Bringing Kids Back to Nature by Theresa Gawlas Medoff
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Child’s Play Bringing Kids Back to Nature By Theresa Gawlas Medoff 24 / O UTDOOR D ELAWARE Winter 2012 the Kaiser Family Foundation, today’s to connect with nature, and to gain school-age children spend 6.5 hours a day a sense of stewardship,” says Rachael with electronic media — and just minutes Phillos, nature center manager at Killens playing outdoors in unstructured activi- Pond State Park. ties. That’s a statistic that the folks at DN- The Educational Side REC’s Division of Parks and Recreation State park naturalists say that they are are acutely aware of, and one they are astounded sometimes by the naivety of trying their best to turn around. The some of the children who come to the Participants in Bellevue major part of the mission of Delaware parks on school fi eld trips. “They step off State Park’s Youth Fishing Tournament State Parks has always been to get people the bus and see more than four trees to- show off their catch. outside and into nature, says Ray Bivens, gether and think they are in the jungle,” DNREC operations, maintenance and Phillos says. programming section administrator. But “We often have kids who’ve never at a time when children are increasingly been in a forest before,” adds Angel nature deprived, our parks are doing Burns, naturalist at White Clay Creek more than ever to attract families by add- State Park. “They’re very concerned ing new programs, making people aware about going into the woods and want to of existing offerings, and increasing the know if there are bears out there.” accessibility of the parks. State parks have long been a desti- Ongoing efforts by the state parks nation for school fi eld trips, and as the were given a boost recently when Gover- home schooling movement has grown, nor Markell formed a taskforce for a new parks have added programs for those statewide initiative called Children in children as well. In addition to summer Nature/No Child Left Inside. DNREC’s day camps, many state parks offer camps Bivens and the state Department of Edu- during shorter school breaks, too. cation’s John Ray chair the two-year-old Melanie Wilkinson, owner of Be taskforce, which released its report in Yoga Studio in Felton, discovered Killens October. Pond State Park when she was looking Delaware is one of numerous states for a place near work to bring her sons, seeking to reconnect kids with nature in Cailan, 7, and Aiden, 18 months, for a order to battle “nature defi cit disorder,” walk in the woods. “There was one pro- a term coined by Richard Louv, author gram on the ecosystem that inspired us of Last Child in the Woods. The defi ciency to start a two-month journaling project,” stems from a number of factors, including Wilkinson says. The Wilkinsons now BELLEVUE STATE PARK BELLEVUE STATE the loss of natural spaces, the prevalence spend a great deal of time outdoors and of technology, the growth of structured visit state parks at least twice a week. any of my most vivid childhood play, and a generalized fear of the out- memories are of outdoor play. doors, Bivens says. The consequences are MAfternoons spent exploring the many. Experts link the childhood obesity creek near my grandmother’s house. epidemic partly to the loss of outdoor Summer nights playing far-ranging activity, and they say that nature depriva- games of relievio. The time my cousins tion interferes with mental health as well. and I attempted to dig to China — and Nature defi cit disorder, Louv warns, became convinced we’d stumbled upon narrows the senses, inhibits the develop- hell instead when we found a piece of ment of resourcefulness and creativity, wood that resembled a devil’s horn. My makes children less skilled at problem- peers and I roamed freely around the solving and working cooperatively, and neighborhood and fi lled our days with all ultimately “reduces the richness of hu- sorts of games of make-believe. man experience.” And at a time when the My childhood experiences were fairly march toward development is threatening routine in my day, but they are becoming parks and other natural spaces, environ- increasingly foreign to today’s children. mentalists fear that with little exposure to Instead of building tree houses or play- nature these future voters and legislators ing ball in a vacant lot, these youngsters will not value it. Fishing is a time-honored way for parents are inside watching television or playing “Children need a safe place to come and children to spend time together in video games. According to a study by and explore the forest, ponds and streams, Delaware’s state parks. Winter 2012 O UTDOOR D ELAWARE / 25 Reaching Out Unfortunately, park regulars like the Wilkinson are the exception. While state parks continue to serve their needs, program specialists are also reaching out to attract those who rarely visit parks, in part by working collaboratively and creatively with other groups. Killens Pond State Park, for example, is partnering with the new Dover Public Library to create a Nature Nook where patrons can check out backpacks fi lled with materials for exploring the out- doors. The park and library are also looking into having minibuses pick people up at the library and take them DNREC to the park for hikes and other activities, Seining programs with the park naturalist are popular at Delaware Seashore State Park. says Matt Ritter, chief of programming for Delaware State Parks. Trap Pond State Park hosts an annual Healthy Kids Day where different groups sponsor stations for archery, bicycling, fi shing and other activities. Collaboration with a medical practice in Sussex County has pediatricians writing “prescriptions” for physical activity and handing out day passes and trail maps to state parks. This past summer, Cape Henlopen State Park held a teacher workshop to PARK CREEK STATE WHITE CLAY State parks frequently host school groups. show teachers what is available to them. Students here are learning about geology at The park, which has dorm-style ac- White Clay Creek State Park. commodations, is trying to expand its overnight program for student groups, The highly successful Trail Chal- says naturalist Richard Julian. lenge, which encourages individuals and families to hike at a variety of state parks, Family Time led to the addition fi ve years ago of the State park programs designed for children Great Parks Pursuit, which is designed DNREC sometimes have an unintended benefi t specifi cally for families. Participants in The Trail Challenge is one way that — they educate parents as well. “We are the Great Parks Pursuit seek to check off Delaware State Parks are encouraging families to discover the state parks close to seeing young parents who didn’t grow up 20 or more qualifying activities on a list home and farther afield. spending much time outdoors. They are of suggestions provided by the Divi- not familiar with the outdoor experience sion of Parks and Recreation. Among Joey and his mom were both im- and so parks aren’t their fi rst choice for the choices: rent a canoe or kayak, camp pressed by the variety of birds — and family recreation,” says Dorothy Payton, under the stars, and discover sea life at even a muskrat — that they saw on a assistant park superintendent at Bellevue Delaware Seashore State Park. guided kayak trip at Killens Pond. “It State Park. But a young parent who Mary Storm-Baranyai of Newark has was the fi rst time we’d tried kayaking,” brings a toddler to a Wee Have Fun Club participated in both the Trail Challenge Storm-Baranyai says. “I don’t think we event at Bellevue might be encouraged to and the Great Parks Pursuit with her ever would have done it if not for the come back again for a picnic or a hike, or husband, Joe Baranyai, and their seven- Great Parks Pursuit.” to fi sh in the stocked pond. year-old son, Joey. “We really enjoy Ritter says that state parks are devel- The summer concert series offered at spending time at our local state park, oping other ways to bring families into some state parks attracts as many as 1,000 White Clay Creek, but now we have the parks. A new website is in the works people at White Clay Creek State Park. some new favorites, like Killens Pond that will show families what parks are Parks also host hay rides and owl prowls and Trap Pond,” Storm-Baranyai says. available to them within a specifi ed radi- and events like the First Day Hike on “Joey was a hard sell at fi rst, because he us, and parks offi cials are talking with the New Year’s Day, which was held for the really likes video games and TV, but now state Department of Transportation about second time this past January. he enjoys the parks.” adding bus routes to take people closer 26 / O UTDOOR D ELAWARE Winter 2012 event in Dover for the Children in Nature/ No Child Left Inside initiative. Fillman says she grew up spending time outdoors, and she wants to bring the same experience to her own daughter, three-year-old Raegan, and to other Delaware children. “I grew up in a remote area of Penn- sylvania, and nature was right outside my door. I was what you’d call a free-range kid,” Fillman says. “I value the lessons that nature taught me, and I want my daughter DNREC to understand that it’s important to preserve Cape Henlopen is one of several state parks in Delaware where visitors can rent boats and enjoy the state’s waterways.