 |
 |
Parks & Rec Business
| Voices of Parks & Rec Project Greenstart A Model for Getting Kids Outdoors By Dr. Karen I. Shragg It is a simple idea really. Get a company to fund the buses and lunch for an economically disadvantaged grade school to come to a nature center for three visits: fall, winter and spring. The company’s employees are invited to come along and learn with the students. Parents of the students are invited to join in on the field trip and share in the lunch. This simple idea only took twenty years to come true. It happened because our nature center was invited to apply for a grant from REI, Recreation Equipment Inc., based in Seattle. The Problem I’ve always been concerned about the accessibility of nature to kids of the inner city. I proposed this concept to a few corporations about 20 years ago, but it never went anywhere. Today I am even more concerned about the lack of contact with nature for kids of various cultural and economic backgrounds. The kids are staying inside more than ever. When those who live in the inner city get outdoors, there is not much biodiversity to discover. No streams to play in, no forts to build. Suburban kids are either under restrictions not to go outside because of danger concerns or they are coming of age in a time when malls and electronics absorb their attention. Two recent books point to the dire consequences of this deficit of hands-on nature discovery. Richard Louv’s book, The Last Child in the Woods, and Dudley Edmondson’s book, Black and Brown Faces in America’s Wild Places, both point to the experiences that the children of today are missing. It is not a nostalgic perspective, but one that is concerned that this new generation is deprived of the beauty and serenity that only nature can offer and the first-hand experience of nature’s value. Both ask the million-acre question: Where will the conservationists of tomorrow come from if they have no connection to it today? One Solution Project Greenstart was funded by a company that sells canoes, kayaks and other camping, climbing and outdoor accessories. The company realized that kids today would not be their customers tomorrow if they didn’t make a nature connection in their childhood. This model is not hard to imitate, and I hope it will be duplicated around the country with a variety of local, responsible businesses that recognize a great opportunity to make a difference. We let the assistant superintendent of schools pick the most appropriate school in the district, one with 75 percent free-lunch recipients and an environmental education emphasis. The students were from a wide racial mix. The teachers were grateful for the opportunity to do something their budgets could not afford. The students studied topics typical of the fourth grade curriculum offered in the local school district. Throughout the year the students learned how to conduct insulation experiments, make stinging nettle muffins, and process maple syrup. The lunch was a lesson in stewardship as well. They ate pizza made by a company with a conscience that buys local ingredients and delivers the delicious pizzas in electric cars. The ovens were wind-powered. They drank organic apple juice purchased at a nearby food co-op, and drank out of compostable cups. Staff of the REI store a few miles away attended the program with the students. I’m not sure who had more fun. Dr. Karen I. Shragg is Director of the Wood Lake Nature Center for the City of Richfield, Minn. She would be thrilled to help you write Project Greenstart grants so you can get your students outdoors in educationally profound ways. Please contact her via e-mail at Kshragg@cityofrichfield.org. |
All contents contained within this website may not be reproduced or disseminated without expressed written permission from the Publisher.