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Tips to help you connect your family to nature!
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 Middle and high school youth from the Partners Youth Mentoring Engagement Program experienced rafting on the Gunnison River this summer. Outdoor experiences like this help them develop their social skills, teamwork, and ways to be resilient so they can be successful when facing life’s challenges. Growing up in the small town of Olathe Colorado where the population of cows overpower the population of people, it was sometimes hard to find time for outdoor recreation. Luckily, for us we are a short drive to some beautiful hiking trails, rivers, and lakes. The towering Rocky Mountains of Colorado have some amazing hiking trails from easy to extreme. Many popular places to recreate locally are in the San Juans, a nearby rugged mountain range. Mt Sneffels, our closest 14er, is a popular destination for people who enjoy a tough yet beautiful climb. A very popular local hike is to Blue Lakes, named for their turquoise coloring, nestled beneath the 14,150 ft. Mount Sneffels. A great place to chill and hang out is Ridgway State Park – where hiking, fishing, camping, and waterboarding can offer a family friendly place to recreate and create lasting memories. Rafting has become quite popular with families and youth in our area offering a variety of river experiences from relaxing floats to challenging fast flowing rapids. Many sections of our local rivers can be relatively tame and offer a very exciting place to get away from it all for a few hours, an entire day or even a multi-day adventure. This summer, some of our local youth were able to do just that! Friends of Youth and Nature offered a raft trip on the Gunnison River in the Gunnison National Conservation Area for local youth that have not had that experience before. Here are some of their responses to this impressionable experience: Antonio was super excited being outdoors and being in the river. It was the first time he had ever been rafting. He said, “It gave me such a feeling of freedom and peace. Life is sometimes difficult at school and home, and the river was so calming!” Also experienced his very first river trip, Gael described his experience. “I had such a blast with my new friends that I made over the summer. We got to experience something that none of us have ever experienced before! The sound of the river made me feel so calm. The most fun part was the water fight!” Sabastian said the whole trip was super exciting. ”It was an experience I will never forget and I want to get out and do it again next year. They gave us lunch at the end of the trip and the cookies were amazing!” “We should have worn different clothes! I wore sweatpants and they were way too hot. It’s a good thing we had a water fight to cool us off," Monica shared. “From the beginning to the end of this raft trip, these kids were so respectful. They felt welcomed and comfortable with the group. I so enjoyed how all the kids bonded together. Watching them experience something for the first time was so fulfilling. I never got the chance to do anything like this when I was young, so it made this experience especially rewarding,” said FOYAN board member David Padilla, “Without Friends of Youth and Nature and Partners Mentoring these kids would never have these opportunities. Most of these kids came from the Engagement Program in the middle and high school programs in Montrose County. Experiences like this help them develop their social skills, teamwork, and ways to be resilient so they can be successful when facing life’s challenges.” FOYAN chair Anita Evans shared, “I have never received so many hugs at the end of one of our outdoor events. These kids were so genuinely thankful. It filled my heart and made it even more worthwhile.” Outdoor experiences like this particularly for youth during the challenging years of middle and high school can be thrilling and fun. But, these experiences also help develop new friendships, teamwork and self-confidence. Outdoor activities can play a crucial role in building resiliency and promoting mental well-being in our youth. If you would like to help us get more kids outside to experience new outdoor adventures like this, please consider a donation to FOYAN Partners of Delta, Montrose and Ouray is a nonprofit organization dedicated to building one-to-one mentoring partnerships between young people and responsible, caring adults. Youth with a mentor in the Partners programs benefit from increased self-esteem, academic improvements, pro-socio bonding. Having a mentor opens a world of opportunities for a youth, shaping a successful future one experience at a time. Partners serves youth ages 6 -17 that could benefit from a positive adult role model. Interested? Learn more at www.partners-west.org
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Two youth from the TRY (Together for Resilient Youth) spent a day playing with fish and worms and Ridgway State Park Connecting kids to nature is more than just a walk in the woods! It can be a life changing experience that builds confidence resilience, and a lifelong love of the outdoors — all while inspiring stewardship of Colorado’s natural landscapes. Creating these experiences is the aim of Friends of Youth and Nature (FOYAN) and over the past few years, this nonprofit has become pretty good at it – changing young lives across Western Colorado by providing mentored outdoor skill-building experiences, field trips, and nature-based learning. If you love Colorado's landscapes and outdoor endeavors, share your passion for it by helping FOYAN connect kids to our States' amazing places and inspiring experiences. This Colorado Gives Day, you can be part of something truly powerful — connecting a kid to the great outdoors! Every donation fuels opportunities for exploration and growth — from fishing and hiking to water festivals and outdoor classrooms. FOYAN’s mission is to remove barriers that prevent youth from connecting with nature. By partnering with schools, community organizations, and recreation districts, the group ensures all children — especially those facing economic or social challenges — can benefit from the healing and empowering experiences of time outdoors. In 2024 alone, FOYAN reached more than 8,800 youth and families in Montrose, Ouray, Delta, and Mesa counties with outdoor experiences. Through its signature Together for Resilient Youth (TRY) program, FOYAN focuses on underserved and at-risk youth. Working with local partners such as Families Plus, Haven House for the Homeless, Partners Mentoring, the Black Canyon Boys & Girls Club, CASA7JD, Hilltop, Mexican American Development Association, and Voyager Youth Services, FOYAN connects youth with mentors, outdoor educators, and hands-on nature programs. These collaborations give kids more than just an activity — they give them hope, belonging, and new perspectives on what’s possible. Time outside isn’t just fun — it’s transformative. Research shows that even 20 minutes outdoors can lower stress, reduce anxiety, boost mood, and improve academic performance. For youth living in communities where suicide and mental health challenges are on the rise, that connection to nature can truly save lives. The outdoors offers a sense of calm and purpose that every child deserves to experience. Your donations directly support: • Outdoor skill programs like hiking, archery, mountain biking and fishing. • Farm to School programs in four counties, teaching garden and food security skills. • Watershed Education, including local water festivals, river trips and hands-on science learning. • Gear for Kids — backpacks, ponchos, and water bottles for youth in need, plus a free community gear lending library supporting the TRY program. Each dollar you give brings these experiences to more children who might otherwise never have the chance to step outside and explore. FOYAN’s programs are designed to foster lifelong connections to nature that promote stewardship and healthy living. Colorado Gives Day begins November 1 and continues through December 9. Through the Colorado Gives Foundation and First Bank, every donation made through ColoradoGives.org will be boosted by a $1 million Incentive Fund. The more FOYAN raises, the larger its share of the Incentive Fund. Recurring (monthly) support helps sustain programs year-round, providing steady opportunities for kids to learn, play, and grow outdoors. Last year, Coloradans came together to raise more than $54 million statewide for nonprofits. Together, we can ensure that every child has access to the powerful lessons and peace that nature provides. As one participant in a FOYAN mountain biking program exclaimed, “Finally, somebody gets me!” That moment of connection captures exactly what FOYAN strives to achieve — giving kids a sense of belonging in the outdoors and the confidence to take on life’s challenges with strength and curiosity. Your support makes those moments possible. Whether it’s helping a child plant their first seed, reel in their first fish, or hike their first trail, your generosity builds a foundation for healthier, happier, and more connected communities. Join us in building a generation of resilient, confident, and nature-connected youth. Give where you live — and help us get more kids outside.
Colorado Gives - Friends of Youth and Nature Back-to-School Nature Reset: 15 Minutes Outside Can Transform Your Child's Day by Abram Herman8/26/2025  Something as simple as hugging your favorite neighborhood tree could be the nature reset your child needs to transition from their day at school. School bells have been ringing across the Western Slope, and with them comes the familiar rhythm of homework, schedules, and structured learning. But what if we told you that one of the most powerful tools for your child's academic success doesn't involve textbooks, flashcards, or extra tutoring? It's as simple as stepping outside for just 15 minutes a day. Research consistently shows that even brief exposure to nature can dramatically improve children' s ability to focus, process information, and regulate their emotions. A landmark study from the University of Illinois found that children with ADHD showed significant improvement in attention and concentration after just 20 minutes in a natural setting compared to the same time spent in urban environments or indoors. Here on the Western Slope we're surrounded by some of the most stunning natural classrooms in the world, yet many local children spend less time outdoors than prisoners in maximum security facilities. The average American child spends only 4-7 minutes per day in unstructured outdoor play, while logging over seven hours of screen time daily. When children step outside, several powerful processes begin immediately. Fresh air increases oxygen flow to the brain, improving cognitive function. Natural light helps regulate circadian rhythms, leading to better sleep and more alert daytime hours. The varied textures, sounds, and sights of outdoor environments engage multiple senses simultaneously, creating rich neural connections that enhance learning and memory. Perhaps most importantly, nature provides what researchers call "soft fascination"—gentle, restorative attention that allows the brain's executive functions to recharge. Unlike the "hard fascination" of screens or intense academic work, which depletes mental energy, time in nature actually restores our capacity to concentrate and make decisions. Creating a nature-based routine doesn't require epic sunrise hikes or elaborate outdoor adventures. Before breakfast, step outside together to observe the sky, feel the wind direction, and notice the temperature. Have your child predict what the day might bring and record observations in a simple journal. This brief ritual grounds children in their immediate environment while building observation skills. If practical, walk or bike to school instead of driving. Even a few blocks of fresh air and movement can dramatically improve classroom readiness. If driving is necessary, park a few blocks away and walk the final stretch together. You might also create a simple morning obstacle course using natural features in your backyard—step on five different textures, touch three different plants, and find one interesting rock. Change it weekly to maintain novelty and engagement. The transition from school to home often involves tired, overstimulated children who need to decompress before tackling homework or evening activities. Nature provides the perfect reset. Before entering the house, take a brief walk around the block or simply sit on the front steps together. No phones, no agenda, just breathing and noticing. This simple time outside helps children transition from the structured school environment to home life. Consider moving that after-school snack to the backyard, porch, or nearest park. The change of scenery combined with natural light helps restore depleted attention while providing healthy nutrition. When weather permits, try moving homework outdoors. A simple outdoor table or blanket can transform routine assignments into an adventure. The varied stimulation of outdoor environments often helps children who struggle to focus indoors. Weekends offer opportunities for longer nature immersion that can set the tone for the entire school week. Explore different local parks each weekend, packing a simple breakfast to eat outdoors while observing wildlife or collecting interesting natural objects. These adventures become family stories that children carry with them throughout the school week. End each weekend with 15 minutes of quiet outdoor time together, watching the sunset, listening to evening sounds, or simply lying on a blanket looking at clouds or stars. The beauty of the 15-minute nature reset lies in its flexibility. Busy mornings? Step outside for three deep breaths and a quick sky observation. Rainy weather? Stand under the eaves and listen to rain sounds or watch water create patterns. Winter approaching? Bundle up for a brief snow angel session or winter bird watching. The key is consistency over intensity. Fifteen minutes of daily outdoor time will have far more impact than occasional long hikes. Living in this incredible region means we have year-round access to natural therapy just outside our doors. From the Grand Mesa's aspen groves to the Colorado, Gunnison, and Uncompahgre Rivers’ riparian zones, from desert landscapes to alpine meadows, our backyard offers infinite variety for curious young minds. This fall, as you establish new school-year routines, consider making daily nature time a non-negotiable family policy. Your child's teacher will notice the difference in attention and behavior. More importantly, your child will develop a lifelong relationship with the natural world that surrounds us here on Colorado's beautiful Western Slope. Remember: nature isn't a luxury for weekends and vacations. It's medicine for growing minds, available free of charge, just outside your door.  The Dos Rios playground in Grand Junction includes two climbing net structures. The one pictured is the climbable model of a Humpback Chub, one of four endangered fish found in the Colorado River. This structure provides a fort-like atmosphere complete with slides. The playground also includes smaller features to complete the design (photo courtesy: City of Grand Junction Parks and Rec). No matter what the weather brings, playing outside is good for kids in so many ways. There is much scientific evidence that playing outside improves our health and general well being, and children of all ages love it. In Colorado, we really don't need to travel far to enjoy nature. We are usually only a few minutes’ drive from a lake or local park. These parks are truly our Colorado Sunshine, providing the golden opportunity to get outside with our families! Every town, no matter how small, has a local park that provides engaging trails, sports fields, and more. Variety is the spice of PLAY! Consider rotating to a different park every so often. Each park can offers something different or unique such as forts, jungle gyms or slides, zip lines, fishing piers, story walks, pollinator gardens, nature trails to explore, bouldering rocks, or small creeks or fountains to wade in. Sometimes it is worth it to drive a little further to experience new features or different landscapes. Consider taking a milk crate full of toy dump trucks tractors, road graders, cars, and other toys and find a sandy area by a creek to play. After checking out different parks, your kids may then have a favorite that you can treat them too more often! Some gems that you might want to visit are Canyon View, Eagle Rim, and Los Colonias parks in Grand Junction; Confluence Lake, Hotchkiss Fairgrounds, or Paonia River Park in Delta County; Olathe Community Park; Cerise or Riverbottom Park in Montrose; and Dennis Weaver Memorial Park, Fellin Park, and Cascade Falls Park in Ouray County. Outdoor activities can include a picnic with family favorites such as Carne Asada seasoned with lime and salt eaten with homemade tortillas, hotdogs for the kids, and finger goods such as chips and vegetable trays. Having plenty of lemonade, iced tea, or Gatorade is important to stay hydrated in our dry climate. Just toss down a blanket on the soft grass, enjoy the breeze, the sound of the birds, and the fresh air. A good way to keep the older teenagers engaged outdoors is having a good game of kickball and having them pick their own teams, turn on some music, and let them enjoy. Other popular outdoor activities are fishing, sitting by the lake listening to the earth, listening to nature without talking, and catching some Colorado sunshine. No matter what you’re into, take some time with your kiddos and enjoy the outdoors at one of our many local parks. Unstructured physical activity is so important especially these days with so many over scheduled youth. It improves the physical and mental health of your child, encourages creative play, bonding with peers and team building. It reduces the likelihood of obesity and weight-related health concerns, which are issues for families today. Most importantly, parks allow us to spend time with our families- all of them, our grandparents, uncles and aunts, baby cousins and friends- there is something for everyone at our local parks. Get outside and build more family memories today by visiting your local park! ________________________________________________ County and city parks near you! Mesa County: The City of Grand Junction Parks and Recreation Department has a wonderful resource listing all 36 parks alphabetically in the Grand Junction area (www.gjcity.org/residents/parks-recreation/parks/). Under ‘Parks” click on each park name and it will give you specifics about the size of the park and amenities available. Fruita has a similar website (www.fruita.org/parksrec/parksites) that describes each of its 12 parks including a bike park with skill-building bike pump tracks. On the east side of the Grand Valley, several five-star parks are available in Palisade. Enjoy walking or riding bicycles under the trees along the paved path at Riverbend Park, having a picnic near the play equipment at Veteran’s Memorial park, or romping in the green space at the Palisade Community Center park. Addresses can be found by googling Parks and Recs near Palisade, CO. Montrose County: The City of Montrose website (www.cityofmontrose.org/266/Parks-Trails-Sports-Facilities) lists 29 fabulous parks, open spaces, concrete and single-track trails, and a water sports park. By clicking on the ‘interactive map’ and ‘view larger map’ you can see each park with amenities. Six parks in and near the town of Olathe are listed on their website (www.townofolathe.org/town-of-olathe-parks.html). A variety of facilities are available from Olathe Community Park at the south end of town to the Onion Park on Olathe’s north side. The Olathe Town Park on 5th street has a spectacular new playground purchased through a Colorado Health Foundation grant. Delta County The City of Delta has 11 parks on their interactive map (https://cityofdelta.net/parksites). Clicking on the name of the park, either on the map or on the list provided, takes you to a detailed description of each fabulous park, The North Fork area includes a listing of 18 parks near the towns of Crawford, Hotchkiss, and Paonia (www.northforkrecreation.com/parks.html). These descriptions include the Black Canyon National Monument and Crawford State Park, as well as the Delta County Fairgrounds adjacent to the Doctor Maloney Nature Park and its new disc golf course. Crossroads Park next to the North Fork Pool on Bulldog Street, has two new bike skill-building pump tracks, as well as single-track trails maintained by the North Fork chapter of the Colorado Mountain Bike Association (COPMOBA). The Surface Creek area, including Orchard City (Cory, Austin, and Eckert) and Cedaredge, have some beautiful parks and recreation facilities. Information can be found on the internet about these facilities: Orchard City Town Park (www.orchardcityco.org/36/Orchard-City-Town-Park), Cedaredge Town Park (350-398 SW 2nd Ave, Cedaredge, CO 81413), and the Surface Creek Trail in Cedaredge (www.hikingproject.com/trail/7058563/surface-creek-trail). Ouray County has 10 parks including an ice rink, sledding park, Cascade Falls Park and the Uncompahgre River Trail. Find out the locations and amenities of each one by visiting city of Ouray parks.  Fourth grade students enjoy a fall day on our national forest celebrating public lands day and learning about the many natural resources the forest has to offer. Because we live on the Western Slope of Colorado, so close to acres of public lands, rugged ridgelines, dark skies, and rippling waters, we appreciate these natural wonders more than most communities in the U.S. We also want our youth to be able to experience these places, learn about the intricacies of nature, be challenged by outdoor endeavors, and appreciate our natural resources. Our communities have been so generous to our youth in helping Friends of Youth and Nature (FOYAN) facilitate school nature outings, summer camps, mentored outdoor skill building experiences, and nature learning workshops through grant awards and private donations that help make these opportunities happen for our youth in Mesa, Delta, Montrose and Ouray Counties. Community foundations have been an incredible source of funding for FOYAN. Through the umbrella organization of the Western Colorado Community Foundation (WCCF), FOYAN received $5,000 from the West Elk Community Fund for outdoor camp scholarships for youth in the North Fork Valley. The WCCF Delta Community Fund awarded FOYAN $500 for camp scholarships to youth in the City of Delta. The WCCF CORE Fund and the WCCF General Fund donated $6,000 and $3,600 respectively specific for watershed education opportunities for our youth in the four counties. The Gunnison Basin Roundtable awarded FOYAN $1,500 to facilitate opportunities for our youth to learn about the Gunnison and Colorado River watersheds. Colorado Grand (Classic Car Charity Tour) donated $10,000 for various outreach opportunities for youth across our four counties. The City of Grand Junction donated $10,000 for youth outdoor and nature learning scholarships for Mesa County youth. Through FOYAN, Montrose Walmart donated $2,500 for the Montrose High School Climbing Team and the Delta Walmart donated $500 for City of Delta youth outdoor scholarships. In addition, FOYAN hosted several fundraisers in collaboration with businesses and other partners. In Grand Junction, the Gearhead Outfitters hosted a "Kuhl Try-On" event, Trail Life Brewing- "Grains for Good" and Roots Gastrohub hosted a non-profit night with proceeds going to FOYAN. The Christi Reece group committed to provide volunteer time for FOYAN youth events. FOYAN partnered with the "Kid's Pasta Project" in Hotchkiss which is all about youth serving the community through the preparation/serving of freshly made, healthy dinners giving profits to community non-profits in the North Fork Valley. FOYAN also collaborated with various partners to host the "Bring on the Summer" kid fest fundraiser in Montrose which generated over $5,000 in it's first year. These foundation awards and fundraising events were leveraged through matches from individual donors like you – giving directly to FOYAN or through Colorado Gives Day to help us receive their incentive matches. FOYAN received over $15,000 during the end of the year campaign from private donors. Thank you to all who were able to donate to our local youth experiences! In 2024, FOYAN was able to facilitate outdoor and nature learning experiences for over 8,500 youth in Mesa, Delta, Montrose, and Ouray Counties. We distributed over $87,000 to schools for field trip (bus) transportation assistance to Eureka Science center, river festivals, natural resource days, outdoor learning labs (OWL), and snow science/ cross-country skiing opportunities on the Grand Mesa National Forest – just to name a few! We also provided scholarships for youth to attend summer camps locally at The Nature Connection in Hotchkiss and Delta and a weeklong overnight camp at Santa Maria YMCA near Grant, Colorado for 13 Delta County teens. It's obvious our community members get it - that time outdoors is vital to re-set one's frame of mind and relieve stress. For kids it also builds confidence and resilience, and provides a chance to play outside- essentially the healthy, active lifestyles many of us Coloradans live here for! It also encourages new friendships and open discussions about our planet and all it has to offer us if we care for it. We are hoping to instill a sense of ownership, appreciation, and respect for our public lands and resources in these young folks so that one day they will be good stewards of our open spaces, habitats for wildlife, clean air and water, and places to seek physical challenges, exciting fun, or solitude. Thank you to our communities for recognizing this great gift we all enjoy on the Western Slope of Colorado and for supporting efforts to pass it on to our next generation.  Students build blue bird nesting boxes as part of a Public Land Day celebration on the Grand Mesa, Uncompahgre and Gunnison National Forest. This effort is to help kids learn about our local natural resources on public lands and engage in actions that teach them how to become stewards of our environment As the end of the year approaches, many households are starting to consider where to direct year-end giving dollars. There are many crucial needs in our community that deserve support; in a perfect world, we would be able to fund every cause, but in the real world you’ll need to make choices about where to contribute your year-end donations in a way that aligns with your values and your hopes for the future. If youth mental health, resiliency, and public lands are important to you, then supporting programs to get western slope kids into outdoor educational and recreational programs provides a long-term solution for those issues facing our youth, and our community at large. What impact does an early introduction to the outdoors have on who a child will become as an adult, and how are they affected physically, mentally, and emotionally as they grow up? As it turns out, childhood exposure to outdoor activities can be directly connected to positive long-term outcomes in these areas. Physical Wellness Children are increasingly neglecting outdoor play in favor of the digital world—reducing kids’ screen time is often a major struggle for parents. Computers, mobile devices, and video games are passive forms of entertainment, and they don’t call for physical coordination, strength, endurance, or any of the other attributes necessary for a healthy body. Outdoor play, on the other hand, promotes all of these things, and is a natural method of encouraging physical activity in young people. A 2015 metanalysis of studies regarding the effects of time spent outdoors on children found, “outdoor time is positively related to physical activity and negatively related to sedentary behavior in children aged 3–12 years'' (https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/12/6/6455). The more outdoor time children have, the more physical activity they take part in and, conversely, the less sedentary behavior they display. Mental Health & Resiliency Many people spend time outdoors because it brings them a sense of happiness and well-being. If adults need to get away to nature every now and then to stay happy, surely children must benefit from these quieter natural spaces as well. Perhaps unsurprisingly, a 2018 study showed that the more time children spend in nature and the greater sense of connection they personally feel with nature, the less likely they are to experience psychosomatic symptoms such as irritability, anxiety, difficulty sleeping, headache, stomach ache, backache, and other maladies. The benefits start with as little as 30 minutes of outdoor activity per week. (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29679604) As we consider ways to address the increasing prevalence of mental health challenges in young people, including a disproportionately high suicide rate in our area, outdoor activities can play a crucial role in building resiliency and promoting mental well-being in our youth. Stewardship of Public Lands Physical activity, cognitive development, and emotional well-being are relatively easy to quantify in research. But what about something like the desire to preserve our natural areas, or an understanding of the importance of good stewardship practices for our public lands—can we quantify these outcomes? Though it’s more difficult to show a correlation between time spent outdoors during childhood and an individual’s likelihood to become a good environmental steward, it has been shown that the amount of time spent outdoors has a direct correlation with a child’s feelings of connection with nature. This sense of connection with the natural world then has a direct influence on behaviors related to environmental stewardship in children such as, “conserving water, turning out lights, recycling, talking about the environment, and picking up litter” (https://scholarworks.umass.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1001&context=nerr). The more time young people spend in the outdoors, the more likely they will become involved with environmental stewardship and preservation of our public lands. As you consider how to distribute year-end donations in our community in a way that most aligns with your values, know that when you donate to organizations that provide opportunities for local kids to get outdoors for science education and recreational field trips, you’re not only directly contributing to their physical and mental well-being—you’re also helping to raise a generation that will value our natural environment and ensure the preservation of public lands for years to come.  Fourth grade students spent a morning on the Grand Mesa National Forest learning to cross-country ski. It isnt as easy as it looks with very different levels of physical coordination but the kids had a great time and learned some endurance skills! Friends of Youth and Nature (FOYAN) promote these types of outings to get more youth outside in Delta, Montrose, Mesa and Ouray counties. What impact does an early introduction to the outdoors have on who a child will become as an adult, and how they are affected physically, mentally, emotionally—and even morally as they grow up? As it turns out, we can directly connect childhood exposure to outdoor activities with positive long-term outcomes. Time spent outdoors, whether in play, outdoor education, recreation, or even gardening can play a crucial role in building resiliency and have a positive impact on the mental and physical well-being in our youth. Playing outside helps children use their imaginations to develop creative thinking and problem solving skills. Many outdoor activities require kids to work together and communicate in order for everyone to have fun or to accomplish a common goal. It has also been discovered that a bacterium in the soil increases serotonin in the brain and improves mood. Who knew that getting dirty is a good thing! The more outdoor time children have the more physical activity they get. Outdoor play promotes physical coordination, strength, endurance, attributes necessary to develop a healthy body and mind. It is an easy and natural way of encouraging physical activity in young people. As adults, many of us have learned an escape to a special place in nature helps us relax. A visit to our nearby public lands to exercise, walk with a friend, or enjoy the beautiful weather certainly helps us recharge and re-set mentally and emotionally. Our kids need that too! The more time children spend in nature and the greater sense of connection they personally feel with nature, the less likely they are to experience symptoms such as irritability, anxiety, difficulty sleeping, headache, and other physical afflictions. Nature's fix helps them build mental and physical resiliency. It has been shown that the more time we can get younger generations to spend in the outdoors, the greater sense of connection they will feel with nature, and the more likely they will become involved with environmental stewardship and preservation. We want the next generation to feel ownership towards our public lands and care for our natural resources. After all, we are part of nature. Simple actions such as conserving water, turning out lights, recycling, establishing native plants, talking about the environment, and picking up litter is a great start. At Friends of Youth and Nature (FOYAN), we believe strongly in both the individual impacts that activities in nature have on each young person, as well as the broader long-term goal of creating another generation who feel strongly about the importance of maintaining and safeguarding our public lands for the benefit of all. Our goal is to continue supporting programs that have both a personal and philosophical impact on the future of our natural areas, in order that future generations may enjoy these spaces for many years to come. We would like your support to help FOYAN continue to provide a variety of outdoor experiences for our local youth. In our sixth year as a nonprofit, we have served over 8,000 youth and their families with outdoor activities and environmental learning opportunities. Please consider donating to FOYAN through Colorado Gives on or before December 5th, where your donations will be boosted through the incentive fund. Give Where You Live and donate here to help us make the biggest impact: www.coloradogives.org/organization/friendsofyouthandnature  Children’s overall health is positively affected by connections to outdoor spaces. This is essential for a healthy balance with technology use. For the first time in history, most of our children are growing without a real connection to nature. Nature-deficit disorder was first described in 2005 in the book, Last Child in The Woods: Saving our Children from Nature-Deficit Disorder. Nature-deficit disorder isn’t a medical diagnosis, but it is a term recognizing an urgent problem. Richard Louv coined the term, and it was recognized by many as a call to action – to save children from losing a connection to nature. Urbanization and technological advancements are a trend, but the resulting gap between the natural world and children creates concern. Since the recognition of nature deficit disorder, numerous scientific studies have shown that disconnection from nature can result in diminished use of the senses, higher obesity rates, attention difficulties, and a range of illnesses. On average, children ages 8-12 spend 4 to 6 hours a day viewing a screen, and teenagers can spend up to 9 hours with screens, while spending less than an hour outdoors. Regular screen time and deprivation from recreating outdoors leads to mood swings, lower grades, sleep deprivation, a poor self-image, screen dependency, irregular psychological shifts, depression, and lower cognitive function. Virtual realities can affect a child’s demeanor and outlook on life. One of the goals of social media apps is to maximize the time spent on that interface. Children are immensely vulnerable to this and are susceptible to making screen time a priority in their day. Conflicts over screen time are common between parents and their children - as a parent you aren’t alone regarding this issue! Unfortunately, these conflicts can affect the level of parent engagement with their kids. Children who engage in too much screen time become less in tune with and more detached from their surroundings. Extreme situations can lead to depersonalization-derealization disorder, a serious medical illness. Children indulging in heavy social media may have reduced creativity and, decision-making ability, and an inability to have authentic interactions. There is power in conscious decision-making. Parents, relatives, friends, and mentors can help kids make healthy decisions about how they can feed their bodies and brains. Alternatives to watching a video, show or playing a game might include a walk to a park, a play date in a neighbor’s backyard, building a fort, climbing up a tree or a spontaneous scavenger hunt! One solution is in the magic experiences outdoor spaces can bring. A study in the journal Environment and Behavior demonstrates that children who spend even short periods outdoors see a reversal in fatigue and concentration issues. Indulging in outdoor activities boosts children’s morale, energy levels, perception, and drive. Kids’ experiences recreating in the outdoors gives them a chance to look far beyond a screen and to become immersed in what it is like to live, and belong in the natural world. Here in Western Colorado, we have many organizations and passionate teachers who are more than ready to assist kids and their families with becoming familiar with the great outdoors. As a parent or guardian, are you looking for a few ideas to encourage your kids to take it outside? Here are a few creative outdoor activities you can do with your kids: Generation Wild suggests 20 ideas for 20 minutes- the magic number for helping kids feel better, 100 things to do before you are 12, backyard hacks – the best things to happen in the backyard since the invention of the BBQ. These ideas are in Spanish and English. There are many fun ways to engage your child with nature. How about sharing the experiences of a new outdoor activity together as a family such as snowshoeing, skiing, or building snow caves? The Nature Connection is hosting a free pop up ski lending day along with lessons on Feb 11 at County Line Trailhead on the Grand Mesa. Your kids will love the extra attention and encouragement of a shared experience with you along with the laughter and conversation. Your kid’s mental and physical health and your family relationships are sure to benefit! Supporting Links: what-is-nature-deficit-disorder depersonalization-derealization-disorder Depersonaliztion experiences during Covid-19 lockdown Tree School Will Cure Your ‘Nature Deficit Disorder’ Health Benefits of Nature Why It’s So Hard to Feel Like You’re a Good Parent When It Comes to Screen Time… and What You Can Do About It
We are so lucky to live in Colorado, where there is such a wide variety of outdoor opportunities for youth close to home in local state parks and in our vast open landscapes across the state. This past week, the Colorado Equity Grant Board awarded various Colorado nonprofits a total of $1.3 million to help more kids and families experience the outdoors. Here on the Western Slope, Friends of Youth and Nature was awarded a generous grant of $67,180 towards our efforts in getting local youth into outdoor activities. This gift to our citizens is an effort to increase access to the outdoors for our youth and instill stewardship practices of our state's outstanding natural resources in the next generation. In the long run, this investment will increase the health of Coloradans and our communities. The personal benefits gained from outdoor experiences is not a novel concept; there is a plethora of research proving that outdoor activities overall increase individual well-being.
According to Dr. Constance Scharff in Psychology Today, “Children are increasingly spending time indoors engaged with various forms of electronic devices: phones, computers, tablets, televisions, and gaming consoles. There is significant data indicating that time spent outdoors, whether in play, outdoor education or recreation, or even gardening, can have a real and positive impact on mental and physical well-being.” Author Dr. John J. Ratey in his book, The Revolutionary New Science of Exercise and the Brain, discusses how exercise influences the brain on a cellular level. He also talks about how lack of real play does hurt children because they need to use their imaginations to develop creative thinking and problem solving skills. Many outdoor activities require kids to work together and communicate in order for everyone to have fun or to accomplish a common goal. He also describes a bacterium in the soil that increases serotonin in the brain and improves mood. Who knew that getting dirty is a good thing! There are many activities to do outdoors, including hiking, camping, rafting, paddle boarding, rock climbing, skiing, sledding, orienteering, horseback riding, and raising animals, just to name a few. Some examples of activities and research-proven benefits include: Gardening – Teaches patience, perseverance and empathy (and don’t forget that special bacterium that increases serotonin levels). According to Dr. Scharff, gardening teaches children about the food cycle and nutrition, provides important life skills, and creates opportunities for children to learn competence, resilience, and community building. There are Junior Master Gardener programs that can be integrated into school curricula or used at home or with youth groups. Children’s gardening programs ignite a passion for good food, provide opportunities for people of all ages to work together, and develop important life skills that can lead to a lifetime of healthy choices. Food produced may be used in home or school settings, or canned for use in the off-season, and the excess can be donated to local food banks. Walking and talking − Builds conversation skills and helps with the flow of creative thinking. Just taking a long walk outdoors with a friend has many benefits. State and national parks offer a wide variety of outdoor activities for youth and families. These are not necessarily just hikes or camping, but interactive wildlife activities, archaeological explorations, storytelling times, and much more. The park service often coordinates activities and provides special programming for youth groups. Every Kid in a Park is a National Park Service Program to encourage youth visitation to national parks. Every Fourth grader gets a yearlong free family pass to any national park. Visit their website to find out more, and encourage your kids to become junior rangers (www.nps.gov/kids/every-kid-outdoors.htm). Public lands managed by the U.S. Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management have mostly free access with a variety of trails for mountain biking, hiking, cross country skiing and snowshoeing. Bird Watching − Watching any wildlife has its benefits! Observation can help build attention skills while also practicing mindfulness and coping strategies. It also stirs a sense of curiosity in young people. Many birding organizations provide activities and/or mentors to teach children about bird watching. Check into your local Audubon chapter, Colorado Field Ornithologist groups, or the Bird Conservancy of the Rockies. National and state parks also offer nature programs that are scheduled or can be requested by contacting them. Audubon Adventure for Kids highlights curriculum and related DIY activities that can be done at home or in a yard or park (www.audubon.org/get-outside/activities/audubon-for-kids). Scavenger hunts are a great way to get kids excited about exploring nature and improve their observation and attention skills. Looking for a bird nest, a cactus flower, a cool rock, or an animal track can be very exciting. Search the internet for nature/outdoor scavenger hunts; you will be surprised with how many come up. Horses − Studies have shown that working with horses helps children, teens, and adults make significant improvements in the areas of confidence, anger management, empathy, impulse control, self-esteem, PTSD, anxiety, and overall emotional well-being. Did you know that horses can be an emotional mirror to ourselves? Research has also shown that horses recognize and react to human emotions from our body language and facial expressions. Since they are herd and prey animals, they have a strong emotional sense, reflect and respond to the behavior of other horses in the herd. Even playing with your family pet or walking your beloved dog has huge benefits. Speaking of the influence animals have on youth, Meet Wilder! This is a very engaging video you can watch with your kids featuring Wilder. It will inspire them to go outdoors and play (www.generationwild.com/). Are you looking for something that will help your child build social interaction skills, confidence, problem solving skills, independence, creativity, and emotional well-being? Take them outside! No matter what activity they do outdoors, just getting them outside on a regular basis has so many benefits to them, their families, and our communities.  Outdoor activities can play a crucial role in building resiliency and promoting mental well-being in our youth. A group of kids try a new outdoor endeavor at the Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park. The end-of-year giving season is in full swing, and you’re probably hearing a lot of appeals from nonprofits to help fund their community impacts. There are so many crucial needs in our area, all of which are eminently deserving of your support; in a perfect world we would be able to help with all of the causes, but in the real world you’ll need to make choices about where to contribute your year-end donations in a way that aligns with your ideals, priorities, and your hopes for the future. I’d like to make a case for the importance of getting western slope kids into outdoor educational and recreational programs as a long-term solution for many of the issues facing our youth, and our community at large. What impact does an early introduction to the outdoors have on who a child will become as an adult, and how are they affected physically, mentally, emotionally—and even morally as they grow up? As it turns out, we can directly connect childhood exposure to outdoor activities with positive long-term outcomes. Physical Fitness It’s no secret that children are frequently neglecting more physical, outdoor forms of play in favor of the digital world—reducing kids’ screen time is often a major struggle for parents. Computers, mobile devices, and video games are passive forms of entertainment, and they don’t call for physical coordination, strength, endurance, or any of the other attributes necessary for a healthy body. Outdoor play, on the other hand, promotes all of these things, and is a natural method of encouraging physical activity in young people. A 2015 metanalysis of studies regarding the effects of time spent outdoors on children found, “outdoor time is positively related to physical activity and negatively related to sedentary behavior in children aged 3–12 years'' (Gray, 2015). The more outdoor time children have the more physical activity they take part in and, conversely, the less sedentary behavior they display. Resiliency Many people spend time outdoors because it brings them a sense of happiness and well-being. If adults who have grown accustomed to the ways of the modern world still need to get away to nature every now and then to stay happy, surely children must benefit from these quieter natural spaces as well. Perhaps unsurprisingly, a 2018 study showed that the more time children spend in nature and the greater sense of connection they personally feel with nature, the less likely they are to experience psychosomatic symptoms such as irritability, anxiety, difficulty sleeping, headache, stomach ache, backache, and other physical afflictions. The benefits start with as little as 30 minutes of outdoor activity per week (Piccininni, 2018). As we consider ways to address the increasing prevalence of mental health challenges in young people, including a disproportionately high suicide rate in our area, outdoor activities can play a crucial role in building resiliency and promoting mental well-being in our youth. Stewardship Physical activity, cognitive development, emotional well-being—these things are relatively easy to quantify in research. But what about something like the desire to preserve our natural areas, or an understanding of the importance of good stewardship practices for our public lands? Can we quantify these outcomes? Though it’s more difficult to show a correlation between time spent outdoors during childhood and an individual’s likelihood to become a good environmental steward, it has been shown that the amount of time spent outdoors has a direct correlation with a child’s feelings of connection with nature. This sense of connection with the natural world then has a direct influence on behaviors related to environmental stewardship in children such as, “conserving water, turning out lights, recycling, talking about the environment, and picking up litter” (Andrejewski, 2011). The more time we can get younger generations to spend in the outdoors, the greater sense of connection they’ll feel with nature, and the more likely they will become involved with environmental stewardship and preservation. As you consider how to distribute your year-end donations in our community in a way that most aligns with your values, know that when you donate to organizations that provide opportunities for local kids to get outdoors for science education and recreational field trips, you’re not only directly contributing to their physical and mental well-being—you’re also helping to raise a generation that will value our natural environment and ensure the preservation of public lands for years to come. _______________________________________ Andrejewski, Robert, et al. “An Examination of Children's Outdoor Time, Nature Connection, and Environmental Stewardship.” ScholarWorks@UMass Amherst, Proceedings of the Northeastern Recreation Research Symposium, 2011, https://scholarworks.umass.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1001&context=nerr. Gray, Casey, et al. “What Is the Relationship between Outdoor Time and Physical Activity, Sedentary Behavior, and Physical Fitness in Children? A Systematic Review.” International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, vol. 12, no. 6, 8 June 2015, pp. 6455–6474., doi:10.3390/ijerph120606455. Piccininni, Caroline, et al. “Outdoor Play and Nature Connectedness as Potential Correlates of Internalized Mental Health Symptoms among Canadian Adolescents.” Preventive Medicine, vol. 112, July 2018, pp. 168–175., doi:10.1016/j.ypmed.2018.04.020. |
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