No Child Left Inside
Tuesday night, I had the opportunity to hear a panel of speakers at the public library talk about the disconnect between kids and nature.
It was a great subject, with topics such as how to actually get kids outside which is hard for a number of reasons including TV, videogames and parents' fear of stranger danger. (I know my own parent-llamas were particularly worried about letting us play outside unsupervised). There was also some debate about what different people consider "nature"- Does it count if you're working in your garden? What about in a landscaped yard or public park? Julie Cheslik, a law prof at UMKC, gave an interesting talk on how suburban zoning ordinances can influence what kind of green space surrounds kids' neighborhoods. A parks and Rec person talked about programs to get kids outside in nature, at least for part of the summer.
I was reminded fondly, of being able to introduce urban kids to nature and ecology when I was a counselor with Wildwood's Summer Learning program.("Look kids, the grass won't bite you. Come sit down.") A trip down "memory lane." I also remembered, waaay farther back, of my first experience of "wilderness." When we lived in Milwaukee, we had a huge backyard that had some wooded area behind the swingset that separated us from the neighbor's yard. In reality, I think the wooded area must have been all of 5 feet deep, but to my sister and I (we must have been 4 and 5), making our way into the thicket, it was endless trackless forest and we were brave explorers.
I remember going on Nature hikes at the Shawnee Mission South environmental lab, where Mommy-llama signed up for summer programs. I remembered our 6th grade trip to Wildwood, where I was impressed with all the mud and dirt and sunshine. I remember the first time I went to Camp Ben Frankel in the summer before 7th grade, located at a campsite in the S.I.U. Touch of Nature environmental center and part of the Shawnee National Forest- seeing deer in the woods outside our cabins and eating blackberries from bushes on the way down to lake. I know that my experience at CBF directly influenced my decision to go on the Columbia Outdoor Orientation Program hiking trip in the Catskills and my decision to go to Biosphere 2 and become an Environmental biology major. Despite the fact that I have grown up mostly in urban and suburban surroundings, contact with nature (in its myriad incarnations) has had a disproportionate effect on shaping my worldview.
It was a great subject, with topics such as how to actually get kids outside which is hard for a number of reasons including TV, videogames and parents' fear of stranger danger. (I know my own parent-llamas were particularly worried about letting us play outside unsupervised). There was also some debate about what different people consider "nature"- Does it count if you're working in your garden? What about in a landscaped yard or public park? Julie Cheslik, a law prof at UMKC, gave an interesting talk on how suburban zoning ordinances can influence what kind of green space surrounds kids' neighborhoods. A parks and Rec person talked about programs to get kids outside in nature, at least for part of the summer.
I was reminded fondly, of being able to introduce urban kids to nature and ecology when I was a counselor with Wildwood's Summer Learning program.("Look kids, the grass won't bite you. Come sit down.") A trip down "memory lane." I also remembered, waaay farther back, of my first experience of "wilderness." When we lived in Milwaukee, we had a huge backyard that had some wooded area behind the swingset that separated us from the neighbor's yard. In reality, I think the wooded area must have been all of 5 feet deep, but to my sister and I (we must have been 4 and 5), making our way into the thicket, it was endless trackless forest and we were brave explorers.
I remember going on Nature hikes at the Shawnee Mission South environmental lab, where Mommy-llama signed up for summer programs. I remembered our 6th grade trip to Wildwood, where I was impressed with all the mud and dirt and sunshine. I remember the first time I went to Camp Ben Frankel in the summer before 7th grade, located at a campsite in the S.I.U. Touch of Nature environmental center and part of the Shawnee National Forest- seeing deer in the woods outside our cabins and eating blackberries from bushes on the way down to lake. I know that my experience at CBF directly influenced my decision to go on the Columbia Outdoor Orientation Program hiking trip in the Catskills and my decision to go to Biosphere 2 and become an Environmental biology major. Despite the fact that I have grown up mostly in urban and suburban surroundings, contact with nature (in its myriad incarnations) has had a disproportionate effect on shaping my worldview.