A Uniquely Southern California Experience: Understanding how Individuals Experience Outdoor Spaces Through Sense of Place and Nature Connection

Sense of Place and Nature Connection are two contested terms used differently in different disciplines, the first is used by humanistic geographers and the latter by environmental psychologists. Although the terms vary, the ultimate goal is the same: both are striving to understand human-nature relationships in order to improve them for environmental sustainability. This paper utilized both terms broadly to better understand the nuances of individuals' outdoor experiences by using a mixed method online survey. A Sense of Place score was calculated from the Southern California public university college student sample to explore what factors led to higher sense of place score. Outdoor spaces are perceived in many ways depending on factors such as culture, childhood experience, geographic location, demographics, outdoor experiences, and much more, but those factors influence on each person cannot be standardized to a one-size-fits all explanation of the human-nature relationship. Results showed that adult outdoor experiences have a statistically significant impact on sense of place scores within the study population. Although it is not feasible to put individuals into standardized sense of place boxes, this research has shown that nature experiences do tend toward strengthening the human-nature relationships more than any other factor explored.