No Child Left Inside….Outdoor Adventures, April 25, 2008 Emporia Gazette Phil Taunton

Through the years, attempting to do spring house and yard cleaning hasn’t been an annual affair around our place. But the way things have piled up, methinks from now on a concentrated effort will be made to gain some assemblance of order, at least until the turkeys get more active, the rivers recede and the white bass start running again. And, Wifeus, this means less time golfing. I know, I need to learn to speak for myself.

I can’t believe the treasures I have found with little or no effort. Valuables I never remembered we had, nor used in years: a bucket of marbles, for instance, including Steelies, Cats-Eyes, Aggie or agates, clearies and puries. When was the last time you were involved in a game of Potsy, or Ringer for that matter? And can you still tell your taw or shooter from your ducks? I don’t ever remember playing marbles with my kids, but somehow, someway, I do have a bucket of marbles with no clue as to where they came from.  They will be put to good use when the grandkids come to visit…that is if I can ever find the marbles again!

Another thing I came across was an old flyer from the 1999 Quail Unlimited National Convention in Oklahoma City. The local Emporia Area Chapter of Quail Unlimited had been awarded the national “Youth in Conservation” award in 1997 and I was asked to lead a round table workshop discussion concerning programs implemented in the Emporia area aimed at getting kids outdoors, thus tweaking their interest in the natural world. “We’re Losing Them…” was the topic of my presentation. My goal was to get more organizations involved in sponsoring outdoor-related programs with hopes of introducing kids, parents and whole families to the wonders of the Great Outdoors.

About the same time, the Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks noticed a decline in hunters.  Steve Williams, who was head of the department then, and other managers feared future generations would miss out on a treasure of outdoor experiences with their families. Hoping to reverse this declining trend, various KDWP “Pass It On” programs were implemented in 2000.

Hoping to raise the academic standards for the nation’s school age children, President Bush enacted the No Child Left Behind law in 2002. Academic success concerning this standard remains to be seen, but this law seems to have hindered efforts by caring teachers to get kids involved into more outside learning activities. Kids needing to spend “X” amount of time in the classroom means less time and expense to take field trips, go to museums, zoos and to explore our natural world in general.

There are some concerns that kids are losing touch with the outdoors. Society is isolating them from nature and this isolation is a detriment to their mental, physical, spiritual and emotional health. Richard Louv in his book , Last Child in the Woods, Saving our Children from Nature Deficit Disorder, says it best. Modern landscape designs, electronic gadgetry; computers, video games and parents’ fear of perceived dangers including “stranger dangers” are keeping children from enjoying creative play and maturing in the biggest arena of all, by simply being outside.

A new kid on the block has brought hope. Louv’s observations have initiated “Leave No Child Inside” movements across the country in an effort to reconnect children to nature. Hopefully some of these will be enacted into law so “No Child Will be Left on Their Behinds!” What a boost this would be to both their mental and physical well-being.

No, I haven’t lost my marbles. I remember a home where there was no TV and Momma telling me to get out of the house and not come in until the street lights were on; a neighborhood of kids playing outside, catching fireflies, feeling the flitter of the butterflies’ wings on their nose, interacting without cell phones, learning, growing mentally and physically, getting along while agreeing to disagree, being imaginative and creative when it came to play and having the time of their life.