Archive for August 25th, 2017

Reconnecting Children with Nature

Friday, August 25th, 2017
Nature Rocks!

Nature Rocks!

This is Passport to Texas

In one generation, we’ve seen kids go from days spent outdoors in nature to days spent indoors with media.

Time spent outdoors by ourselves is where we [previous generations] found our creativity. It’s where we became problem solvers. Where we really shared in this long-running dialogue of imaginative play.

Jennifer Bristol, Texas Children in Nature Coordinator says excessive time indoors on these devices does not inspire kids to be healthier, happier and smarter the way nature play does; and parents are taking notice.

They wish that there was a space or a place that their children could experience that same sort of freedom. And disconnect from everything and play and come up with the games and revisit them over and over again.

The Texas Children in Nature program is a grassroots network that connects children and families with nature in Texas. One way is by creating nature play areas in state parks and community parks.

Government Canyon State Natural Area just installed a beautiful natural play area. They also combine it with having a discovery trail; and it’s really scaled to a child’s level. I really love that about it.

Visit the Nature Rocks Texas.org website to find all the parks, nature centers and activities where you can play, explore and connect with nature near you

For Texas Parks and Wildlife…I’m Cecilia Nasti.