A Chance for Your Story to be Published!

There is a fairly new women’s magazine on the market that may be of interest to all of you – Outdoor Woman Magazine.  It is published quarterly and covers great topics from seasonal outdoor activities to women outdoor professionals.  Every issue includes articles titled Around the Campfire, Get Involved, Outdoor Adventures, Naturalist’s Notebook, Gear and Product Guide, and the Advertiser Index. 

Take a look at their website www.outdoorwomanmagazine.com.  If you have a great outdoor adventure that you’d like to share, know of women making a difference, or know of women serving as outdoor professionals, contact the Editor in Chief – Nancy Keller.  We may be reading your article in the next publication! 

 

Children and the Outdoors

A must-read for parents, teachers, grandparents, aunts and uncles is Richard Louv’s book Last Child in the Woods:  Saving Our Children from Nature-Deficit Disorder. 

The book, published in 2006, resulted in a national movement to help get more children involved and immersed in the outdoors.  Last Child in the Woods demonstrates the incredible divide between children and the outdoors and how it relates to rising trends in childhood obesity, attention disorders, and depression.  Louv’s research shows direct links between spending time outdoors in nature and improving children’s emotional and physical health.  Unstructured play in the outdoors truly helps children further develop reasoning skills, creativity, and improves their confidence.  We’ve also learned that adults who are passionate about the outdoors were exposed to the outdoors between the ages of 5 and 18.  Playing outside is a critical component to understanding and developing an appreciation for nature.  Without that connection, we’re not only losing outdoor enthusiasts, but future stewards. 

The Essentials for Survival

Your Personal Survival Pack

1)      Keep all your items in a fanny pack that can be grabbed on the way out the door, worn around your waist for short hikes or placed in your backpack for overnight trips

2)      Keep it light – all the items below weight approximately 10 pounds

3)       Make sure you know how to use the items in your pack before you need them

4)      Always tell someone where you are going and when you are expected to return

5)      Leave information in your vehicle’s windshield regarding your destination and return date

6)      If you’re lost make a fire  - it will keep your mind occupied and provide you with a companion  

 

Shelter & Warmth

·         Wyoming saw (collapsible saw with two blades – bone and wood)

·         Adventure Medical Heatsheets Emergency Bivvy (bright orange exterior with silver lining that reflects heat back to your body – it simulates a lightweight sleeping bag)

·         Small Tarp – cut a 10’ x 10’ piece of Tyvek house wrap (lightweight, tough, waterproof, air tight, inexpensive)

·         Fire starters

o   Matches – Pro Force lifeboat matches (comes in waterproof container with striker)

o   Bic lighter

o   Gerber Strike Force fire starter – alloy flint bar with hardened steel striker

 

Food

·         MREs – meals ready to eat

·         Extra MRE heaters – it will heat long enough to melt a cup of snow

·         Two bow fishing arrows (can be lashed to branches for a make shift spear)

·         Emergency fishing kit – in a small container carry artificial bait (Berkley Gulp), several feet of fishing line, several hooks, and Styrofoam strike indicators)

·         Ability to make snares (your survival pamphlet should describe how to place snares)

 

Water

·         Water bottle

·         Metal “bottle cup” – tasse from GSI Outdoors which you can boil water in; fits over water bottle

·         Iodine tablets

 

Finding Your Way

·         Map and compass

·         GPS unit and extra batteries

·         Flashlight – LED Petzl headlamp (3 AAA batteries lasts 150hours)

 

General Survival – Multiple Uses:

·         Signaling Help

o   Cell phone

o   2-way radio

o   Signal mirror – Hotshot by ACR

o   Whistle – storm whistle

o   Light sticks (if rescue is overhead, tie light stick to rope and swing it overhead)

o   Safety strobe – Leland Strobe; 1 D cell battery lasts 30 hours (tie in the top of a tree at night if rescue is overhead)

·         Heavy duty fixed blade knife (we prefer the brand Knives of Alaska)

·         Pictures of your children & loved ones – will help keep you motivated in trying times

·         Notes or pamphlet on simple survival techniques (The Art of Survival – available free of charge from the Colorado Division of Wildlife)

·         Small first aid kit (bandages, elastic wrap, rubbing alcohol; blood clotting pads (Quik Clot); medical tape; necessary medications such as inhalers; antibiotic ointment; breathing barrier (one-way valve); instant cold compress; electrolyte tablets)

·         Cordage – 550 paracord (one strand holds 550 pounds)

 

 

 

Why it’s Critical that We Introduce Kids to Nature

The statistics are staggering – children today spend only half as much time in unstructured outdoor play as their parents.¹  Children ages 8 to 18 average 44.5 hours per week in front of some type of screen – the only thing they do more is sleep!² Our children are fortunate if they spend 30 minutes outdoors per week.  Thankfully, there are many great conservation organizations working towards reversing this trend as the consequences of not changing the trend will be devastating.

 

Reports show that 90% of current outdoor enthusiasts were introduced to outdoor recreation between the ages of 5 and 18.³  However, with fewer youth connecting to nature, fewer will learn to love the outdoors and fewer still may become stewards.  Current college enrollments in natural resources and wildlife programs in 2003 were at 1980 levels and only 1 or 2 of 10 students expressed interest in working for a government agency.  Yet, 47% of our natural resource agency staff nationwide are expected to retire by 2015 and 77% of agency staff in key leadership roles are expected to retire during that same timeframe.⁴ That’s only 7 short years from now!           

We have to act fast in order to make a difference.  Young adults unsure of how to engage their children in the outdoors can seek out classes such as those offered by Wildland Awareness and Educational Institute (WAEI- www.wildlandinstitute.org).  WAEI provides outdoor classes for adults in Colorado such as the Becoming an Outdoors-Woman program for adult women.  This will give you ideas on how to create in the outdoors and the confidence to do it safely.  Other great ideas on activities to try with your children, nieces, nephews, or grandchildren can be found on the National Wildlife Federation’s website under the heading of ‘Outside in Nature’ then highlight ‘Play and Observe Outside.’  Keep it simple and start small.  Spend more time in your backyard, try camping in your backyard and make it a great experience for your kids.  Then head out to open spaces close to home.  You don’t have to head to the wilderness to have your own wilderness adventure!       

 

1-Kate Siber, National Parks Foundation publication Parks, Fall 2007

2-Reed Karaim, “A New Era in Play,” USA Weekend, Dec. 14-16, 2007 & Kaiser Family 

    Foundation Study

3-Outdoor Industry Association, 2005 data  

4-Katherine Unger, “Graying of the Green Generation,” The Wildlife Professional, Spring 2007;

   2004 survey by McMullin

Need Someone to Recreate With?

If you’d love to spend more time in the outdoors, but don’t want to head out on your own – post your information here, how to contact you (email or phone number), what type of recreational activity you’d love to find someone to join you on, and what dates you have in mind.  This category is for all of you!  We hope this helps.  It’s always more fun to share the outdoors with a friend.