April 2017 - Parks & Recreation - 20

ADVOCACY

Turning the Tide on a Generation Left Inside
By Jackie Ostfeld
[Editor's Note: NRPA's advocacy work is most
successful when we leverage the engagement of
our members with that of like-minded partner
organizations. These coalitions come in many
forms and sizes, but each helps us to maximize
our effectiveness and enhance our advocacy
efforts by combining all available resources
- time, talent and know-how - of our colleagues in our nation's capital.
Following is a column from Jackie Ostfeld,
director of the Nearby Nature for the Sierra
Club and a co-founding chair of the Outdoors
Alliance for Kids (OAK). NRPA is proud to
be a founding partner of OAK and to serve on
the Alliance's Steering Committee, as well as
to co-chair its policymaking working group.]
Today's children are growing up indoors.
It's estimated that they spend half as much
time playing outside as their parents did
when they were kids. When asked why,
youth are likely to give you three reasons
(http://bit.ly/2mtGPCK): no natural areas near their homes, a lack of transportation to parks and open space, and discomfort being outdoors due to bugs and heat.
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Parks & Recreation

They're spot on about the lack of close-tohome access to parks. Transportation is not
always easy to come by for kids and families
that need to travel to find safe places to play
outdoors. Add to this the fact that there are
fewer field trips because of cuts to school
budgets and the indoors - once a virtual
snooze fest - have morphed into a virtual paradise. Kids spend more than seven
hours a day on electronic media, where, in
theory, they can " experience the outdoors "
without ever breaking a sweat. The bugs
and heat they cite as reasons for preferring
the indoors are only expected to worsen due
to our changing climate, which is already
intensifying heat waves and expanding the
range and prevalence of some of our buggiest bugs, ticks and mosquitoes.
All this indoor time is having a devastating impact on our kids. Over the past 30
years, obesity has more than doubled in children and quadrupled in adolescents, with
the greatest increases found in low-income
communities. While the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends

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that kids get at least 60 minutes of physical
activity each day, nearly three-quarters of all
youth fail to meet these guidelines.
Access to parks and open spaces can also
improve children's mental health. Research
has shown that children who live in neighborhoods with more green space have lower body mass indices and reduced stress
and anxiety. Young people who spend time
outdoors also benefit from a lessening of
the symptoms of attention deficit disorders
and improvements in classroom learning.
Playing outdoors can also improve confidence and strengthen relationships, but not
everyone has access to opportunities to experience the outdoors.
In 2010, the Outdoors Alliance for Kids
(OAK) came together to address this national crisis among America's children and
youth by breaking down the barriers that
have left an entire generation indoors. NRPA
has been there since the very beginning as a
founding partner organization. Today, OAK
(outdoorsallianceforkids.org) brings together
nearly 100 organizations, representing more

April 2017 - Parks & Recreation

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