The beauty, wonder and challenges of nature should be something we all experience. Our guest talks about how to bring nature into everyone’s life, the National Park System, and current efforts to protect the arctic.
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How Do We Get More Young People Interested In The Outdoors?
It often feels like experiencing the outdoors is a way of life in Wisconsin. But does that hold true for young people in the state?
“You take a look at the percentage of people who spend time recreating in nature today, I’m always struck by how much older this demographic is,” said James Mills, freelance journalist and author of “The Adventure Gap: Changing the Face of the Outdoors.”
Mills, who has looked into the barriers preventing people from experiencing nature and the outdoors, said a love for nature is often developed as a child with the support of family, friends and outdoor organizations.
“I can remember vividly every experience that I had as a child in the outdoors,” he said. “The experience that you take away from being able to spend time in the outdoors is profound, and it’s long lasting.”
By not learning about the outdoors early on, Mills said people are less likely to seek it out later in life.
“One of the things that prevents people from spending time outside in general is just a lack of understanding, appreciation, knowledge, experience,” he said.
While there’s a lot parents can do to help kids develop this love of the outdoors, such as taking children on camping trips or signing them up for groups like the Boy Scouts or Girl Scouts, schools can play a role, too.
Mills said he’d like to see more nature-based curriculum in schools, which he said could not only help kids develop a love of the outdoors but could help with traditional subjects as well.
“Experiential education through nature can be incredibly profound in terms of teaching kids not just about the outdoors, but math and science and interpersonal relationships and a wide variety of other things,” he said. “I really look forward to the day when kids actually need to come inside for recess.”
So what’s the best thing you can do for a young person in your life?
“It’s really as simple as spending time outside,” Mills said. “I’m not talking necessarily about going on a three-mile hike, I’m talking about perhaps taking a short leisurely walk through a nature center.”
Episode Credits
- Larry Meiller Host
- Jill Nadeau Producer
- James E Mills Guest
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