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GO OUTSIDE AND PLAY
Youths need to connect with the Great Outdoors.
WRITTEN BY ERIN MEYERING
PHOTO BY JEFF ROSS
The standard call of “dinnertime!” has gone from a ritualistic holler to kids playing outside to parents silently marching the meal to the couch, setting it down, and hoping that kids will unplug headphones and other devices for a brief family interlude.
Increasingly, it seems youths are unfamiliar with the concept of heading outdoors — the backdrop for many of their parents’ fondest memories.
In his 2014 Get Hooked on Nature TEDx talk, Ben Klasky, CEO of outdoor learning center IslandWood, said that children of this generation get less time outdoors than both chickens and inmates. On average, kids get less than an hour outside every day.
In fact, the National Wildlife Federation says kids spend only minutes outside per day, on average, while the amount of screen time is at an all-time high — an alarming average of nearly seven hours.
Nature has become an obscure and even frightening space. The great outdoors can seem scarier than a child’s virtual reality, which often is full of real-life impossibilities. While pediatricians aren’t seeing many broken bones in kids anymore, they are seeing repetitive stress injuries from using computers and other devices. Obesity is another side effect of indoor life.
But the numerous benefits of kids spending time outdoors are pretty evident. Time outside leads to plenty of vitamin D, exercise, imagination, relaxation, and play with other kids. Not only that, but it helps shape their view of the world and a deep respect for it.
Take the initiative in getting outdoors to explore other options for playtime.
Erin Meyering is the staff writer for edible Reno-Tahoe and a recent graduate of the University of Nevada, Reno’s journalism program.
Resources
Outdoor experiences
Urban Roots
Camps provide an immersion experience for kids to make friends, have fun, and learn about farming, from chickens and seed balls to permaculture and compost.
http://www.Urgc.org
Project Great Outdoors
River rafting trips, ropes courses, and more to guide youths through experiential education
http://www.Projectgo.org
Great Basin Naturalists
Summer Exploration Camp features weekly themes and activities to get children exploring the outdoors.
http://www.Galenacreekvisitorcenter.org/summer-camp-2014.html
Sierra Nevada Journeys
Outdoor, science-based education programs for kids to develop critical thinking skills and inspire natural resource stewardship.
http://www.Sierranevadajourneys.org
River School Farm
Farm Kids offers half-day summer programs, which invite youths to get out, get their hands in the dirt, and get their minds on their food.
http://www.Riverschoolfarm.org
Boys & Girls Club of Truckee Meadows
Youths learn about science, cheerleading, robotics, fishing, hiking, playing an instrument, swimming, and geocaching, to name a few, through these camps.
http://www.Bgctm.org/programs-and-services/2014-summer-camp
