Outventure with kids to increase their stewardship of the land.  When we connect kids to the outdoors and nature we help them learn to love and appreciate the natural world.  At the same time, we can help them learn that conservation matters.

Outdoors Adventures Expose and Teach

 Expose kids to nature and help them make lifelong connections to animals, plants, and natural wonders by experiencing them up close and personal.  Help them learn valuable lessons in stewardship.

Let kids stand on bare rock at the edge of a retreating glacier.  Not only will they see how it long ago scraped the rock, but in its retreat, they can see the creep of vegetation re-establishing itself along the perimeter.  Allow them to stand in a forest of blackened tree trunks.  Whether caused by nature or man, let them see not just what was lost, but allow them to witness the new growth which emerges from the scorched soil.

Sights like this expose kids to the cyclical realities of nature.  It also allows us to talk with them about the impact of people on the land.  Places with interpretive displays and kiosks which support learning and understanding are especially helpful in explaining these things.  They are typically found in National Parks and State Parks.  Seek them out.  

Outdoors Adventures Link Actions and Results

Take kids on outdoors adventures to help them learn and see how we can help nature heal itself, and why our help is needed. 

Show them what happens when our stewardship is lacking.  Old growth forests, once clear cut, do not return unless re-planted.  A mountain that has been strip mined without requiring mitigation to help the land heal leaves ugly scars.  Plant and animal species, once extinct, are treasures lost forever.

Final Thoughts

When we outventure with kids, they can see for themselves the land, animals, and plants that make the natural world so beautiful.  Kids don’t forget stuff like this.  It becomes part of who they are, and it helps them develop a true appreciation for the natural world.  That appreciation leads to a desire to protect it, and that is the foundation of conservation and stewardship.

Take the kiddos on an outdoors adventure.  Let them witness the effects of man on the natural world.  Let them see its beauty.  Give them the foundation to help them grow to love and protect nature not just for themselves, but for those who will come after them.