Students experience nature in the University of Vermont's "Birding to Change the World " class. A new study finds that 26% of people visiting parks during early months of the COVID-19... view more Credit: Andy Duback/University of Vermont What does it take to get some people to go outside and experience nature? For some urban dwellers, it took the COVID-19 pandemic, researchers say. The new study finds that 26% of people visiting parks during early months of the COVID-19 pandemic had rarely - or never - visited nature in the previous year. The study, by researchers at the University of Vermont (UVM), is one of the first to explore how COVID-19 has changed Americans' relationship with nature. The research is published today by