The idea of conservation as Federal management of land and
water resources to ensure future sustainable use and boots on the ground service
to public lands goes back many decades.
While these are still important themes, we are just beginning to learn
what conservation looks like for “Generation Like.” Children having authentic experiences in
nature at a young age can no longer be taken for granted, yet is critical for
developing conservation minded citizens.
Competition for young peoples’ attention from digital media and social
networking is fierce. Tremendous amounts
of information, true, false and otherwise is available at our fingertips 24/7. A responsible Federal budget may no longer be
able to financially support all of the conservation needs of our country. Increasing population and modern lifestyles
are demanding more and more of our natural resources and environmental issues
are becoming more and more complex. Undoubtedly,
it is a real challenge to address all of these concerns in the modern
conservation landscape but from my perspective, outdoor and environmental
education offers a significant tool to do so and it is incredibly rewarding to
try. At Nevada Outdoor School, we are continually
musing on these issues and trying to bring innovative solutions to life.
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| NOS Executive Director Andy Hart (center) speaking on reconnecting youth with nature at the White House, March 18th, 2014. photo credit: Tami A. Heilmann, DOI |
When engaging young Americans in conservation, it is
important to be mindful of their reduced attention span and need for more
timely gratification. Youth conservation
service projects can be designed to do this, ensuring they can see the results
of their efforts and still provide tangible physical benefit to the land. Of course, with youth, the physical outcomes
of a project should be far secondary to the experience. Some of the greatest conservation minds our
country has ever known did very little at a young age for our natural
resources. Folks like John Muir and Aldo
Leopold were documented to have been a bit rough with nature in their formative
years, but the depth of connection and passion those experiences created
propelled these leaders to ultimately benefit public lands in profound ways so
that future generations could enjoy similar experiences. Even as part of formal outdoor and
environmental education programs, youth need time for unstructured exploration.
Likewise, youth propensity for technology shouldn’t be
feared by those of us working hard to get them away from the computer screen
and into nature. Certainly, we should
instill in our children the value of putting technology away for a while and
enjoying the natural sights and sounds around us. However, there are a variety of ways modern
electronics can assist in authentic experiences in the outdoors. Some examples might be a camera with GPS
location tagging, a digital water quality tool used for a citizen springs
assessment or a hand held GPS used for a family EarthCaching adventure. Additionally, reflection remains an important
aspect of any learning experience. We
need to embrace the fact that reflection today may be quite appropriate in the
form of blogging, tweeting or posting about that experience.
While these are just two of the hurdles to overcome when
engaging youth in the outdoors and conservation, we try not to be overwhelmed. Never forget that taking kids outside is
supposed to be fun. The more fun it is,
the more likely we are to see the next generation develop into conservation-minded
adults, with the science background to think critically and make thoughtful
decisions on conservation and land-use issues.
This idea drives Nevada Outdoor School in our work, providing
opportunities for youth and families to learn and grow outdoors and engaging as
many as 1,000 students each month with inquiry-based, outdoor and environmental
education initiatives.
