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.
Lizards and kids used to go together like plants and soil. But these days few children get outdoors as often as Izzy and his sister, seven-year-old Clara Bean, do.
"Any fool can make things bigger, more complex, and more violent. It takes a touch of genius--and a lot of courage--to move in the opposite direction."--Albert Einstein