Weaving Place Meanings into Outdoor Recreation Sustainability: The Case of the Niagara Glen

While the academic discussion of ‘place’ continues to evolve within research and practice domains, there remains little agreement to which place concepts and constructs are most useful to the topic of outdoor recreation sustainability and its potential to drive a more robust practice of environmental sensitivity and care. It is generally accepted within the place-based research literature that people are more likely to protect places that hold special meaning in their lives (Halpenny, 2010; Hinds & Sparks, 2008; Vaske & Kobrin, 2001). Additionally, the research literature suggests that outdoor recreation may be one catalyst for developing meaningful relationships with outdoor places (Ewert, Place, & Sibthorp, 2005). Therefore, it is reasonable to surmise that special relationships with outdoor recreation places may be one area that deserves further exploration to advance the topic of outdoor recreation sustainability. Exploring ways to further illuminate, and put into practice, the connections between place concepts and outdoor recreation sustainability is the purpose of this chapter.