Get Out!. 150 Easy Ways for Kids and Grown-Ups to Get Into Nature and Build a Greener...

129 Pages·2010·22.482 MB·English

by  Judy Molland

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Franklin Book
Award™ Winner
150 Easy Ways for Kids and
Grown-Ups to GGeett IInnttoo NNaattuurree
ForeWord
G and Build a Greener Future
Book of the Year
E
Want to learn more about
Award Winner T 150 Easy Ways for Kids and nature? Experience the world

O in new ways? Go green and
Grown-Ups to Get Into Nature make the world a better place?
Gold Mom’s Choice U
Award® Winner T Want the same things for the
and Build a Greener Future
kids in your life?
!
Get Out! is chockful of ideas to
iParenting Greatest
help families, classrooms, and
Products Award groups achieve these goals
and more, including choosing
an issue and taking a stand.
As e.e. cummings wrote, Open to any page and find
the world is “mud-luscious” something to do today. The
and “puddle-wonderful.” payoff is huge: not only is
nature just plain awesome
to be in, research shows that
spending time outdoors can
actually improve our physical
Judy Molland and emotional health.
ISBN-13 978-1-57542-335-7
Bonus: Kids who learn to love
ISBN-10 1-57542-335-9 US$10.99
51099 > nature will naturally do more
to conserve it. Eureka!
www.freespirit.com 9 781575 423357
Praise for
GET
OUT!
“Can be used by classroom teachers across the curriculum as a source
for activities and is sure to inspire budding environmentalists.”
—School Library Journal
“A great book for getting families outside, having fun—immediately.”
—Lenore Skenazy, author of Free-Range Kids
“Full of fun activities to inspire a love of nature along with a desire to
protect it.”—Richard Louv, author of Last Child in the Woods
“There should be more books like this!”—LisaReviews.com
“Get Out! is a perfect baby shower gift for expecting parents, a
birthday gift for parents planning their summer activities, or a gift
to your elderly neighbors who are babysitting their grandchildren for
spring break.”—SF Green Parenting Examiner
“Slip it into Mom’s stocking or backpack.”—The Times Union
“A top pick for any parent who wants the best for their children now
and tomorrow.”—Midwest Book Review
“It doesn’t matter if you live in a city apartment, a suburban
neighborhood, or out in the sticks—you will find dozens of doable
activities adults can enjoy with children.”—Bookloons
“Get Out! is a tidy little book of 150 quick ideas to get kids out in
nature and to teach them basic green habits.”—The Ohio River
Region Get Out! Magazine
“Written with enthusiasm, and packed with great ideas, this little
handbook will help families of all kinds improve their quality of life
and strengthen their connection with the environment.”
—Through the Looking Glass Children’s Book Reviews
“Look for Get Out! by Judy Molland, which is a book about ways your
child can enjoy nature and ‘go green.’”—The Leader Times
“Sure to spark the interest of all!”—Skipping Stones Magazine
“This is a great guide to help motivate kids and parents and encourage
them to reconnect with nature . . . a great book for families,
classrooms, or groups of all kinds.”—KidsBookShelf.com
“Judy Molland takes her trademark education expertise and brings
it outdoors, giving kids and their grown-ups solid tips on how to
understand and appreciate nature and its gifts. Our earth is the
world’s biggest classroom, and Molland’s book makes us want to keep
it safe for generations to come.”—Bay Area Parent Magazine
GET
OUT!
150 Easy Ways for Kids and
Grown-Ups to Get Into Nature
and Build a Greener Future
Judy Molland
Text copyright © 2009 by Judy Molland
All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. Unless other-
wise noted, no part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in
any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without
express written permission of the publisher, except for brief quotations or critical reviews. For more
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Free Spirit, Free Spirit Publishing, and associated logos are trademarks and/or registered trademarks
of Free Spirit Publishing Inc. A complete listing of trademarks is available at www.freespirit.com.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Molland, Judy.
Get out! : 150 ways for kids & grown-ups to get into nature and build a greener future / Judy
Molland.
p. cm.
ISBN 978-1-57542-335-7
1. Green movement—Popular works. 2. Sustainable living—Popular works.
3. Environmental protection—Citizen participation. I. Title.
GE195.M65 2009
333.72—dc22 2009017352
eBook ISBN: 978-1-57542-779-9
Free Spirit Publishing does not have control over or assume responsibility for author or third-
party websites and their content. At the time of this book’s publication, all facts and figures
cited within are the most current available. All telephone numbers, addresses, and website
URLs are accurate and active; all publications, organizations, websites, and other resources
exist as described in this book; and all have been verified as of May 2009. If you find an
error or believe that a resource listed here is not as described, please contact Free Spirit
Publishing. Parents, teachers, and other adults: We strongly urge you to monitor children’s
use of the Internet.
Edited by Eric Braun
Cover and interior design by Tasha Kenyon
Photos on pages 18, 22, 31, 38, 50, 63, 87, and 97 © istockphoto.com
Photos on pages 34, 53, 66, 94, and 100 ©
dreamstime.com
Photo on page 26 © D’Lee Dreyer
All other photos © Tasha Kenyon
Statistics cited on pages 1–2 are from the Kaiser Family
Foundation, the University of Maryland, Playing for Keeps,
and Andrew Balmford, et al.
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2
Printed in the United States of America
Free Spirit Publishing Inc.
217 Fifth Avenue North, Suite 200
Minneapolis, MN 55401-1299
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Dedication
To Joe, who introduced me to the magnificent Sierra Nevada
Mountains and changed my life forever.
Acknowledgments
I am grateful to Judy Galbraith and John Kober of Free Spirit
for giving me the opportunity to write about a topic that
impassions me. A huge thank you to my husband Joe and
my son Will for living this book with me and providing the
necessary emotional, technical, and intellectual support, not
to mention some great hikes and some excellent dinners.
The genesis for this book came from an article on science
education that I wrote for Dominion Parenting Media, and
I am grateful to my editors there, Bill Lindsay and Deirdre
Wilson, for starting me out on this path. In the course of
writing that article and researching for this book, I have been
motivated by several experts: Richard Louv, Janice Koch, and
Judi Opert Sandler have been especially inspirational.
Thanks also go to the many friends and colleagues who
have supported me in this project: in particular Bernadette
Suski Harding, Martha Jackson, Ellen Nordberg, Laurie
Scheer, Janet Simms, Matthew Simms, and Caroline
Smith. And where would I be without my amazing editor,
Eric Braun, whose excellence and insights have been integral
to the final shape of this book? Thank you, Eric!
Lastly, a note of love and gratitude to my mother, whose
love for our native Devon, England, has stayed with me all
these years.
Contents
Introduction������������������������������������������������1
Get Started:CoolWaystoEmbraceNatureToday��������8
Go Further:Projects,Plans,andOutings���������������28
Get Smart:BeGreenConsumers—andEaters!���������45
Get Active:MorethanJustthe3Rs��������������������68
Get Involved:TakeaGreenStand���������������������90
Resources�����������������������������������������������������104
Index�����������������������������������������������������������������������������������115
About the Author�����������������������������������119
Introduction
In the end, we will conserve only what we love.
We will love only what we understand. We will
understand only what we are taught.
—Baba Dioum, Senegalese poet and environmentalist
Do you remember playing outside? Maybe you remember
leaving home on a summer morning and not returning
except for meals until bedtime. You might have fond
memories of a favorite outdoor place where you and your
friends played and explored. Maybe it was a park, maybe
it was a beach or wooded area. Maybe it was nothing but
a field of weeds, but it was yours, it was outdoors, and
you loved it.
Kids now are much less likely to have such a personal
connection with nature. And how could they? Their
outdoor time is, generally speaking, sporadic and highly
supervised. Recent studies have revealed that:
PPChildren between the ages of 8 and 18 spend an
average of 6.5 hours a day staring at electronic
screens (television, video games, computers, etc.),
leaving little time for outdoor play.
1
Get Out!
PPThe number of children who participated in out-
door activities such as hiking, walking, and fishing
dropped by 50 percent between 1997 and 2003.
PP80 percent of children under age 2 and more than
60 percent of children ages 2 to 5 lack daily access
to outdoor play.
PPChildren between the ages of 8 and 11 can identify
significantly more artificial Pokemon characters
than real, native living things, such as oak trees,
sparrows, and otters.
In schools, hours devoted to physical education and
recess are down compared to previous generations; and
at home, parents are more reluctant than ever to let kids
spend time outside unsupervised.
Yet many reasons exist why a connection to nature
is crucial for children:
PPPhysical development: Being connected to nature
may keep kids in better shape and help in the
fight against obesity. Watch a group of children in
a wooded area as they run, jump, and climb over
things. They are exercising!
PPCognitive development: Studies show that just
being exposed to nature can improve memory,
2
Introduction
concentration, and grades. The pace of play in
nature is self-regulated and thus can increase
attention span and stimulate the senses.
PPSocial development: Nature reduces stress, soothes
the psyche, and eases tensions, paving the way for
improved communication and closer bonding with
others.
PPGreen development: Children are responsible for
the future of our planet. An early connection to
nature leads children to grow up as better stew-
ards of the environment.
PPSpiritual development: Nature stirs youngsters to
question their place in the world and to wonder at
the magnificence of their surroundings. A child’s
imagination is turned on, an important part of
overall development.
The simple fact is that nature is awesome. It’s amaz-
ing to look at, touch, and listen to. It’s wondrous and
remarkably self-sufficient.
One thing has improved with time: Modern kids
are more likely than previous generations to under-
stand concerns about the environment and their roles
in preserving it. Of course that’s important. But if
3