Professional Activities

Dr. Christopher Brehme received a Fulbright Scholar Award from the US-UK Fulbright Commission to conduct research in Yorkshire, in the north of England. Dr. Brehme recently returned from England where he surveyed visitors of North York Moors National Park to determine how they experience tranquility within the park. Dr. Brehme was hosted by the Stockholm Environment Institute, based at the University of York. UK national parks are mandated to protect tranquility, however little is known about how it influences visitors’ experiences. The results of Dr. Brehme’s research will assist park planners and tourism managers in making decisions about future planning proposals and tourist accommodations. As a Fulbright Research Scholar, Dr. Brehme surveyed the perceptions of tranquility from park visitors over a four-week period. The concept of tranquility is greatly valued by residents in the island country of 64 million people and it provides a public health benefit. He asked park goers to identify particularly tranquil and non-tranquil places on a paper map, and then elaborate on what characteristics these places share. Dr. Brehme is analyzing the data that he collected, which will culminate in a report and a GIS model to visually represent the results. He will eventually produce a series of maps that highlights the most threatened areas of tranquility within the park.