Children explore Pond Brook in Ohio, protected last year by TPL. Photo: Darcy Kiefel

Research shows that outdoor play is not only fun but essential to child growth and development.

By Erica Gies

Twelve-year-old Izzy Miller spends three hours every Saturday volunteering for a native-plant restoration program in San Francisco's Presidio National Park. One of his favorite things about this activity is watching the lizards that inhabit one of the work sites. "It's funny to be planting and see the lizards scuttle around when you pull out a plant they were hiding under," he says.