The National Wildlife Federation is a well know national organization that has adopted a mission to connect kids, and all of us, to nature againRecently, in response to an increasing phenomenon dubbed "Nature Deficit Disorder" (a nature-child disconnect), the NWF has begun to organize events that promote increasing unstructured outdoor play and discovery for our Nation's children. They have developed and promote national events such as the Great American Backyard Campout, where they encourage families to spend one night camping out in their yards or local parks. This year marked the fourth year for the event. They now have embarked on a new event - Make Tracks! Family Trail Weekend! scheduled for the weekend of October 11-13.
The goal of this event is to get families outdoors and out on a trail for one of the three days - be it on a bike, in a stroller, on your own two feet or atop a horse! A secondary goal is to encourage people to explore their community resources and discover nearby green spaces that they may visit more often.
The NWF's website offers a "sign up" sheet so they may keep a tally - for fun! There are also many informative links, and a trail/park finder tool called NatureFind where you just enter your zip code to receive a list of local green spaces.
Be sure to log on to their website and sign up for this event, and more importantly, start making plans to Make Tracks!
This event is part of the the national movement to get kids outside again where the NWF is promoting what they call Green Hour where parents give their kids (and themselves!) a daily dose of the great outdoors.
Watch their promotional video on you tube.
In response to this event, GITTO will be hosting a "refreshment stand" at one of the Lakeside Pavilions in Kathern Abbey Hanna Park in Jacksonville, Florida for hikers and bikers from 9am until 4pm. We will also be having Volley Ball Games and a GITTOGear demo display on site!
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