Environmental attitude and behaviours of participants of organized events in Hong Kong country parks : an investigation on sports-related activities

Abstract

Sports events have become more popular in Hong Kong country parks. The number of events has trebled in the past five years. This study investigates whether more events taking place in country parks will draw more people to visit the country parks to participate in the event and perhaps to also practice at the parks before the actual event. Further, with increased visits to the country parks and therefore coming into closer contact with nature, the participants maybe become more aware of the natural environment, which may then lead to enhanced environmental awareness and behaviour. This study focuses on a specific set of outdoor recreational activities, namely trail running, hiking and adventure racing events, and adopts a combination of quantitative and qualitative approaches. Survey results indicate that there is a weak statistically significant positive correlation with country park visit and environmental behaviour, but not with attitudes; environmental attitude group “conservation priority” has statistically significant positive correlation with education and green consumerism and political activism; and frequency of visit, hours of visit and number of events joined bears a correlation with political activism, and participants who chose trail running, adventure racing and mountain biking as their favourite activities scored highest across these variables. Events that promote environmentally responsible behaviours have a demonstrated potential in bringing about environmental behavioural change and this potential of using events to spread green messages should be further explored and utilised. Participants indicated greater concern for environmental issues related to the activities they participate in. Friends are a major motivation for country park visitation and event participation. Sports events may cause serious ecological damage to trails as participants prefer off-trail routes. Scientific data and baselines should be gathered to monitor the impact events have on the trails. Effective management of this risk requires strong engagement with the public and especially with event organisers and participants, and inform them of the environmental impact of their activities.