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by Sally Jewell
Ask any outdoor enthusiast or conservationist
and he or she will reveal a love of the
outdoors that began in their youth. My
childhood memories include camping throughout
the Pacific Northwest, learning the names
of vegetation in Washington state forests,
and climbing with the Mountaineers Club
in Seattle. During summer vacations, we
would race home for dinner, only to return
to the woods until dark. These experiences
solidified my lifelong appreciation for
nature, created a sense of obligation in
me to help protect natural places, and
sculpted who I would become as a business
leader, conservationist, and parent.
Today, the landscape is drastically different
for our nation's young people. The
Kaiser Family Foundation has reported that
youth between the ages of eight and 18
spend an average of 6.5 hours a day with
electronic media—more than 45 hours
a week! In comparison, youth only spend
30 minutes outside each week, according
to Richard Louv, author of Last
Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children
from Nature-Deficit Disorder and chairman of the Children & Nature
Network. Further, only six percent of children,
ages nine to 13, play outside on their
own in a typical week.
In our attempt to stimulate our children's
minds, we over-schedule them with extracurricular
activities, while sadly underexposing them
to the wonders of the natural world. In
the little free time they do have, they
unwind in front of electronics, rather
than romping through the woods, hopping
on a bike or skateboard, or organizing
a pick-up game with friends.
Research links outdoor activity with the
development of cognitive function. For
example, a California Department of Education
study of at-risk sixth graders found that
students participating in outdoor education
programs improved their comprehension of
science by 27 percent. The youth also had
increased self-esteem, motivation to learn,
problem-solving abilities and conflict
resolution skills.
Physicians Hillary Burdette and Robert
Whitaker conducted a research study, named
Resurrecting Free
Play in Young Children,
and discovered that youngsters who enjoy
unstructured playtime in the outdoors exhibit
social and emotional improvement. They
are more self-aware, flexible, cooperative,
and are overall healthier and happier.
Other studies demonstrate that frequent
exposure to the outdoors results in a decrease
in stress and symptoms of attention deficit
hyperactivity disorder, known as ADHD.
In a time when we seek to continue to improve
student academic achievement, the outdoors
provides a simple solution.
Facilitating interactions with nature
is significant when considering the educational
and social benefits for our children, and
ultimately our society as a whole. All
facets of our society – parents,
organizations such as the American Camp
Association (ACA), outdoor recreation companies,
schools, elected officials, community organizations
and others – can and should play
an active role in reversing these disturbing
trends.
REI applauds the efforts of the American
Camp Association (ACA) and its members
for getting our country's youth active
and outside. With ACA's leadership,
children are solidifying their social skills
and capacities to learn, love nature,and
desire to help protect natural places for
the enjoyment of future generations.
The experience of camp has a significant
influence in the development of today's
youth – for those attending a formal
camp programs or others who venture into
the woods with their loved ones for a weekend
hike or multi-day adventure. Individuals
learn powerful lessons that they will carry
with them throughout their lives and hopefully
share their knowledge with their peers,
parents, and others.
Increasingly, elected officials, public
and private companies, and environmental
and nonprofit organizations are recognizing
the danger of a significant percentage
of today's youth disconnected from
nature. A movement to reverse this
disturbing trend is taking root across
the nation.
Last year, some of the country's
most influential public and private leaders
convened at the National Forum on Children
and Nature hosted by the Conservation Fund
and Richard Louv. Through collaboration,
the goal is to reconnect children with
nature to improve their health and environmental
stewardship. Congressman John Sarbanes
(D-Md.) introduced the No Child Left Inside
Act to help state agencies integrate environmental
education in K-12 curriculum. In REI's
home state of Washington, Governor Christine
Gregoire signed legislation to provide
grants to school and community-based programs
to help get children outdoors and engaged
in the environment.
These actions are creating momentum, but
significant change can also happen in our
own communities. All adults can play an
instrumental role in getting youth involved
in outdoor recreation and create tomorrow's
guardians of the planet. Ask a typical
suburban youngster why it's important
to protect our country's wild lands,
rivers and waterways, and the response
will likely be disappointing. These individuals
are the future defenders of our neighborhood
parks and outdoor recreation areas. Where
will the next generation recreate if the
youth of today have no real connection
to nature?
A love of nature is what helped establish
REI and we, like other companies in the
outdoor industry, have reason to be concerned.
Founded in 1938 by a group of Pacific Northwest
mountaineers, REI has grown into the nation's
largest retail cooperative with more than
three million active members who enjoy
the outdoors close to home and in distant
places.
REI's core purpose is to inspire,
educate and outfit our members for a lifetime
of outdoor adventure and stewardship. We
aspire to involve more individuals, groups
and communities in enjoying and supporting
the outdoors. But our attention to protecting
natural spaces and the lack of childhood
exposure to the outdoors goes far beyond
our business interests. It's also
a societal concern. It's a generational
concern. And, ultimately, it's a
planetary concern.
We strongly believe that our most meaningful
and powerful work can be done directly
in local communities, working side-by-side
with grassroots clubs and organizations.
Our giving and outreach efforts are centered
on strong community relationships, partnering
with like-minded nonprofit organizations
to enhance connections to the natural world.
Two examples of REI programs that encourage
youth to lead active, healthy lives and
to help protect and preserve natural places
are REI's
Kids Passport to Adventure, and our Promoting
Environmental Awareness in Kids (PEAK) program
that educates children about environmental
ethics.
We created the REI Kids Passport to Adventure
program in 2006 to help encourage children
and their parents to enjoy the great outdoors
together, highlighting family-friendly
hikes and bike rides that are close to
home. More than 14,000 children and adults
picked up REI's Kids Passport to Adventure
journals at their local REI stores, helping
families find local connections to nature.
Through our partnership with Leave No
Trace Center for Outdoor Ethics, we developed
the PEAK program. Today it remains one
of our most effective programs to begin
to educate youth about nature in an engaging,
fun and interactive way. Taught by REI
employees, Leave No Trace staff and other
community leaders, the interactive program
teaches Leave No Trace principles through
a series of games, activities and lessons
designed for different age groups. In 2007
the program was translated into Spanish
and more than 110,000 children learned
how to minimize their impact while enjoying
the outdoors.
By partnering with our members, customers,
and local communities, we can collectively
work to reverse the disturbing statistics
around the lack of youth involvement
in the outdoors. Exposure to and involvement
with nature is important to childhood
development in many ways —intellectually,
emotionally, socially, spiritually, and
physically. Connecting children to nature
today will also help shape tomorrow's
leaders, ensuring shared natural spaces
will be available into the future.
I look forward to joining you at the American
Camp Association (ACA) annual conference
in Nashville in February, and engaging
in a dialog around building new outdoor
enthusiasts and the next generation of
leaders. With the theme "The Strength
of Many Voices," the meeting is sure
to highlight and celebrate the work of
the ACA and its diverse membership throughout
the country. Thanks to your dedication,
you are making a lasting positive impact
on the development of our nation's
youth so that they are better positioned
to appreciate nature, be tomorrow's
environmental stewards, and stronger contributors
to society.
Sally Jewell is president and
chief executive officer of REI, the nation's
largest retail cooperative providing quality
outdoor gear and clothing. She is the sixth
CEO in the co-operative's 69-year
history. For
many decades she has been dedicated to protecting
shared natural spaces for future generations,
including engaging her own family in a lifelong
love of nature.
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