New Hampshire takes a leading role in the nationwide effort to reconnect children with nature
The Union Leader - New Hampshire – November 09, 2007
By Rob Burbank
The slightly musty smell of old canvas still conjures memories of camping as a kid, tucked into a fluffy sleeping bag snug in the comfort of a heavy-duty Sears Roebuck umbrella tent.
That tent was shelter for numerous family camping and fishing trips, and I’m convinced that an early introduction to the outdoors played a huge role in what would become a lifelong love of outdoor pursuits.
Pong was the earliest video game I can remember, and its rudimentary design, though novel for its day, wasn’t all that captivating to me. The easy addiction of Game Boys and Play Stations and their ilk wasn’t yet attainable. I was lucky. I had to play outside if I wanted to have fun.
Fewer kids are doing that these days, and families, teachers, and public agencies are noticing. And doing something about it.
The buzz really started to build with the 2005 publication of Richard Louv’s best-selling book, “Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children from Nature-Deficit Disorder,” which examines the importance of making a connection to the natural world at an early age through experience in it. The author also looks at current trends in which children spend far more time indoors than out, and are far less familiar with, and far less comfortable in, the outdoors than kids traditionally have been.
The national Children and Nature Network, the Sierra Club and the New Hampshire Children in Nature Initiative are bringing Louv to New Hampshire on Tuesday, Nov. 27, for the New Hampshire Leave No Child Inside Forum. Afternoon sessions are for invited guests, but a free public session is open to all from 9:30 a.m. to noon at the Capitol Center for the Arts in Concord. Registration for the public session is not necessary.
At that session, author Louv, who is also chairman of the Children and Nature Network, is expected to speak on the physical, emotional and developmental benefits of connecting children with nature and the importance of outdoor play and discovery. A panel discussion with representatives from the fields of education, environment, health and other disciplines will follow.
Honorary Chairperson for the forum is New Hampshire First Lady, Dr. Susan Lynch.
“New Hampshire is taking a leading role in this nationwide effort to make a difference in the lives of children, families and communities by reconnecting them with nature. From my own work with child health issues, I know how important it is for families to get outside, get moving and learn about the natural world, to lay a foundation for healthy, active lives,” she said in a statement posted on the Web site of the New Hampshire Fish and Game Department, a supporter of the effort. (More information is available at WildNH.com/ChildrenInNature.) According to national research by the Outdoor Industry Foundation (OIF), 90 percent of adults who are active in the outdoors participated in outdoor activities as kids. But today, kids are bombarded with other options for play, including electronic entertainment. OIF’s study found that 80 percent of kids watch more than three hours of television a day. Add to that exposure to computer games, videotapes, and DVDs, and the time spent staring at pixels rises even higher.
Connecting kids with the outdoors has long been a key goal of the Appalachian Mountain Club. In the April edition of “AMC Outdoors” magazine, AMC Executive Director Andy Falender notes, “AMC is committed to lowering the barriers to outdoor participation.” He cites AMC’s Youth Opportunities Program and its outdoor-focused program for schoolchildren, A Mountain Classroom, as examples “designed to reduce the financial and logistical hurdles preventing urban youth and middle school students from having direct contact with the natural world.” Nearly 10,000 kids were reached in those programs last year.
AMC also offers the Teen Wilderness Adventures program to help teens develop skills in such outdoor pursuits as backpacking, rock-climbing, canoeing and kayaking, and Family Adventure Camps at its lodges to provide opportunities for families to explore the outdoors together.
The Nov. 27 forum is tied to the New Hampshire Children in Nature Initiative’s goals (as stated on wildlife.state.nh.us/ChildrenInNature) of “fostering experiences in nature that 1. Improve physical and emotional health and well-being; 2. Increase understanding of and care for the natural world (and) 3. Promote stronger connections to community and landscape.”
Here comes that smell of old canvas again... Rob Burbank is the public affairs director for the Appalachian Mountain Club in Pinkham Notch. His column, “Outdoors with the AMC,” appears every other Friday in the New Hampshire Union Leader's “Get Out!” section. He can be reached at rburbank@outdoors.org.
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C&NN has designated April "Children & Nature Awareness Month." As part of this effort, we invited network members (like you) to list their April programs and share their strategies for building public awareness. Find out what's happening in your community on the C&NN Movement Map.
As part of our ongoing efforts to build the movement, the Children & Nature Network has published two new resources for leaders, organizers, and participants at the local, national, and international levels:
An annotated bibliography of 20 premier studies focusing on the children and nature connection.
