What the Outdoors Can Do For You
By Alysha Lundgren
You hear all the time about how we can conserve our resources, using both sides of the paper, and turning off your water when you’re brushing your teeth. You hear about recycling and reusing something in a creative and practical way, like turning an old crate into a coffee table. There are so many things we can do for nature and the environment, but today I want to talk about what nature can do for you and your family.
Everyone knows hiking is great exercise, but being out in nature or even just taking in its beauty has some amazing benefits! Trees emit chemicals that are antifungal and antibacterial in nature. When you breathe it in, it can increase your white blood cell count and boost your immune system! Being in a natural setting also lowers your stress and blood pressure, improves mood, increases focus, and can accelerate healing after surgery!
Nature has all the same benefits for kids as adults and is proven to improve test scores. Free play outside can improve a student’s problem solving skills, which makes them more likely to succeed. Unstructured play encourages kids to use their imaginations, make discoveries and figure things out for themselves.
Climbing activities, like scaling rock surfaces or trying to get to the highest branch of a tree, also improve a child’s ability to write. Building the muscles in your upper arms and shoulders will give your child the control they need to use their hands for writing. The best part is, they get to have an adventure while gaining these skills!
Time spent outdoors can ease symptoms of ADHD. Our brains get “focus fatigue.” That means we’re spending too much time paying attention to the individual tasks in our daily lives. When our brains are tired, learning gets hard. Being in nature relieves that fatigue, by giving us a chance to just experience our surroundings, and renew our senses.
So, now we know why should go outside, where should we go? National parks and monuments are great places to go, but aren’t always cost effective. Several times throughout the year, there will be fee-free days, which you can keep up with by checking the Facebook pages of your favorite places.
Public lands are also a great option! To find places to visit, you can check out BLM.gov and find your state in the drop-down menu. There are also apps, like, “AllTrails” that have lists of trails nearby. If you don’t have many options nearby, you can look into your local and state parks, as well.
Here are some ideas for once you get out there:
- Hiking
- Unstructured play. Just let your child’s imagination take them where it wants!
- Photography
- Collect rocks and other items from nature. See if they can identify what they find!
- Take a clipboard, or something else to write on, and have them record what they see.
- Mud pies
- Climb up rocks and trees
- Bird watching
For the snow:
- Make some colored water with food dye and paint the snow
- Build a snowman
- Can you make an igloo?
- Sledding
- Make the biggest snowball ever!
- It looks so neat and pretty…Maybe we should just mess it up!
It’s winter and it is so cold, but even then, it’s great to get outside and breath in some fresh air! You and your kids will benefit from even a small amount of outside time, and it gives you a chance to let go of stress and just have fun! Don’t be afraid to bundle up and get creative!
Further Reading:
http://www.nationalgeographic.com/magazine/2016/01/call-to-wild/
http://www.dec.ny.gov/lands/90720.html