geocachers, nature, and technology. Findings from this study are of interest to a range of educators, environmental communicators, and park and land managers.

This study analyzes the life histories and present day experiences of female students from a college located east of Los Angeles with regards to their relationships with nature and outdoor recreation. I use data collected from in-depth interviews with eight women. These interviews illuminated the impacts that their fathers had on their early socialization with nature as well as their perspectives on being women in the outdoors. Furthermore, an analysis of an on-campus club reveals the ways in which outdoor recreation is not accessible for all individuals. These findings add to the existing bodies of literature on public space as well as the formation of early adulthood experiences with the outdoors among women resulting from childhood socialization.

Orbital explores how and why we circle around both awareness and the bodies that surround us. The term “orbital” compresses into a single word the mathematics of calculating the movement of electrons around an atom’s nucleus—a process far more complex than the simple ring structures we learn in science class. In the spirit of its title, my manuscript probes the ways in which people circle around—and occasionally collide with—one another or with the self-knowledge we would rather avoid, especially the challenges posed by gender and sexuality. Moreover, when we are female, queer, or otherwise outside the “standard” orbit, our trajectories can veer off into isolation or thrust us into hostile encounters. The poems gaze into the landscape full of microscopic revelations only the deep observer may see. My collection traverses space and earth, science and psyche as it grapples with how, when we are Othered, we give our lives shape.

This thesis is concerned with nature as a source for much of the symbolism and imagery in the novels and short stories of John Steinbeck. The symbolism is examined from the perspective of the philosophy governing Steinbeck's artistic use of nature: that life is a unity and that man is one with nature.

The aim of this study was to determine if there is a relationship between children's physical activity and wellbeing, and if that relationship is enhanced by physical activity in nature. This study was a non-experimental retrospective multi-informant data review conducted at an outpatient pediatric psychiatric clinic in the Northeast. The theoretical framework used to guide this study was the Health Promotion Model, suggesting Advanced Practice Nursing investigate the relationship between health promoting behaviors and personal factors that support mental wellness in children and protect against mental illness. Data collected included age, sex, and exercise and wellbeing subsections of the Vermont Child Health and Behavior Questionnaire (VHBQ): Parent Reports and Self-reports for 11-21 year olds. Data from three sample groups were analyzed: parent participants (n=178, 61% male, 38% female), child participants (n=78, 51% male, 49% female), and parent-child pairs with sex determined by child (n-25, 60% male, 40% female). Physical activity was calculated using a metric for participation in sports. Two sample t tests were used to analyze children's response to the question "do you participate in sports regularly?" in relation to wellbeing scores. Pearson's correlation coefficient was used to investigate correlations between 1) parent reports of their children's physical activity and wellbeing, 2) children's self-reports of physical activity and wellbeing, 3) parent reports of their children's physical and children's self-reports of physical activity, and 4) parent reports of their children's wellbeing and children's self-reports of wellbeing. Statistically significant results included positive correlations between parent reports of their children's physical activity and wellbeing item, "his/her living conditions are excellent" (r=.34, p=<0.001 for overall, r=.25, p=.002 for indoor, and r=.28, p=<0.001 for outdoor). Positive weak correlations were found between parent reports of their children's physical activity and scores on the VHBQ 10-point Worst Life/Best Life bar (r=.19, p=0.02 for overall and r=.17, p=.04 outdoor). Additionally, results showed significant strong positive correlations for all physical activities between parent reports of children's participation and children's self-report of participation (r=0.83, p=<0.001 for overall, r=0.85, p=<0.001 for indoor, and r=.67, p=0.02 for outdoor). However, only a single wellbeing item, "Compared with...most peer, [child] is less happy than they are", demonstrated statistically significant positive correlation (r=.48, p=0.03) when parent reports and self-reports of wellbeing were compared. These results underscore the need for further research. Among professions, Advanced Practice Nurses may be best equipped to fully understand the lifestyle factors that promote children's mental health. Moreover, because of their background, training and employment settings, Advanced Practice Nurses could play an important role not only in initiating well-being research studies, but also in using the resultant information to develop educational resources and policy.

Change is a constant reminder that permanence is the ultimate illusion. It is through the creation of hyper-realistic, ceramic sculpture that I explore the relationship between nature, humans, and the phenomenon of impermanence. I seek to expose the beauty that often results from decay while, at the same time, making my viewer question their own perception of the world around them. The juxtaposition of natural and man-made features in combination with the skewing of scale, proportion, and material, creates an altered perspective – forcing the viewer to look closer. By combining both human and natural elements within my work I highlight the fact that we are not separate from nature but are, in fact, part of it.