Planning for youth days: planting the SEED to get youth outdoors in nature

Abstract

In a statewide survey in Oregon, parents indicated how much time their child spent relative to their own outdoor childhood experiences. The results indicated children spent as much time as their parents at that age in structured outdoor activities, such as organized sports, but they spent much less time than their parents did at that age in outdoor chores and unstructured outdoor play (Lindberg 2007). The same study found that outdoor skills have changed over the generations, with younger generations having fewer nature-based outdoor skills, such as pitching a tent or cooking outdoors in comparison to their parents (Lindberg 2007). Louv (2005) suggested that children today suffer from a nature-deficit disorder. What can be done to change that trend? This paper reports a brief summary of one effort to connect kids to nature through the use of technologically-linked outdoor activities. It goes on to describe in detail how the same kinds of activities or other activities can get kids outdoors. This guidebook is meant for anyone with an interest in getting youth outdoors to natural areas and in getting them engaged in outdoor recreation activities. People interested in this might include outdoor recreation planners and managers of public land management agencies (Forest Service), State (State Parks), local agencies (county and city parks), for profit groups and their partners (vendors of recreation outing equipment), and non-profit groups with outdoor recreation interests (Tread Lightly).

Citation

Chavez, Deborah J.; Fehr, John D. 2009. Planning for youth days: planting the SEED to get youth outdoors in nature. 2300—Recreation Mgmt, 0923 1801—SDTDC. San Dimas, CA: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, National Technology & Development Program. 35 p.