Inspiring Children to Explore the Outdoors

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#1

Myself and my girlfriend are outdoor educators in California and we are thru-hiking the PCT this year to raise awareness and scholarship funds for more students to attend outdoor science school. The benefits of a outdoor school go beyond the concepts and knowledge, the fitness and confidence to gain a better awareness and appreciation for our environment. We believe that it helps students to become better people. Watch our video and find out more at www.inspireout.com. Share it with your friends and we will see you on the trail. Thanks for your support.

Justin Smith

#2

Thanks for the posting & good luck with your work & trip. I think this is a huge problem too. My biggest concern is that if future generations don’t value the outdoors, we’ll lose a lot of natural treasures to more development and neglect.

My question though, is how do you make outdoor experiences a part of kids lives? doing a day trip or overnight trip is great, but if they’re getting mixed messages the other 364 days of the year, I’m concerned the impact will be diminished. So, how can you get whole families more outdoor-inclined? so that they make visits to the outdoors more a part of their lives? I meet too many people who are intimidated by even simple things like taking a hike. They think they need all this gear and knowledge that they don’t have, and find it easier to just watch the discovery channel.

Anyway, I’m not sure trailforums is the best place for a detailed discussion on this, but why not? :slight_smile:

Jonathan