People’s lives have drastically changed since the outbreak of COVID-19. One concern during the pandemic has been the level of inactivity among people. Compared to various generations (e.g., baby boomers, generation alpha), Generation Z (Gen Z) traditionally spends much less time in outdoor spaces. Due to the pandemic, their inactiveness is assumed to be even more severe. Hiking, an outdoor activity, has become a possible remedy for young people to exercise in a safer sport environment compared to traditional facility-based activities. Although various studies have supported the link between motivations and hiking intention, the relationship may be altered based on psychological influences unique to the pandemic situations—perceived risk and coping appraisals. The current study was conducted to investigate the relationship between Gen Z’s motivations and hiking intention and moderating roles of perceived risk and coping appraisals in a pandemic environment. Data were collected from Gen Z between 18 and 24 in China (N = 407). The validity and reliability of all the constructs were assessed by confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), average variance extracted (AVE), and composite reliability. For testing hypotheses, PROCESS Macro 4.0 was used. The findings proposed that the appraisals of the pandemic situation (i.e., perceived risk and coping ability) moderated the relationship between two of the motivations—intellectual and destination motivations—and hiking intention. As a result, organizers of outdoor sports programs can implement viable strategies and take valid measurements to minimize the fear and worries among people in the time of the crisis.

Perceived time poverty is a major stress factor in university life, reflecting a lack of attentional resources. While nature-based interventions (NBIs) are recognized for restoring psychological resources, the psychological processes behind these interventions are not fully understood. This three-wave longitudinal study (N = 36) used linear mixed-effects models to examine the impact of a three-day camping trip on students’ psychological outcomes before, immediately after, and one month later. Findings show that the trip immediately and significantly boosted state nature connectedness and prosocial behavior intentions, while reducing perceived time poverty and psychological distress. Unexpectedly, it also led to a temporary decrease in both hedonic and eudaimonic well-being. By one month, most benefits had returned to baseline levels. Significantly, perceived time poverty fully mediated the link between nature connectedness and most outcomes. These results suggest camping helps restore attention, but short-term NBIs can only exert a temporary effect. The study enhances scarcity and attention restoration theories by testing specific psychological pathways and targets, offering valuable insights for creating nature-based programs that reduce stress and improve experiences, especially for university wellness initiatives.