HUNTERS, SCOUTS, ACTIVISTS: "GET KIDS OUTSIDE!"

Rare alliance backs Assembly Bill 2989’s outdoor education, recreation programs

California Waterfowl recently joined forces with the Sierra Club of California and the Girl Scouts to support an important piece of legislation that would give many kids their first chance to learn and play outdoors.

Sierra Club California, California Waterfowl and the Girl Scout Council of California are alarmed by statistics that show kids over 8 spend as much as 6.5 hours in front of a TV, computer or video game each day.

Unfortunately, despite our efforts, Assembly Bill 2989 (Fuentes) did not make it past the the Senate Appropriations Committee’s this year, even though the measure doesn’t require any spending in the coming fiscal year.  

That bill, called the The Leave No Child Inside Act, would have created the Outdoor Education and Recreation Program, designed to provide outdoor experiences to at-risk and underserved populations. At-risk and underserved youth would have gained new chances to get outdoors via formal school programs and community organizations that provide outdoor education and recreational experiences.

“At California Waterfowl we’ve focused our efforts to provide today’s youth with meaningful outdoor experiences, reaching 50,000 youth and their families each year, both through conservation training and hunting clinics and camps,” said Bob McLandress California Waterfowl’s President. “Young hunters learn to respect the wild places we’re trying to protect – and also access lifelong, healthy eating habits.”

The identification of “Nature Deficit Disorder,” a term first coined by Richard Louv in his best seller Last Child in the Woods has led several dozen states and urban areas to fund similar programs. At-risk children who participated in outdoor education programs raised their science test scores by 27 percent, boosted their conflict resolution and problem-solving skills, and experienced better self-esteem and motivation to learn, a 2005 study by the California Department of Education found.

 “We are uniting at a time that’s critical to getting kids outdoors,” said Jim Metropulos, Senior Advocate for Sierra Club California.  “Children thrive in California’s natural playgrounds: streams, forests and rivers – but they may not have the chance to get outdoors safely.”

Outdoor time also raises sedentary kids’ exercise rates – at a time when obesity rates among the young have doubled.

“The time I’ve spent outdoors has taught me lifelong lessons I’ll use in the rest of high school and all my life,” said Jenny Reich, 17, speaking for the Girl Scout Council of California. “I wish all kids could have the same chances.”

AB 2989 also had the support of Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and the L.A. City Council; the American Diabetes Association; the American Heart Association; the California Outdoor Heritage Alliance; the California Sheriffs' Association; the California State Park Rangers Association; and a number of environmental, outdoors and educational groups.

California Waterfowl will continue to work with the Sierra Club, the Girl Scouts, and others to ensure that the important needs of today's youth to get outdoors and actively engaged in nature does not go unmet.