Outdoor Recreation Programs -- A High Return on Investment

Green Hours Offer a 30-to-One Return in Keeping Youth Out of Trouble

There is a considerable base of research demonstrating how too much television watching contributes to youth violence and crime. This is a particular concern for teens who are become independent of their parents and strike out on their own more often than not. They lose a sense of their own reality, responsibility and the ability to relate to people at many levels. The National Wildlife Federation recognizes this and emphasizes teen programs such as its Earth Tomorrow institutes. Importantly we support parents in the need to get children of all ages outside an hour a day -- a Green Hour.

It may be obvious, but parents should not overlook the local park and recreation department!

Bob Jennings, a naturalist for Milwaukee Recreation has developed a eye-opening calculation showing how the local park, recreation and nature center programs in the City can keep kids happy and healthy and trouble-free by saturating them with interesting active and intriguing programs for about $16 per week. Bob's compares this modest and remarkably "worth it" expense to the $30,000 per year that it costs to incarcerate a juvenile. Take a look!