NWF Green Hour Forum

2007-03-16T13:30:00.000-07:00

We're moving to GREENHOUR.ORG!

It's been over a year now since I began this blog to discuss “nature deficit disorder” and its effects on the current generation of children. We've talked about the increased incidence of ADHD and childhood obesity, compromised immune systems, and a host of other risks associated with the increased time today’s children are spending staring at electronic screens. Now, it’s time to get practical with some simple solutions you and your family can make a part of your everyday lives.

Please join the National Wildlife Federation on our new website, www.greenhour.org. Here you will find information, tools and inspiration for parents and other caring adults. Rich in family-friendly content, the website hosts a supportive virtual community where you can learn, explore and share your outdoor experiences and backyard adventures.

With this entry, the Green Hour Blog will officially move to this new website. Please visit -- and be sure to subscribe to our new RSS feed to receive blog updates in your browser or feed reader!

Twice a month in this blog, I will present information and ideas on "nature deficit," its long-term effects on kids, and -- most importantly -- how a Green Hour program can help. Weekly, the website will describe many things parents and other adults can do to help kids get out more and connect to nature and to themselves.

We hope that you will join us in making the Green Hour a part of your family's lifestyle and sign-up to be a member of the Green Hour Community.

2006-09-07T18:20:00.000-07:00

Academic Drugging: Parents Need To Think "Hills" Not "Pills."

With evidence that more time outdoors playing in natural spaces can help ease the symptoms of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), it is disturbing that many parents are engaged in increasing amounts of academic drugging. The practice is on the rise and it is being motivated by parent's wanting higher acdemic achievement in their kids. Read more. Also check out this University of Illinois study on the positive effects of green space on ADHD problems in kids.

2006-07-30T17:46:00.000-07:00

Study finds Green Hours good for the heart

This means more than just having a warmer attitude toward nature. It actually means a stronger cardiovascular system. The Norwegian School of Sports Science in Oslo recently reported that children should be getting more like 90 minutes per day of physical activity to avoid "clustering of heart disease risk factors."

Importantly, the study finds that children's casual activity, such as they would get by unstructured play outside, is critically important and may be the missing ingredient in long term heart health. Read more!

2006-07-30T17:11:00.000-07:00

Rural kids have Nature Deficit Too

The idea that urban kids are the only ones experiencing modern nature deficit is dead wrong according to the observations of writer Todd Wilkinson. He concludes that the video game phenomenon and the wired kids strikes rural youth too and takes some important things away from them. They, for instance, can lose touch with the sharper senses they might develop outdoors and might have sore thumbs from playing computer games but are as likely to be afraid of putting a worm on a fishing hook. Check out his article on taking some kids outdoors in Southeastern Montana. Read more!

2006-06-29T06:45:00.000-07:00

Study Finds that Kid's Unstructured Time is Down 50%

The organization, Playing for Keeps, (discussed earlier in this blog) is a strong proponent of the concept of "constructive play." They define constructive play" as safe, wholesome and non-violent activity tyhat helps kids develop skills and positive relationships and inspired them to be creative and to learn more about themselves and the world around them. Playing for Keeps has assembled some compelling facts that are worth repeating about what is really happening to children in our electronic world. Consider:

* Unstructured outdoor activities declined by 50 percent compared to the previous generation.

* More than 80 percent of children under age 2 and more than 60 percent ages 2-5 do not have access to daily outdoor play.

* The average American home with a toddler has the TV on six hours a day.

* The average 2-year-old spends more than four hours a day in front of a TV or computer screen.

* One in six 2-year-olds has a TV in his or her bedroom.

Learn more about the work and aspirations of Playing for Keeps

2006-06-29T06:28:00.000-07:00

Videos Preferred Over Actual Visits to National Parks

The phenomenon of people preferring sedentary, electronically-based, activities to more active pursuits now has a name according to some researchers -- "videophilia." In a June 21 Reuters story, a Nature Conservancy commissioned study to be published soon in the Journal of Environmental Management found that 98% of the national decline in park visitation in recent years is due to video games, movie video rentals, going to the movie theatre,, computers, television exacerbated by a shift toward higher fuel prices. The study concludes that this trend has serious negative implications for long-term environmental stewardship. We can also immediatley see how bad it will be for human health. Read more!

2006-05-14T19:31:00.000-07:00

Fishing Moms?

We know about soccer moms, but what about fishing moms? A group of mothers in Ventura County California, decided it was time to take their sons and daugthers fishing in nearby Lake Casitas. In an activity traditionally assigned to men, more and more mothers are getting involved. Nearly one fourth of today's kids are being raised by single moms and, hopefully, more of them will be paying attention to the growing problem of nature deficit in their children. Read More!

2006-05-14T19:01:00.000-07:00

New Legislative Proposal to Fight Nature Deficit in California

California SB 1649 is a new legislative proposal by Senator Richard Alarcon to permanently establish and fund a statewide outdoor education program to be funded through the license plate fund. It was sparked by efforts of the Sierra Club and others in the State to show how important it is for students, particularly those from under-resourced backgrounds, to engage in outdoor learning. Read More!

2006-05-14T18:41:00.000-07:00

The Coming Recess Revolution

School systems everywhere have been cutting back on free time for children in order to focus on preparing them for mandatory statewide tests. One of the casualties of this trend has been outdoor recess. Now, the federal government is also responding to the growing obesity epidemic with new reuirements for comprehensive wellness programs. These new programs will focus on improved nutrition in school meals, physical education and reduction of soda sales and other fattening snacks. It is vital, though, that kids have an opportunity to get outside and exercise while at school. Outdoor activity needs to be part of a rounded wellness prgoram including the return of recess. Read More!

2006-05-14T18:05:00.000-07:00

Rapidly Advancing Nature Deficit in the Very Young

The non-profit organization, Playing for Keeps, has completed a survey that finds that unstructured outdoor play is down 50% in children ages 2-5 over a generation ago. Importantly, the very young are most affected. More than 80% of children under 2 and 60% of children under 5 no longer have access to outside play.
The average American home with a toddler has the TV on for six hours and the average 2 year old watches TV or plays on a computer 4 hours per day. Read more!

2006-04-23T05:41:00.000-07:00

Childhood Outdoor Time: Essential for Adult Conservation Commitment

A National Wildlife Week Special

Children who fish, camp and spend time in the wild before age 11 are much more likely to grow up to be environmentally-minded and commtted as adults, a new study finds.

Cornell Professor, Nancy Wells, and Kristi Lekies, a research associate in human development also at Cornell, recently analyzed data from the U.S. Forest Service that explored childhood nature experiences and adult environmentalism. The Cornell researchers used a sample of more than 2,000 adults, ages 18 to 90, who were living in urban areas and who responded to questions about their early childhood nature experiences and their current adult attitudes and behaviors relating to the environment.

Their findings will be published in Children, Youth and Environments (Vol. 16:1). From the Cornell Press release: "Our study indicates that participating in wild nature activities before age 11 is a particularly potent pathway toward shaping both environmental attitudes and behaviors in adulthood," said Wells, whose previous studies have found that nature around a home can help protect children against life stress and boost children's cognitive functioning. When children become truly engaged with the natural world at a young age, the experience is likely to stay with them in a powerful way -- shaping their subsequent environmental path," she added. Read More!

2006-04-23T05:25:00.000-07:00

Bring Back Outdoor Recess to Our Schools

A National Wildlife Week Special

A standing joke among people everywhere is their favorite subject when they were in school was recess! Today, they might be out of luck.

The National Association for the Education of Young Children and others are concerned that recess time is being eliminated from elementary schools in school districts nationwide due to a perception it is a waste of time, takes away from academics, and portends physical injuries for children. The recess experience lets children learn through movement, relate to their peers in group settings, relieve tension, increase te ability to concentrate, help prevent obesity and related phyical problems. The bottom line: bring back recess and make it a part of a daily Green Hour program. Read More!

2006-04-23T05:12:00.000-07:00

One Program's Open Letter to Parents About Outdoor Time

A National Wildlife Week Special

Teaching Strategies Inc. of Washington DC, has developed The Creative Curriculum for Early Childhood. Among other aspects it focuses on the importance of outdoot play in creating happy and health young children. In an open letter to parents they explain the importance of outdoor time as follows:

"When we take the children outdoors at school, we talk about the things we can see, hear, touch, and feel so that the children become aware of changes in the weather and the seasons, the growth of plants, and animals. We help the children notice changes by asking them what is different about the trees, the caterpillars, or the sky. They lie on the ground and look up, or they climb the jungle gym and look down. We point out the many kinds of birds that fly overhead, butterflies, mosquitos, milkweed seeds, falling leaves, and rain as it begins. We wonder aloud where all these things come from." Read More!

2006-04-23T04:29:00.000-07:00

A Look at the Emerging Field of Conservation Psychology

National Wildlife Week Special

Researcher, educator, and movement-builder, Dr. Carol Saunders, of the Brookfield Zoo in Chicago is certain that the nature and wildlife conservation field needs to embrace the social sciecnes more directly and effectively. The world will need a populace that both understands conservation and has a true affection for nature. Her recommendation is the emerging study of Conservation Psychology. She and a growing number of colleagues from across the nation are developing more focused research and testing prgorams that support greater understanding of what makes people conservation-minded and what will impact their behavior. To read more about her work and that of her colleagues, see her paper in Human Ecology Review
(Photo: Chicago Wilderness)

2006-04-01T18:24:00.000-08:00

Green Lining for the ADHD Black Box?

There is huge public debate about whether “black box” side-effect warnings should go on ADHD drug labels.

Keeping our children healthy, happy, peaceful and productive may, first and foremost, require a much more serious look at how they are spending their time. They are indoors more than any previous generation. Ask any adult about their childhood outdoor experiences and they will tell you about endless hours spent running through backyards, front yards, tree-line streets, neighborhoods, local parks or local woods. But things are much different now.

No direct relationship between the amount of time kids spend staring at electronic screens and an increase in ADHD symptoms has ever been established by scientists. But, when we think of how 2.5 million children are now using medications to reduce symptoms, there may be a “greener” part of the solution. In 2004, researchers at the University of Illinois found that “exposure to ordinary natural settings in the course of common after-school and weekend activities may be widely effective in reducing attention deficit symptoms in children.” Co-authors Frances E. Kuo and Andrea Faber Taylor recommend that children with attention deficit hyperactive disorder (ADHD) spend some quality after-school hours and weekend time outdoors enjoying nature. See Article: ADHD Curbed When Kids Play Outdoors

Photo from ADHD Information Library

2006-04-01T17:58:00.000-08:00

No Child Left Inside

Hope for Needed New Policies

In a play on the name of current federal education policy, Connecticut Governor, Jodi Rell, has announced a new state park and recreation initiative to help children.

It is called "No Child Left Inside" and is designed to reconnect kids with the outdoors through the state's parks and forests. Connecticut is among a growing number of states that recognize the need for getting children away from computers, videa games and TV's.

In a recent press statement: "We're trying to reconnect with the outside," said Governor Rell. "We want kids to reconnect, to see the outside, to see what it's really like, not just from the house to the school bus. Not just down the street to a friend's house, but the real outdoors." One of the parks to showcase the effort will be Dinosaur State Park. They will be getting more educational specialists. Read More!

2006-04-01T17:13:00.000-08:00

Outdoor Play: Remember it?

Peggy O'Crowley, writing for the Newhouse News Service wrote an interesting article on some of the human dimensions of nature deficit. Though she didn't quite get my name right, (I have cousins named Coyne), and she didn't quite get the name of the National Wildlife Federation right (many good reporters have tread this path before her), she must be loudly commended for writing about this important change in American life and for asking some of the vital questions about what life without outdoor kids would be. Read More!

2006-04-01T16:06:00.000-08:00

Parents: How About a Little Backbone?

(For Your Kids)

The phenomenon (some might call it "epidemic") of children spending over six hours per day indoors staring at electronic screens is disturbing at many levels. But parents everywhere will need to step up if they want their children to have the same levels of health they did in their younger (and older) years.

In light of recent changes in children's behavior, the prestigious American Academy of Pediatrics now recommends that doctors evaluate children for the amount of calcium they're ingesting and encourage them to exercise more.

The AAP reports: "National data show that most U.S. children over age eight now are at risk for the bone-thinning disease osteoporosis later in life because they lack calcium in sufficient amounts. The report's co-author says these are the major reasons: children drink sodas instead of milk or calcium-fortified juice; they're spending more time on TV, computers and video games, instead of exercising; and many schools have phased out organized physical activities." Read More!

2006-03-19T19:08:00.000-08:00

Time Out!

This week, the cover story in Time Magazine is about kids being too wired -- connected to computers, instant messaging, cell phones, Ipods and more.

The article points out that: "Many educators and psychologists say parents need to actively ensure that their teenagers break free of compulsive engagement with screens and spend time in the physical company of human beings -- a growing challenge not just because technology offers such a handy alternative but because so many kids lead highly scheduled lives that leave little time for old-fashioned socializing and family meals. Indeed, many teenagers and college students say overcommitted schedules drive much of their multitasking."

We agree! Kids of all ages need to connect to real people and they especially need to take some time with nature. Families take heed. Read about it.

2006-03-08T17:31:00.000-08:00

Ozark Communities Plan Trail System to Fight Nature Deficit

Branson, Reed Springs, StoneBridge and Indian Point (MO) plan to develop an 82 mile trail system as a way to increase tourism and help local residents get out more.

One mayor in the area describes the need for the trails as: "we find more and more families looking for ways to 'unplug' their kids and get them back to nature. Now, there's a new term I've heard: nature-deficit disorder. It's hard for us to imagine when we live around nature, but some kids never see that. Any way you can help these kids connect with history and the outdoors, it's going to be a big plus."

Green Hour readers know that the "new term" the mayor describes comes from the work of Richard Louv in his book Last Child in the Woods. Importantly, these communities recognize how people without trails and outdoor opportunities can become disconnected from nature and that would be very bad. Read More!

2006-03-07T17:48:00.000-08:00

National Wildlife Week 2006 -- a Nationwide Green Hour

From April 22-30, we will be celebrating National Wildlife Week and we hope parents and kids everywhere will join in. National Wildlife Week offers opportunities to learn about nature, volunteer and go out and do wildlife observations. To learn more, check it out.

2006-03-07T17:17:00.000-08:00

Internet Safety 101

We, at the National Wildlife Federation, want children to get outside into natural spaces more often and play. We call it a daily "green hour" because kids need such outdoor time to keep from becoming disconnected from nature from spending too much time on the internet and watching TV.

In the past few months, the Dateline NBC program has covered a series of disturbing incidents involving adult sexual predators pursuing children. The great irony of this is that most parents have a view that kids are not safe playing outdoors but are totally safe when on the computer. The basic rules for Internet Safety according to Marcy Zitz are:

* Never arrange a meeting with someone you have met online.

* Never give out your full name, address, phone number or other personal information.

* Tell you parents if you come across something that makes you feel uncomfortable.
*Keep the computer in a central location in your home.

*Never give out your passwords to anyone.

Read more from Marcy Zitz's Parenting and Family article on Family Internet.

Photo from NBC news.

2006-03-07T16:53:00.000-08:00

For Exercise -- 60 Minutes is the Goal

Kids need a hour of exercise a day. They don't need real ot real intense exercise and can get it playing games or running around outdoors. Years ago, kids burned plenty of calories outdoors playing and just moving from one activity to the next.

Dr. Robert M. Malina, research professor and an expert in growth and development at Tarleton State University says, “our children are just not burning up those calories today," Dr. Malina says of the obesity epidemic in children. “All of us need to help children increase the amount of time spent in moderate to vigorous physical activity. The study is reported in “Physical Activity Recommendations for School-Age Youth” in The Journal of Pediatrics, Volume 146, Number 6 (June 2005). Read More!

2006-03-07T16:13:00.001-08:00

Add Green Hours to Your Child's Lifespan

Parents take heed.

A study published recently in the International Journal of Pediatric Obesity finds that almost 50% of U.S. children will be overweight by the end of the decade. Junk food, poor eating habits and lack of exercise are listed as the reasons. The lack of exercise seems to be coming from kids having an indoor, TV-dependent, video game-saturated lifestyle. Dr. Phillip Thomas of the International Obesity Task Force says "this is going to be the first generation that's going to have a lower life expectancy than their parents. It's like the plague is in town and no one is interested.”

The solution? get rid of "empty" calories such as from candy and fatty foods, and make sure our kids are more active -- say through a daily Green Hour! Read More!

2006-01-29T19:02:00.000-08:00

Turn Off the Computer and Play

NWF Happinin' Habitat friend and partner, the celebrated ZOOM PBS series, encourages children to get away from the computer and play together. Some of this encouragement is for indoor games and some for getting outside. No matter. The main point is for kids to havev fun together rather than be locked in an isolated "computer trance." Check out ZOOM's site for an inspiring list of fun games for kids. It is also agreat reminder of how easy it is for kids to get together and have fun. Photo from PBS ZOOM

2006-01-11T19:45:00.000-08:00

Outdoor time vs. 'Sick School Syndrome '

We would all love to think of our kids' time in school as healthy. After all, children spend thousands of hours in classrooms, gyms, lunch rooms, labs and study halls. Recently, however, scientific information on what children are actually exposed to in school argues for increased outdoor time. "Sick school syndrome" is described by health professionals as a non-specific illness in children evidenced by them feeling poorly on school days and better on weekends. The syndrome is due to environmental factors including allergens, poor indoor air quality, pesticides, paints, cleaners and solvents and lack of oxygen. The Healthy Schools Network is a non-profit organization dedicated to cleaning up our schools but they also need some "greening up." School children need more time outdoors exercising in clean fresh air. Read more!

2006-01-11T18:24:00.000-08:00

Common Sense Outdoor Safety

Rules to use

The perception that the outdoors is less safe for kids than staying indoors is now deeply entrenched in the America psyche. It is steadily reinforced and even perpetuated by heavy media coverage of childhood abductions, kids falling into holes, drownings and more. Indeed, no one should ever suggest that outdoor play is completely risk free. There are just too many bumps and scrapes and twisted ankles in the memory of most adults to buy that. But staying indoors has considerable risks too because so many sexual predators frequent the Web (which kids also frequent). There are many common sense rules for how kids can be safer outdoors. For parents and caregivers who want children to have safe green hours here is a useful website and review. Check it out!

2006-01-11T17:53:00.000-08:00

Environmental Outdoor Games

For older children

There are many things that children can do outdoors. Healthy outdoor experiences can range from running through the backyard to particpating in a summer camp or outward bound journey. Environmental outdoor games are an interesting option for older children. Here is a web site that offers some fun and interesting opportunities for groups such as scouting organizations and classes. Check it out!

2006-01-11T17:30:00.000-08:00

An Epidemic Emerges

More "Green" Time Please !

A recent New York Times article examines how diabetes is becoming one of America'smost serious, yet subtle, epidemics. Public health experts, including those from the Centers from Disease Control, are now estimating that one out of every three children born in America will have diabetes during his or her lifetime. Part of the need is for improved diet but, more than anything else, the answer seems to be exercise. The article also notes how urban environments can discourage exercise and suggests more time walking and more time spent using amenities such as nature trails. Read More!

2006-01-04T18:38:00.000-08:00

Standards for an Active Community

A role for government in increasing Green Hours

In Michigan there are standards, guidelines and programs of financial aid to help communites become more "active." It isn't actually the community that becomes active but the people who live in it. More acurately, the role of the community and its leaders is to provide trails, open spaces, exercise programs and educational programs that will encourage residents to get out and move around. Read More!

2006-01-04T11:33:00.000-08:00

Green Hours are Commercial-free Hours

Child psychologists would like to restrict TV advertising to kids.

All things in moderation. That is what we need to think of when we look at how much time kids spend indoors watching TV or on computers as compared to time playing outdoors in green, natural spaces. But the advertising industry is not at all moderate when it comes to kids. There is at least $12 billion in annual advertising aimed right at your child's eyeballs each year. In fact, the average child now sees 40,000 commericals a year. It has gotten so bad that the American Psychological Association recommends that advertsing to youngsters be restricted. That is because children, under eight years of age, cannot easily distinguish the truth from overstatements and falsehoods. That makes them uniquely susceptable to commercial persuasion.

The most predominant products advertised to children are sugared cereals, candy, sodas and snack foods. What children really need is time away from television and computer pop-up screens and to get outdoors in green spaces with fresh air and exercise. Read more!

2006-01-02T13:51:00.000-08:00

Five Great Adventures for Kids

The far and near of it

Parenthood.com is a website offering all kinds of advice to caretakers of children. One of my favorites is their article on five great outdoor activities for kids. The emphasis is on simple family-oriented activities parents can do with kids right around the home. They include a"Bug Safari," "Blooming Names," "Butterfly Feeder," and more. The main point is that when we think of outdoor time, some of the most fun things can be right under our nose, ot at least under that blade of grass. Check it out!

2005-12-09T16:56:00.000-08:00

Green is Safer -- Parental Worries About Kids Playing Outdoors are Wrong-Minded!

Parents generally assume that children are safer staying home online than they are playing outside where a sexual predator or other evildoer might approach them. Wrong. Here are some Seventeen Magazine survey facts that bring home the point. Of teenage girls (ages 12 t0 18):

• Sixty percent have filled out a questionnaire or form online and
given out personal information (name, address, date of birth,
phone number, or school name).

• Twelve percent have agreed to meet in person with someone
they have met only online.

• Forty-five percent have told someone they met online personal
information, such as their real name, age or date of birth, address,
phone number, or school name.

• Sixty-one percent have received pictures from someone online.

• Twenty-three percent have sent pictures to someone that they
have met on the Internet.

• Fifteen percent have received suggestive or threatening e-mail
messages that have made them feel uncomfortable.

• Thirty percent have been in a chatroom where the discussion
made them feel uncomfortable.

• Fifteen percent have read messages on the Web that have
threatened violence.

In the meantime, incidents of violence to children in outdoor settings is down by nearly 40% over past years and a child's chance of having a worrisome encounter while playing in the backyard or neighborhood is negligible notwithstanding sensational media cases indicating the opposite.

2005-12-09T16:17:00.000-08:00

The Curiosity Response

Everyone knows that kids are naturally curious, but how much do adults end up actually stifling this young enthusiasm? Many adults may not fully grasp how interested and excited children get about being outdoors. Let's chalk it up to being beaten down by years of schooling, demanding work and tight shedules. The Wisconsin Early Childhood Excellence Initiaitive points out, however, how important it is that children get a curiosity response. But it is the Teachers and day care workers who need to have the response -- not the kids! Take a look at the Wisconsin Initiative's web page pointing out how important it is to be alert for curiosity in children and to know what to do with it, no matter how basic.

2005-12-09T15:51:00.000-08:00

A Kid in the Bush

In the Wild with Children

Many parents go a little nuts at the mere thought of taking children out to wild places for hikes, climbs and other rustic adventures. On top of worries about injuries (and bugs), a main concern seems to be that the kids will get lost. Moreover, some highly-publicized cases have made America's parents fearful that children might be abducted by an evildoer while roaming in the woods. In New Zealand, getting kids into wild places, or the "bush," is a cultural norm. But ,even in NZ, a few pointers on commons sense approaches to fun and safety are useful. Check out this article on "Time in the Wild With Children." It can be very reassuring for those nervous parents out there.

2005-11-27T19:09:00.000-08:00

Teaching gardens

Children need green places for outdoor play. A little time each day involved in outdoor activity is good for them offering needed exercise and a calming of the nerves. Children also need good places to learn. In a recent article Washington Post writer Adrian Higgins describes an important trend in education -- what he calls "teaching gardens." Gardens provide a natural learning lab for kids. They let children step beyond the normal indoor world of schools and classrooms and into the natural world where that can learn with all their senses.

The NWF and its statewide affiliates encourage schools to develop schoolyard habitats. These are wildlife gardens that that let children get beyond the indoor world and into a reversal of nature deficit disorder.

2005-11-26T06:55:00.000-08:00

Good TV Health -- Guidelines Include More Outdoor Time

The American Academy of Pediatrics has been looking hard at childhood television viewing and is not happy with what it is finding. The average child is now spending more time watching television than he or she spends in school! This is twice the maximum recommended by the Academy. Recent studies also recommend that children under two years of age be kept away from television entirely becaase it adversely affects critical cognitive development. So what is a parent to do? Here are some suggestions from the Academy on good TV health. I ncluded: outdoor time -- no surprise there.

1) Don’t have a TV in your child’s bedroom, 2) Have a home computer the child can have access to, 3) Turn off the TV during meals, 4) Let your children watch TV as a treat only after homework and chores are finished, 5) Have a TV-ban day, 6) Create fun alternatives to watching television, such as a board game, going outside, or listening to music . Read More

2005-11-14T18:03:00.000-08:00

More on Outdoor-oriented Kid Care

Day care centers for preschoolers have become a way of life in modern America. It is the rare child today who stays out of day care in his or her younger years. Everyone knows that small children love to be outside but, sadly, not enough day care providers fully grasp how important this really is for a child's health and development. Pennsylvania State University has a program it calls Better Kid Care that emphasizes easy (and safe) outdoor activities for day care kids -- reading under trees, meals that are picnics, outdoor music and other activities. Read More!

2005-11-08T19:23:00.000-08:00

TV-Free Toddlers? & Greener Day Care!

A recent study recommends that toddlers be kept away from television altogether. The authors conclude that the adverse effects of TV outweigh even the positive effects of such programs as the much-beloved Sesame Street. This raises a question about what kind of Green Hour treatment our toddlers usually receive. And. in modern U.S. society, that means looking at the day care and nursery school experience too.

The North Carolina State University's Extension Service has some important ideas on this. In a fascinating project they have designed an outdoor space for day care that brings a more natural experience to toddlers and other young children. Check it out!

2005-11-08T18:28:00.000-08:00

One Man's Woods

We recently had a chance to meet with and talk to one of our favorite people. Richard Louv, author of Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children from Nature Deficit Disorder, attended and spoke at a national meeting at the National Conservation Training Center on the future of the conservation education. The meeting was hosted by the Paul F. Brandwein Institute and Richard made a plenary address.
Photo from RichardLouv.com

His highly-regarded book has brought national attention and focus to the fact that, in the past five to eight years, the impossible has happened -- especially if you grew up more than ten years ago. Today, American Children have pretty much stopped playing outside!

In his address, Richard spoke of his own childhood and how, through endless time in a small neighborhood woods in Kansas, his love affair with nature and the outdoors took hold. His local woods gave him an affection for the natural world that ultimately produced a life of writing about family and nature and then the Last Child book with its accompanying sense of urgency and loss. His work is helping the National Wildlife Federation and many like-minded conservation organizations and public agencies to have to face up to the idea that without more Green Hours, a generation will emerge with no real affection for nature or wildlife and little notion of why young Richard would have spent all that time in his Kansas woods.

2005-11-08T17:36:00.000-08:00

A Greener Check Up?

The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) is a professional association that has physician guidelines for child television viewing. These guidelines direct pediatricians to ask parents and their young patients about the amount of TV they watch each day and, if they find it is over done, to recommend limits for health reasons. The AAP recognizes that parents need to monitor for too much telelvision viewing and so it has also adopted family guidelines for use at home.

We think the AAP should adopt "Green Hour" guidelines too! This way the examining physician would inquire if children were getting enough healthful outdoor time to stem obesity, the need for attention deficit medications and more. An average of one hour outside per day would be the perfect prescription for getting kids away from television and into a healthy outdoor world.

2005-11-06T15:05:00.000-08:00

A Chat With the Reptilian Brain

What happens when you start with wet feet?

Florida Gulf Coast University has a remarkable professor named Bill Hammond (pictured here standing in one of his favorite swamps).

Bill is a powerful blend of environmental education guru, accomplished community activist/builder, consultant and the most upbeat of all educators. We met him this weekend at a national forum on building a future for the conservation movement through education and career preparation. It was hosted by the Paul F. Brandwein Institute. What makes Professor Hammond more animated than anything else, is talking about his 30-year campaign to take young people from his school and schools in the surrounding county on a mucky walk through a wetland. Thousands have done it.

It seems like simple common sense to engage a student through outdoor experiences, but Bill is an exacting scholar. He knows that his form of wetland immersion also ties to established brain science. At the very core of our mind is a brain stem that comes straight out of the spine -- very ancient and very basic -- all feeling and no cognition. This part of the brain is so basic, it is defined as the reptilian brain.

Bill's scientific approach to the brain gets students wet, lets them smell, feel and hear their surroundings and may even offer a sense of danger. When the brain stem is thus engaged, so is the full mind. This kind of learning sinks very deep -- 300 million years deep.

2005-10-22T05:04:00.000-07:00

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!

2005-10-19T17:53:00.000-07:00

Healing Gardens

Visiting hours = Green hours!

When you think about time outdoors, your first thought may be of the benefits of exercise or even as a way to learn about backyard wildlife and nature. But on a recent visit to a local hospital, we noticed a small garden in a courtyard next to one of the waiting areas. It had a sign -- "healing garden" -- and its purpose was to help with patient recovery. How? By just sitting in it -- or next to it.

The soothing nature of vegetation, flowers, stones, dripping water, the occasional bird or butterfly and a quiet bench, is all it takes to put one's mind and body into healing mode. Visiting hours can be green hours! Read More!

2005-10-17T18:10:00.000-07:00

A Calming Hour

Most people have an intuition that spending a little time in nature can reduce stress and anxiety. The emerging field of environmental psychology certainly supports this. Taking a walk outside, gardening, and most other outdoor activities -- in calming green spaces -- can lower blood pressure, improve mental health and enhance ons'e overall sense of well being. It can even help with panic attacks.

Here is a list of suggestions for the adults who may need a Green Hour themselves to relieve anxiety. Read More!

2005-10-10T20:18:00.000-07:00

Preschooler Outdoors Made Easy

Our youngest students offer great potential

The North Carolina State University Cooperative Extension has developed a remarkable tool for educators who want to make the benefits of nature and the outdoors more available to children. Importantly, they can green-up any preschool program on a small budget. This guide is available in PDF form and is free. (six pages) Check It Out

2005-10-03T15:54:00.000-07:00

Start Early -- Keep Going

A 2004 Harris Interactive survey by the Outdoor Industry Foundation makes two points incredibly well. First, 90% of adults who regularly engage in outdoor activities started the practice in their childhood years ages five to eighteen. This surely supports the idea that a daily Green Hour of outdoor activity will have a lasting effect.

Second, in current times of high stress levels, obesity and related problems, the survey helps to document what people think of the benefits of outdoor activity. Bottom line: better mental and physical health. For a summary of the Outdoor Industry report, click here.

2005-09-28T16:41:00.000-07:00

That awkward "but what would I do outside"? moment!

Priming the pump for outdoor activity

What parent hasn't heard the classic, "I'm bored -- there isn't anything to do," lament? When a child registers such a complaint is usually causes every productive idea about fun things to do to drain from an adult's brain. This condition can be aggravated when you suggest that a child STEP AWAY FROM THE TELEVISION and go out and play. "And do what"!? -- comes the rejoinder and the brain-drain begins in earnest. Author, Richard Louv, (Last Child in the Woods) discusses how awkward an adult can feel when suggesting that kids play outside. He reminds us, however, that once the kids get out there they pretty much take entertain themselves. You just need to get them started.

Brain stilled drained? Here is some help. Consider, for example, the resources at Family Corner.com which has a useful and accessible set of articles on things to do outdoors with kids.

2005-09-27T16:12:00.000-07:00

Parents: How Safe Is It Out There?

The real dangers may be inside.

Richard Louv, author of the highly-regarded book Last Child in the Woods, had a provocative commentary in the New York Times on Sunday, September 25th. He noted how often adults say they keep kids inside because it is no longer safe outdoors. But is that true? Richard runs through a number of findings on how comparitively safer the outdoors are today than in the 1970s and 1980s. Noteworthy among these are that violence toward children is down by one third and child abductions are down roughly 50% since 1988. The importance of this information for someone recommending that every child needs an average of a outdoor 'green' hour per day is evident. It seems children outside today are safer than we might think. But, it is also worth noting the the common alaternative -- television -- has been proven to make children angry and violent. And, on the Internet lurk many thousands of child predators. It has so many, in fact, that some anaysts say 20% of kids will communcate directly with a predator on line at some point. Richard's advice on all of this -- tell your kids to "take a hike."

2005-09-26T16:52:00.000-07:00

Green Hours Need Greener Communities

The Centers for Disease Control totally "get it" when it comes to the need for outdoor time and outdoor spaces. The CDC's main reason for supporting more time outdoors is to encourage exercise and combat a natiowide epidemic of obesity. In its summary of how to overcome common barriers to exercise, the Agency starts with community environment -- places to walk, bike, run and play. Through its Active Community Environments Initiative (ACES) the CDC encourages communities and and their people to work harder to offer safe, clean and convenient outdoor opportunities. The NWF Green Hour program shares this goal with the CDC. We recognize how much healthier our children are when they get away from the TV and out into nature. We also recognize how much healthier the American conservation movement will be with a generation of young people who have stayed connected instead of glued to the television.

2005-09-19T19:07:00.000-07:00

Green Literacy and Green Hours

Kids need to turn off the TV and read

American children now spend more time watching TV than any other waking activity. They actually spend more time watching TV than they spend in school. And, studies that have involved more than 400,000 students have confirmed that TV hurts a child's academic performance. One thing that especially gets lost is outdoor time, but another is reading. At the National Wildlife Federation we see these two things as connected. We hope children will have one Green Hour outdoors per day and we also hope they will read more about nature -- much more. NWF has a longstanding commitment to children reading. The Non-profit organization the TV Turnoff Network agrees with us and has compiled a compelling fact sheet on literacy.

We have been doing our own research and have found the our children's maagazines Ranger Rick, Your Big Backyard and Wild Animal Baby are excellent tools for literacy and are endorsed by many of the leading literacy organizations. Our ideal -- kids read about nature and then spend time outdoors experiencing it directly -- away from the TV.

2005-09-18T15:24:00.000-07:00

When nothing else works

How about a green month?

Watch a pair of kids spending hours playing fast-moving, often violent, video action games and it makes one long to spoon feed them them some of the healing properties of nature and the outdoors. But how important is this?

We can learn much about this urge from a well-developed healing practice known professsionally as Adventure Therapy. It sounds fun, but it is serious business. It is the practice of immersing our most troubled teens and adults -- those with dysfunction, severe emotional problems, histories of violence or substance abuse -- in natural or 'green' settings. Many of these programs take a full month or more and involve venturing into true wilderness areas. Some of the healing comes from the teamwork and problem-solving skills these settings "naturally" provide. But, every expert in this field will tell you that it is time in nature itself that does much of the healing. Most important to remember -- when other therapies have failed, the outdoors work!

2005-09-14T11:17:00.000-07:00

One man’s Green Hour

Scolia Dubia Meets Beetle Mania

Being outside offers many experiences. Here is what NWF Chief Naturalist Craig Tufts has to say about the Digger Wasp and its relationship to garden-eating beetles at his home. KC

“Just about everyone who gardens in our area has complained about the numbers of Japanese beetles this summer. I have also been plagued by "green June beetles.” Both ate most of our raspberries and damaged our peaches. Not only do both adult beetles chew up an incredible variety of plants, from roses to grapes to Virginia creeper and many fruiting trees and shrubs, their grubs spend all fall until frost and then again next spring before early July chewing up the roots of our lawn grasses, ornamentals and shrubs.

But look a little closer in local meadows full of goldenrod, the white "eupatorium" and many tall grasses. You are likely to see a striking pollinator among the blooms. It's red; it's yellow, it's black; it's blue. It's a wasp! Sometimes called a Digger Wasp but not having a widely accepted common name, Scolia Dubia, is busily picking up pollen and nectar and (for us gardeners) it is also parasitizing recently hatched, subterranean green June beetle larvae. Some of this wasp’s' less showy relatives are doing the same to Japanese beetle larva. Come next summer, the beetles will be out again but knowing and accepting these wasps as allies in our habitats and keeping the pesticides out of our landscapes will ensure that their young will do the job and reduce these pest beetle populations.”

2005-09-13T16:30:00.000-07:00

Girls Need Green Hours -- Non TV-watching Kids Harder to Find -- NZ Study Released

Get Your Kids Outside and Active!

Watching television may be OK in small amounts, but another study has just come out of New Zealand's University of Otago pointing out the relationship between too much TV watching and long-term obesity. A couple of particularly interesting findings in this article, published in the International Journal of Obesity, are: a) how girls are more inclined to be affected than boys, b) how staying indoors cuts down on calorie burning activity, and c) how hard it was to find children in the sample of 1,000 who watched an hour or less per day. Read More! Photo: BBC News

2005-09-13T13:34:00.000-07:00

Discovery Zone Backyard Style

Try a Green Hour of Exploration

Author Brenda Hyde is a mom to three, a freelance writer and editor. She recently wrote an engaging article for Family Corner Magazine called "Backyard Discovery Zone." Using discovery zones in zoos and museums as inspiration, she suggests arranging a series of discoveries in different parts of the backyard. It heightens a child's observation skills, creativity and appreciation for nature. Read More!
Photo from FamilyCorner.com

2005-09-11T16:36:00.000-07:00

Pre-schools need to offer more active/outdoor time: study finds

Outdoor time is a key to healthier children 3 to 5 years old.

USA Today, November 2004

"Low activity level could be contributing to the increasing problem of excess weight in kids, says researcher Russ Pate, a professor of exercise science at the University of South Carolina-Columbia. About 10% of children ages 2 to 5 are overweight; another 12% are at risk of becoming so, the latest government statistics show. More than half of 3- to 5-year-olds go to preschool. Children need more vigorous play during unstructured free time at preschool"

In the study, Pate and colleagues examined activity levels of 281 kids at nine preschools in Columbia, S.C., including church-based, private programs and Head Start.
The children wore accelerometers, a small activity monitor, for about 4 hours a day. Researchers also watched their activities. Among findings published in November's Pediatrics:
The kids did an average of 7.7 minutes an hour of moderate to vigorous activity at preschool. Often it was done in blocks of time when the children were outside." Read More

2005-08-29T13:43:00.000-07:00

Five Years off a Child's Life?

Outdoor activity will improve fitness and lifespan.

A spate of information on childhood obesity relates it, in part, to too much TV watching and consequent physical inactivity. Here is an example. Now researchers in Chicago and Boston are looking at the implications for the nationwide childhood obesity epidemic for shorter lifespan and a poorer state of lifetime health. They conclude that, while we have enjoyed increases in expected lifespan for several decades, the new lack of childhood activity and its extra pounds will actually shorten average lifespan. Main risks occur in childhood and are parent and care-giver responsibilities. One more good thing about a daily Green Hour of outdoor play and learning is a longer life. Read More.

2005-08-28T08:07:00.000-07:00

A Daily Green Hour early -- Succeed in life later

Recent study says getting kids away from TV greatly improves college chances

A University of Otago (NZ) study reports: "Kids who watched the least TV – especially between the ages of 5 and 11 – had the highest probability of graduating from university by the age of 26, regardless of IQ or socioeconomic status. While those who watched the most TV, more than 3 hours per day, had the highest chance of dropping out of school without qualifications."

Two other studies confirm similar findings but also suggest that a limited amount of true educational programming might actually help with learning, but few families succeed at finding the right balance.

We think more creative time outdoors -- an hour per day learning, having fun, relaxing and relating is the best alternative to TV. Read More!

2005-08-27T15:55:00.000-07:00

Babes in the Woods

A Parents Guide to Getting Outdoors

Some parents worry about even being able to get their children outside -- smart folks in the travel industry see this as a huge issue and are responding accordingly. Check out Gorp.com which is part of the away.com network. They have an on-line family expert, Alice Carey, who writes thoughtfully on the subject with lots of good advice. One recent feature -- "Baby in the Woods" provides advice to parents of very young children. Alice also has advice for getting older kids outdoors too. Photo from Gorp.com website

2005-08-24T17:59:00.000-07:00

Early Wonders

Nature Deficit Needs to be Addressed at the Beginning.

Young children need to spend more time outdoors too. Recognizing this, and the fact that most organized environmental education starts at about age 9-10, a number of Minnesota educators teamed up to develop an outstanding pre-school guide entitled Natural Wonders: a Guide to Early Childhood for Environmental Edcuators. It is important because many children form their personal values by age six or seven and they always seem to have natural love of animals. Check it out at Minnesota's SEEK website.

2005-08-20T04:41:00.000-07:00

Backyard Campout Tonight

Sometimes it's about the food!

The National Wildlife Federation's Green Hour Program is about reversing the nature deficit disorders we find in today's kids. They are spending an average of six hours per day glued to TV and other electronic screens. Most Kids are -- after the shock of stepping away from the computer -- delighted to be playing outside and even having a backyard campout. Some kids may require more incentives though. We recommend bait!

Take 1 graham cracker, break in half. Break off 2 blocks of chocolate candy bar. Place candy on cracker, then place 1 marshmallow on top of candy. Put other half of cracker on top of marshmallow. Squeeze over long-handled fork or stick. Hold over heat until melted. Squeeze it together a little more (smore) and serve.

NWF's Great American Backyard Campout Happy camping!

2005-08-18T16:24:00.000-07:00

A Great American Family Thing

NWF's Great American Backyard Campout has, at this writing, 30,000 campers enrolled for the evening of Saturday August 20, 2005. They will be at 3,000 different locations. The excitment is palpable as people continue to sign on a rate of 2,000 per day and the media is calling wondering who in their area might be available for an camp-side interview. While it might seem pretty obvious, the campout has indeed turned into a real family affair with parents and children getting into the outdoor groove together.

We decided to check out a little background on camping as a family activity and found it really measures up. Kids love it. The food tastes a little better. It is a real adventure. And, importantly, it turns hours of relating only to TV and computers into hours of real contact with people, natural sounds, unusual experiences, outdoor air and greenery, Check it out!

2005-08-15T17:00:00.000-07:00

One Backyard at a Time

Our Green Hour Program is about nature that is easily accessible to children and families. Let's try to get outside an hour a day in a green space of your choice starting close-to-home. Recently Discovery's Animal Planet teamed up with the National Wildlife Federation on a new TV series called Backyard Habitat. It premiered today and is another example of how the electonic media can be a good thing when it encourages people to get outside in green spaces and be more active. Backyard Habitat will air each weekday through September. It supports the simple idea that every home-owner and apartment dweller can create a "backyard" wildlife habtitat. It can be large-scale or it can be as tiny as a few potted plants, a feeder and a bird bath on a balcony in the city. The main idea is we need to keep finding ways to connect with nature and to help others do so even if it is just through one backyard at a time.

2005-08-13T05:08:00.000-07:00

It's a Jungle Out There!

Some websites can move children outdoors

National Wildlife Federation's Great American Backyard Campout partner, PBS Backyard Jungle, has developed an exemplary blend of the virtual and real worlds. The Backyard Jungle website provides young people with the opportunity to develop an on-line map of their very favorite outdoor space. To do this, they need to get outside and explore. Once the child has takena close look at, let's say, their backyard, he or she will map it by filling it with the right symbols and icons and then post the map on the Web. The kids also can post their comments and observations and share them with other kids.

For the August 20, 2005 Great American Backyard Campout, our friends at the Corporation for Public Broadcastng and the Jungle's remarkable site-creator, Forum One Communications, have added a tent icon to the map options! At this writing almost 22,000 people are signed up for the Backyard Campout -- we hope you will join us.

2005-08-08T21:53:00.000-07:00

Green, Healthy and Safe

So How About Safety Outdoors vs. Safety On-line?

There are many reasons children need to spend more time outside and get away from an average of six hours a day in front of electronic screens. In his outstanding book, "Last Child in the Woods" author Richard Louv notes that parents are often nervous about their kids being outside and maybe falling and getting hurt or becoming prey to child molesters. We agree that a child has a greater chance for a skinned knee outdoors than sitting at a computer. And, national television news has recently been full of tragic and alarming stories of sexual predators. So, while we might not recommend the kind of extensive hours of outdoors "free-ranging" that many older adults engaged in as children, we think it is still important for parents to let their kids get outside in nature an average of an hour per day.

First, there are actually fewer instances of child predation than there were years ago. This is one crime rate that has gone down. Secondly the Internet is a vastly greater threat. It exposes one in five children to direct communication with a sexual predator and offers tens of thousands of such predators the opportunity to lurk on the Web and communicate freely with one another and the kids of their choice.

There are many safe outside places close to home starting with the backyard and kids mostly play in groups and pairs when outdoors rather than in isolation at the computer screen. To learn more about online safety pitfalls, see: http://www.protectkids.com/dangers/onlinepred.htm

2005-08-06T19:18:00.000-07:00

In Green Shape

Getting young people outside means more than letting them experience trees, open spaces and streams. Simply being outside enlivens a child. That usually starts them moving and that makes them more fit. Basic fitness is a vanishing state among our children. Fully one third are now officialy overweight and it affects both their physical and emotional well-being. Indiana University published an outstanding article on the subject. Check it out!

2005-08-04T05:05:00.000-07:00

Outdoor Activities Down Among Young Adults

Beginning Sign of Nature Deficit?

The survey research firm of Roper has identified a fast-developing decline in outdoor activities among young adults ages 18-29. These include hiking, biking and other classic outdoor recreation pursuits. In a 2003 report, Roper identified the recent shift (compared to its 2001 and prior studies of outdoor recreation). The study also finds an increase in the use of "electronics" in leisure-time. People aged 30 to 44 (25%) and aged 45 to 59 (22%) are more likely to be "frequent" recreators than the 18-29 group (19%) -- this is a first. The researched was commissioned by the American Recreation Coalition and is part of a series that can be viewed at www.funoutdoors.com

Making sure our kids are getting more time outside -- a green hour (av.) per day -- is also key to later adult outdoor activity habits.

2005-08-02T19:34:00.000-07:00

Parenting in 2005 -- Inside and Out

In the late 20th Century, two somewhat contradictory trends occurred simulataneoulsly. First, we learned that raising children is really called "parenting" and involves paying more attention than ever to a child's well-being and development. Second, under our noses, children became almost completely wired and, what began as concern about too much gawking at the "boob tube," evolved to a new-found preoccupation with e-mails, text messages, instant messaging, game boys, DVDs and more.

Now we need to look at "parenting" in this new cyber-hued light. There are many reasons why parents should get their kids away from electronic screens and off the sofa -- fitness, less agitation, higher self esteem, creativity and more. And, there are wonderful reasons to spend some of that time new-found time outdoors.

Consider camping. Camping? -- Am I kidding? In the old days, kids used to love outdoor camping. But what about these days? Most kids still love camping but it is now so unfamiliar to them they will likely protest the very idea. Still, camping is a proven way to spend time good with kids and strenghten those ever-challenged parenting skills.

On August 20th the National Wildlife Federation is hosting the Great American Backyard Campout. It makes camping simple and fun and you can do it right in your own backyard -- or on the patio or in any friendly and familiar outdoor space. Click on: www.backyardcampout.org to sign up and see what it is like.

Or -- for more camping information -- you can check out: http://childparenting.about.com/od/familyvacationideas/a/campingfamily.htm

2005-08-01T12:42:00.000-07:00

The Difference Between Green and Gray.

Why place so much emphasis on a daily "green" hour?

A 2001 study, released by University of Illinois, found that a daily dose of Mother Nature helped children with attention deficit disorders. It found that children with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) could focus better, listen and follow instructions after spending time in parks, around farms or even in verdant backyards. It didn't seem to matter much what they actually did outside so much as they were just spending time in green spaces. By comparison, children who spent time in concrete (or gray) spaces did not experience appreciable benefits or reductions of ADHD symptoms.

There is something about spending time in nature that refreshes people and, in the case of ADHD kids, may also reduce their need for medication and other therapies. To lean more about the study check out: http://www.herl.uiuc.edu/IMAGES/2-pager%20K&C.htm

Green beats gray any day of the week when it comes to kids' health.

2005-07-30T23:38:00.000-07:00

Dear Reader,

It won't surprise any parent or other adult who cares for children to hear that the average child now spends some 44 hours per week (roughly six hours a day) staring at electronic screens -- whether TV, video games, computers or cells. We can see our kids getting more obese, more passive and showing a wide range of mind-numbing effects from life in the virtual world. The days are gone when children played outside for hours each day. Importantly, today's children have no idea what goes on in the natural world around them. They are the first generation to be effectively cut off from nature.

Author and futurist Richard Louv has just written a compelling book, entitled Last Child in the Woods, and concludes that today's children are suffering from a kind of "nature deficit disorder." Its disturbing effects include: weaker physical strength and immune systems, emotional stress and a lack of caring of about nature that could alter the way that future generations relate to and ultimately care for nature, wildlife and the environment.

At the National Wildlife Federation, we recognize that a complete reversal of this trend is unlikely. So, we are starting a practical campaign that will encourage parents and other caregivers to make sure their children are spending about an hour a day outside. We are calling it the Green Hour.

In the coming days we will present information and ideas on "nature deficit" and its long term effects on kids and how a Green Hour program can help. Importantly, we will describe many things parents and other adults can do to help kids get out more and connect to nature and to themselves.