ABSTRACT
In spite of the paucity of reliable data on residents? participation in outdoor recreation in developing countries when compared to the developed ones, the fact that engaging in outdoor recreation is immensely beneficial cannot be dismissed.The study aimed at assessing the residents? participation in outdoor recreation in Nassarawa L.G.A. Kano State with a view to revealing pattern and making appropriate recommendations. The specific objectives are to identify outdoor recreation facilities, examine the socioeconomic characteristics of residents, examine the characteristics of outdoor recreation participation and evaluate the pattern of participation and constraints in Nassarawa L.G.A. Kano state. The data for the study were obtained primarily through field observation and administration of 400 copies of questionnaires. Cluster and systematic random samplingtechniques wereused to administer questionnaire to target respondents. Both descriptive and inferential statistics were used for the data analysis. The result shows that, Nassarawa Local Government, which is a small spatial entity in relationto metropolitan Kano,has 107numbers of outdoor recreational facilities. The residents participate more (88.1%) in outdoor recreation and mostly in the weekends.The common and popular activity participated among non-facility based recreation includes family and friend visits, jogging and walking for pleasure with participation rate exceeding 50%. Among the facility-based recreation activities, football and park visits were found to be dominant with 67.6% and 27.5%,respectively. Outdoor recreation participation in Nassarawa, Kano also follows the general and global pattern of recreational activity participation which assumed that participation diminishes as age advances. Participation tends to be significantly associated with level of education-with low level of participation among those with lower education, high participation among those with average education and low participation among those with higher degrees. The study ascertained that income level of the respondents is not associated with their ability to participate in outdoor recreation in the study area. The perception of outdoor recreation constraints is contextually specific rather than general. Among the 20 different perceived outdoor recreation constraints investigated, the study found „security and personal safety? (M=3.24) as the most perceived constraints which was ranked 1st. While, „having physical disability? (M=1.92) and „having household member with physical disability? (M=1.80) were the least perceived constraints ranked, 19th and 20th, respectively. Non-participants were more likely than participants to feel constrained in thirteen of twenty constraints. The study also established that the perception of constraints varies with age, genders as well as between participants and non-participants. The studystrongly recommendsthat recreation plan should be prepared and implemented, focusing on provision of a wide range of recreation activities and programs opportunities, targeting particularly older age and females. The study concludes that, provision and availability of facilities in a particular geographical setting is really important to participation in outdoor recreation. This is shown in the contrasting pattern observed in Nassarawa from the common position in the global south.