Grant: Master's Award: Canada Graduate Scholarships

Background: Green exercise, exercising outdoors in natural environments, can improve physical and mental health. Green exercise also provides more health benefits compared to exercise in synthetic environments, such as indoor fitness centres. With high demand for mental health services at universities across Canada, and limited services currently available for students, the simple use of trails on campus green spaces could serve as a valuable resource for health promotion and improved wellness. However, there is a dearth of literature on university students and their use of trails. Thus, the primary purpose of this study is to understand the relationship between trail use and the health and wellness of students at a small university in Canada. The secondary purpose is to understand why and why not students are using the trails. Methods: An online questionnaire will be distributed to all students enrolled at a small university in Canada. The questionnaire instrument will assess trail use and include validated scales that measure self-reported health and wellness. Open-ended questions will explore facilitators and barriers related to trail use. The primary hypotheses for this study are that students who use the trails, compared to students who do not use the trails, will have an increase in self-reported: 1) health; and 2) wellness. Analysis of open-ended responses will provide insights into reasons that enhance and restrict trail use. Implications: Findings from this study will inform students and university administrators, and this may lead to personal lifestyle decisions for students and future design of health promotion programs by administrators. Key words: Green Exercise, Outdoor Recreation, Environmental Health, Green Space, Self-Reported Health