Changes In Trail Usage Among Children Aged 2-12 Years Old Following A Trail Enhancement Intervention On A Greenway In Rural South Carolina

It is important for children to spend time outdoors because there are numerous physiological, cognitive, psychological, and social benefits to being outside. Unfortunately, there has been a significant decline in the amount of time that children spend engaged in outdoor play. Reasons for this decline include increased technology usage, changes within school systems, parental influences, environmental factors, and lack of understanding of the motivators that get kids outside. Several interventions have been implemented with the goal of increasing children's outdoor time, including interventions in outdoor recreation, local park-based efforts, and community based programming. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of a trail enhancement intervention to increase trail usage of children aged 2-12 years old on a greenway in rural South Carolina. While trail usage decreased overall from baseline to post- intervention, the number of children and the number of groups with at least one child increased, indicating that the trail enhancement may have increased trail usage among children.