Kids in the outdoors

Youngsters are "six times more likely to play a video game than to ride a bike, according to the Sierra Club, and fewer than 15 percent have taken part in an outdoor recreation program."

In an article about the harm that can result from a generation uneducated in the outdoors, Tom Stienstra details dangerous fire and water-safety encounters in the wilds and looks for solutions:

Many young people do not have outdoor skills, ethics or know the law, or in some cases, care how they impact others. Many do not hike, fish, go boating or try to see wildlife.

[snip]

One solution is to create a program that would pay for California's kids to learn outdoor skills, ethics and the law, and take part in outdoor education and recreation. The bill to do this, Assembly Bill 2989, authored by Assemblyman Felipe Fuentes, D-Arleta (Los Angeles County) and sponsored by the Sierra Club, passed the Assembly and the Senate Natural Resources Committee, but has been stalled in the Senate Appropriations Committee.

Read the rest of the article on SFGate.

The Morongo Basin Conservation Association has been supporting local environmental education programs in the Basin since 1997. Read more on the new Education page on our Website.