Eppley Institute aids in park research

The Eppley Institute for Parks and Public Lands, a unit of IU's Department of Recreation and Park Administration, provides research, training, design and planning for parks nationwide. It is a part of IU's School of Health, Physical Education and Recreation and is also influential on a national level. \n"Eppley has its greatest effect on the possibilities for students and faculty as it relates to learning, careers and research," said Stephen Wolter, executive director of the Eppley Institute.\nThe Institute provides online training for and teaches employees of national parks how to perform condition assessments of local and national parks. Its projects have included a Monroe County visitor's study and IU's Bradford Woods, for which Eppley performed a needs assessment so that improvements in the facilities and quality of education could be made.James Ridenour, who was the director of the National Parks Service under President George H. W. Bush, founded Eppley in 1993.\n"The Parks Service has some of the oldest and most important historic and cultural resources in the nation," Wolter said. "That whole concept of preserving something forever is really fairly new to our country." \nWolter said the Institute helps encourage the community to be good stewards and preserve resources. It is developing curriculum for resource protection and stewardship for the National Parks Service.\nThe Institute and IU share their knowledge and experience. \n"We use the expertise of the Recreation and Park Administration faculty. They, in turn, get additional funding and additional experience from working with us," said Kelli Market, budget and logistics coordinator for the Eppley Institute. All Eppley Institute employees are also research assistants and some employees, such as Wolter, teach classes at IU.\n"The research assistants do research and service that helps build knowledge in the area of Parks and Recreation Administration," Wolter said. \nEppley also publishes textbooks and manuals based on its research. \n"We're helping advance knowledge, and we're helping to bring that information to our students, so students in the School of Parks and Recreation have some idea of what the career is and what they can specialize in. And we are also making lots of contacts so that students can choose careers," Wolter said. \nHe recommends a new course at IU called Introduction to National Parks Service Operations. \nIU faculty members collaborate with Eppley to conduct research. IU professor Bryan McCormick, for example, is helping Eppley conduct a return on investment survey, or ROI, which analyzes the effect of Eppley Institute's training and asset management. Doug Knapp, another professor, is conducting research on interpretation, the informational talks given at national and state parks.