Plenty of older Americans hold fond childhood memories of climbing trees, catching frogs, and engaging in endless hours of tag or hide-and-seek with friends.
Most children today, though, spend much less time outdoors, with their recreational hours instead devoted to TV, video games and computers, a trend that has nature advocates concerned.
“If they don’t feel a connection to nature, they aren’t going to feel it’s important,” says Clyde Butcher, a nature photographer who since the 1980s has helped bring national awareness to the Everglades through stunning black-and-white photographs that have been compared to the works of Ansel Adams.
“The question is, how do we get them to make that connection. The answer is that the responsibility lies with you and me. I think it’s important to educate both kids and grownups about the world’s environmental wonders.”
Advocacy groups are trying to do just that.
The National Wildlife Federation, for example, has a Green Hour program designed to encourage parents, grandparents, schools, and others to adopt a goal of an hour per day for children to play and learn outdoors in nature.
Butcher says that he tries to bring nature to people through his photography in the hopes they will be inspired to experience it for themselves.
“My goal is for them to say, ‘Wow, I want to go there. I want to see the real thing,’” he says.
Introducing children to the great outdoors is about more than just building extraordinary memories. Butcher and other nature proponents say benefits include:
Time outdoors can equal happiness. “Nature is one of those things that can really bring your spirits up,” Butcher said. Indeed, studies show that spending time outdoors is good for your mental health, and those who manage to do so are generally happier than those who stay cooped up inside. Butcher does his part to try to put people in touch with nature. Just recently, his gallery in the Big Cypress Swamp in south Florida sponsored a fall festival that included guided swamp-walk tours for children and adults alike. Those swamp walks provide what Butcher thinks of as education by immersion.
Time outdoors makes children healthier. A sedentary lifestyle can lead to children being overweight, which in turn increases their risk for a number of diseases, such as asthma and diabetes. When children spend time outdoors, they are almost certain to get more exercise, reducing those risks. Health professionals also say that, while over exposure to the sun can be harmful, some time absorbing the sun’s rays is helpful in such ways as boosting your body’s vitamin D.
Time outdoors makes children better stewards of the earth. It’s important to protect the environment, and to preserve natural wonders for future generations, but it’s difficult to truly appreciate nature without venturing out into it, Butcher says. Children who take the time to explore what nature has to offer, he says, are more likely to become advocates for protecting it.
“Sometimes, in the abstract, it’s difficult to understand why nature is so important,” Butcher says. “But when children step into it, and see it firsthand, they can fall in love with it. Then they begin to understand.”
The endless record setting heat has kept many local anglers fishing the early morning post dawn hours. Some have braved the late evening option for fishing, hoping the heat of the day has subsided and any thunderstorm chances have diminished. While these narrow windows of angling options have been challenging, fishing during these times has some routine benefits. This is the time of year when right after the sun rises, Spanish mackerel, bluefish and striped bass may be schooling on the surface in the early morning hours and chasing schools of shiner minnows or peanut bunkers. Not that this kind of event doesn’t happen later in the day, as tidal changes, especially the flood tide, can affect baitfish movement and location. Some of my best fishing memories are leaving a Chesapeake Bay, Potomac or Rappahannock River tributary and seeing birds working on breaking fish in the distance. Likewise, surface action from feeding fish can take place in the early evening hours if recent bai…
This month marks the ending of the 2020 school year, which was unprecedented in so many ways and at so many levels. While the school buildings were closed, the “Raider” spirit was alive and well seeking to aid our students and their families in whatever capacity necessary.
As the new high school continues construction, one can sense a great deal of excitement shooting through the county. This is a project that has been in the works for the last five years. Washington & Lee High School has served the county well, but it’s creaking with age and in dire need of replacement. With all of this going on, there is likely one giant question in the back of everyone’s heads, like an itch that can’t be scratched: “Who do we thank for this?” Well, the answer can’t really be any one person, now can it? This particular story, while certainly epic enough to warrant a novel, owes its projected happy ending to the efforts of a whole host of hard-working, inspiring people.
My name is Jaye Gaines. I was an activist long before I was allowed to have a voice. Rappahannock was the crucible that shaped me. That is a white washed tale for another day. I was there visiting with family and checking on my grandparents when my cousin posted on Facebook about her frustration in not having a space to express her feelings openly there in Warsaw. You know, not everyone can get to or wants to go to Richmond or DC and many people are affected by these systemic injustices right here in our very own community. I saw her post and thought seriously about what it meant and proceeded to read some of the comments on this Facebook group from members of the community and it was clear that there was a huge divide but more importantly, that this was something people felt passionately about and that they absolutely should have a safe space to talk about their feelings. So... I jumped in her comments and said, I could meet her at city hall to help organize. I had to be in Ly…
The Man Who Planted Trees is the compelling tale by writer Jean Giono of his meeting a shepherd wandering the wrecked landscapes of France after World War I, tending his small flock, planting acorns — living simply, sowing beauty and enhancing life, renaturing whole valleys through the decades.
One hears of angels flying around but rarely sees them. Today, I not only saw 3 Angels but I interacted with them.
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It is a slow day in the small Saskatchewan town of Pumphandle, and streets are deserted. Times are tough, everybody is in debt, and everybody is living on credit.
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A combination of warming weather trends and forest greenery are stirring more than the bachelor flocks of wild turkeys. The motivation of gobblers to break up their gatherings and start to stake out their territories for pursing hen turkeys is an indication that spring is upon us. Another harbinger of spring is the cherry blossoms. Any place they are in bloom brings back memories of days gone by when folks would say that colorful cherry blossom petals meant that the big stripers were heading up the Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries for their annual spawning run. We must hope for the best regarding success for the current striper spawn. The jury on this is out until late next summer when Virginia and Maryland complete their young of the year survey to see how successful the 2020 striped bass was. Meanwhile, those with an itch to wet a line and get in some hook n’ line action can do so with the growing number of blue catfish in the region.
Did you get out over the weekend or one evening and do any fishing? With schools being closed, I got to go out with my grandson Bentley and do some much needed fun fishing. We got out out for some good laughs on St. Patick’s Day, but caught no fish. The wind made casting a little tricky, but it made for some good laughter. We got back out Friday and took advantage of the warm weather. The bite was slow, but Bentley did manage to land one small bass. While we may not have caught a lot, we had a great time making memories. I got out Sunday with my buddy Jacob Stephens and hit up Leesville Lake. We had stripers hitting the surface all around us when we launched, but could not get any to bite. We then hit up a bunch of spots looking for bass. We went in one cove and anchored off a point and started working up and over the point with a jerkbait and a crankbait. I had something hit my crankbait and I felt it shake it’s head, but it turned suddenly and my line snapped. What ever it wa…
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Plenty of older Americans hold fond childhood memories of climbing trees, catching frogs, and engaging in endless hours of tag or hide-and-seek with friends.
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