Children often learn to camp from their parents. But Barbara Dyer's parents learned to camp from her. As a 16-year-old, she brought them out to sleep in the woods for the first time. And now, the 44-year-old teacher and mother of two is introducing camping to a new generation. She and her husband Paul, who live in Southborough, Mass., frequently plan family outdoor adventure trips around their two children, ages 8 and 10.
"My kids' first experiences with hiking and camping were as babies riding in a backpack," Dyer says. "I expose my kids to the natural world as much as possible and have done that since they were very young, always with the hope that they will in turn promote it to the next generation of conservationists."
Dyer, an AMC member for 15 years and the former chair of the Worcester Chapter, is one of many parents, educators, pediatricians, and environmentalists who agree that spending more time outdoors improves children's physical and mental well-being, as well as their appreciation of the natural world.
Such advocates are encouraging more children to take part in outdoor activities, in a movement that has been dubbed No Child Left Inside. Their efforts are creating results nationwide. In 2007 alone, Connecticut organized its second annual state park scavenger hunt, which attracted hundreds of families; Massachusetts launched a similar program called the Great Parks Pursuit; Texas undertook a public-awareness initiative linking kids' sedentary activities such as TV and computer use with health problems; and in Washington state, Gov. Chris Gregoire signed a bill to study how outdoor education affects academic success and personal responsibility. AMC is working with state and federal agencies and other partners planning No Child Left Inside initiatives in Maine, New Hampshire, and Massachusetts.
Many attribute the genesis of this movement to author Richard Louv, whose 2005 book Last Child in the Woods warns of the consequences when children become increasingly disassociated from natural environments. The evidence seems undeniable. An oft-cited 2004 University of Illinois study found that spending time outdoors resulted in "significant symptom abatement" in a test group of children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, and a report from the California Department of Education the following year showed middle school students improving their science scores by more than 25 percent after spending a week engaged in hands-on study of the environment.
Here we look at three examples of how AMC members and volunteers are demonstrating to children—their own and those with whom they are entrusted—the value of outdoor recreation. In doing so, they are not only giving the kids a chance to try camping and hiking—they're instilling a passion for nature in the next generation.
Teens in the White Mountains. Photo by Tracy Powell.
