November 2012 - Parks & Recreation - 31

Parks and Recreation Partnership
Bringing 10 Million Kids to Nature and
the Outdoors

C O N S E RVAT I O N

BY RICHARD J. DOLESH

ISTOCK

N PARTNERSHIP WITH THE NATIONAL WILDLIFE FEDERATION (NWF), NRPA has launched
a truly ambitious goal: To connect 10 million kids to nature and the outdoors in the next three
years. And this goal is not just to count what we are already doing to connect kids to nature and
the outdoors-it is about increasing the time kids spend outdoors by 90 minutes per week, and getting kids who aren't already spending time outdoors to make this part of their regular routine.
This initiative came about through a convergence of factors. A year ago, the NRPA-commissioned Conservation Task Force noted that one of
the greatest conservation challenges at the community level was to reconnect kids with nature
and outdoors. One of their top recommendations
was for parks and recreation to commit to fostering
the next generation of environmental stewards.
The report of the Conservation Task Force
caught the eye of the National Wildlife Federation, which was also considering a major initiative
to focus on this very issue. Formed more than 75
years ago with the purpose of mobilizing citizens
to protect threatened wetlands in the southeastern U.S., NWF has grown to be the largest grassroots conservation organization in America with
more than 4 million supporters and 47 affiliates.
NWF and NRPA senior staff began to discuss
how our two organizations might collaborate on
this emerging initiative. Just as many park and
recreation advocates have become concerned
about the trends that are leading kids away from
parks and outdoor activities, NWF also recognized the profound consequences to the cause
of conservation and public lands if a generation
of kids suddenly loses touch with nature and the
outdoors. But on the positive side, we know the
tremendous beneﬁts that kids gain from spending
time outdoors-better physical and mental health,
a more positive outlook on the future, even immunological beneﬁts to prevent disease.
And let there be no confusion about the trends.
The numbers are staggering. A noted research
study by the Kaiser Family Foundation ﬁnds that
kids are spending more than 7.5 hours per day

We know the
tremendous
beneﬁts that
kids gain from
spending time
outdoors-
better physical
and mental
health, a
more positive
outlook on the
future, even
immunological
beneﬁts
to prevent
disease.
behind screens of one kind or another, and a similar study notes that kids today spend just four to
seven minutes per day in outdoor free play.
Grim as it may sound, there is hope. A nationwide movement, initially inspired by Richard
Louv's book, Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our
Children from Nature-Deﬁcit Disorder, is responding to this threat to our youths' future. The purpose of this movement is to restore the essential
bonds of children to nature, and to give kids the
opportunity to spend more time learning, playing, and exploring in our natural outdoor world.
WWW.NRPA.ORG | NOVEMBER 2012 |

Parks & Recreation

November 2012 - Parks & Recreation

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