by Brittany Gonzalez, ENC Communications Intern
Have you ever felt like your children experience nature less than you did as a child? Well you’re not the only one, and science has proven it! There is a recent study that shows our kids spend 50% less time outdoors than their parents did as children. As unimaginable as this is, it’s reality with social media very present in everyone’s lives. Since we are starting to find out some mid-term effects on our children, we need to be aware of steps to take to help combat these effects. Another study has shown that the more time children spend outside, the less likely they are to develop nearsightedness. Let’s work together to get our kids outside to enjoy nature!
Here at the Environmental Nature Center, we believe in helping kids and their parents to explore with us. Combat the negative statistics of long hours of screen time by joining us in getting children outside more often. We even have a winter camp coming up, and subsequent camps to follow for the spring and summer seasons. Our Little Naturalist camp is also returning for the second year in a row! We had a great turnout last winter, following a full roster just a few days after registration opening, for summer. We look forward to all of our little naturalists (3-5 yr. olds), and winter camp attendees (K-6th grade) coming to the Environmental Resource Center to enjoy the outdoors. Get your kids ‘jackets and rain boots ready, because they will have a blast going on treasure hunts, playing hide and seek, and they will participate in hands-on activities like arts and crafts, all while enjoying the outdoors. All of our Camp Teachers are so excited to get your kids connected to Nature! There are three weeks of winter camp:
-week 1: Dec 17-20th for our little naturalists (3-5 yr. olds)
-week 2: December 26th-28th for all ages
-week 3: Jan 2-4th for all ages
visit encenter.org for more info & registration details