Fake stumps, boulders as keys to getting people playing outside?

Posted on: November 22, 2017 | Bob Frye | Comments

Your memories of playing outside. Do they include fabricated tree stumps, fake boulders and monarch butterfly designs?

Those are all features of a new playground being developed in East Goshen Township in Chester County.

And they’re more important to the future of hunting and fishing everywhere than you might think.

Officials with Pennsylvania’s Department of Conservation and Natural Resources – the agency that manages more than two million acres of state forests and parks, some of them pretty remote – toured the playground recently. Cindy Dunn, secretary of the Department, praised the township for recreation that “stresses conservation and ecological education.”

“This innovative playground sends out an open invitation to the region’s youth to enter, not just to play, but to learn about conservation and the natural world around them,” she added.

That’s more critical than ever, it seems.

The issue

In decades past, children grew up playing outside. That’s not so much the case now.

Adults aren’t getting outside like they once did either, though.

D.J. Case and Associates recently did a survey, polling adults and – via Facetime – children. The resulting 300-plus-page report, called “The Nature of Americans,” looks at how Americans connect with nature.

Increasingly, they’re don’t.

Of the more than 10,000 adults surveyed, 56 percent say they get outside fewer than five hours a week. Twenty-five percent get out fewer than two.

What’s scary is that, of those, almost half say that’s more than enough.

“So you have a pretty large percentage of the population spending very little time outdoors, and half of those say they’re satisfied with that,” said Dave Case, president of Case and Associates.

“So the disconnect with nature, it’s sure there.”

Parents, meanwhile, say that between the ages of 8 and 12, their children spend about three times as much time on the computer or watching TV as they do playing outside. And the older they get, the worse the ratio becomes. As children age, screen time goes up and outdoors time goes down.

That’s not good for outdoor sports, conservation or people.

“So definitely there’s reason to be concerned,” Case said.

The future

The good news – and there is some – is that roughly 75 percent of adults believe getting outdoors is necessary for good physical and emotional health. Almost half say they find nature more enjoyable than their other interests, too.

And children still want to get outside, Case said. The survey revealed four times as many say they prefer playing outdoors to indoors.

The problem is getting everyone to make the move outside.

That’s where playgrounds with fake stumps and boulders can come in.

The Nature of Americans report makes five recommendations for increasing people’s connections to the outdoors.

Close to home

The first among them deals with redefining what nature is, Case said. For many, it’s traditionally been defined as “solitude in a remote location in an iconic place.”

“But if we’re going to connect people with nature in a broad way, then we’re really going to miss the boat if we say you have to go far to enjoy it,” Case said.

Children especially believe nature is something that can be explored outside the back door, he noted. Those who want to promote that interest – on up to fish and wildlife agencies looking to ultimately recruit new hunters and anglers – need to foster the idea that families can explore and learn and enjoy nature close to home, Case said.

Another of the report’s recommendations is to focus on the social aspect of the outdoors. Case said 51 percent of people said they don’t like being in nature by themselves.

Organizations and agencies also need to consider cultural similarities and differences. They need to promote multidimensional experiences, stressing how time spent hunting, for example, can have many benefits. And they need to “claim a seat at the table” and convince people that having a connection to nature is valuable for their lives.

The key, though, is making it clear nature is something that can be enjoyed easily, often and close to home.

“In my mind, our only hope is to start to redefine enjoying nature in a way that’s easy for them to do that,” Case said.

So bring on the fake stumps.

Bob Frye is the everybodyadventures.com editor. Reach him at 412-838-5148 or bfrye@535mediallc.com. See other stories, blogs, videos and more at everybodyadventures.com.

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