Campaign aims to get kids to spend more time outside

There's a whole, big, wide, wonderful, exciting world out there.

That's why they call it the "Great Outdoors," says the National Wildlife Federation.

But sadly, says Mary Burnette, spokeswoman for the federation, kids are not enjoying it as much as they should. On average, she says, "Today's kids spend only four to seven minutes outside per day. They log more than seven hours per day in front of electronic media."

To help change that trend, NWF has launched a summer "Be Out There" campaign. Parents and kids are asked to take a pledge to spend more time outside, "to explore, learn and play in green spaces."

Those who take the pledge — at www.beoutthere.org/pledge — will receive a free Summer Survival Guide to outdoor activities that "has everything you need for an outdoor adventure: what to pack, sun safety tips, ways to keep mosquitoes at bay, itchy plants to watch out for, games to play, fun nature activities, top ten outdoor toys" and more.

The campaign grew out of a "Green Hour" initiative that NWF, the country's largest grassroots conservation organization, started about five years ago, Burnette said.

It was launched "because we had become aware of the fact that kids were not getting outside as much. This is really a health and societal issue."

In recent months, we've heard a lot more about the problems of childhood obesity, she says. First lady Michelle Obama and others are pushing ways to get kids to be more active and healthy.

"For us, another concern is what it means for the future of conservation," Burnette said. "Our studies have shown that if kids don't develop a fairly significant interest in nature by age 11, they will grow up not caring about protecting our natural world. Conservation-minded adults come from caring children."

The "Green Hour" was a campaign "to help reverse that trend. We asked people to spend an hour a day outdoors. That's still our ideal, but we've realized that it doesn't work for everyone. So, now we are asking people to start where they can. If they spend one day a week on outdoor activities, maybe they can increase that to three days a week. We just ask them to pledge that they will spend more time outdoors than they do now," she said.

NWF has just finished a report on how "time in green spaces is good for the body, mind and spirit," she adds.

As far as the body, "kids that spend more time outdoors are more physically fit. Research shows that they also grow up with better eyesight, less vitamin D deficiency and find it easier to burn off calories."