On Common Ground - Winter 2016: Healthy Communities

better self-discipline, are more capable and confident, are more cooperative, more creative and better problem solvers than their peers who don’t get out as much.

They’re also tomorrow’s conservation leaders.”
But what really sparked the attention of the families
was when she told them that she talked to friends, who
owned businesses or interviewed people for jobs, about
that research, and those friends said “send us those
problem solvers. We need folks who can think criti-
cally and have that on-the-fly ability to come up with
solutions because it’s not something that is taught or
tested for in our current school system that we have.”
“We see that time and time again with all of our part-
ners,” she said. “They say kids coming out of their
programs say they have that capacity and ability, which
is pretty cool.”
Grace Lee, executive director of the National Park Trust,
said her organization began working to reconnect kids
with nature six years ago with the launch of its “Buddy
Bison” program. Roughly two years later, it started the
“Kids to Parks” day, “getting young people — mainly
in poor urban areas — to green spaces right in their
backyards and then a little further, perhaps an hour
or so, away.”
The Buddy Bison program uses parks and public lands
as outdoor classrooms, primarily to teach children
about science and history, said Lee, who lauded the
NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® for sup-
porting the program.

“We talk to school leaders to find out where best a program like this would plug into their classrooms,” she said. “It’s usually 3rd, 4th and 5th graders, but we can also work with kids everywhere from pre-K through 8th grade. Then we enhance their existing curricula by taking their learning outdoors.

“We also know that parks are great places for kids to play, burn off energy and get their bodies moving. This is important because about two-thirds of our country is overweight and obese, so it is a wonderful twofold opportunity to help underserved communities.