R I V E R A L C H E M Y
Fountain of YOUTHS
THE SECRET TO OUR RIVERS LIVING FOREVER
IN HIS BOOK Last Child in the Woods, Richard Louv evaluates the current state of kids and the outdoors. He presents the reader a long list of benefits for kids spending time in nature includ- ing improved health, more active imaginations, increased social confidence and better decision making skills. Add to that list reduced incidence of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder and obesity, and reduced tendencies toward anti-so- cial activity, such as crime, and you have a very compelling case for what we already know—be- ing outdoors is good for kids. However, Louv goes on to paint a pretty sad
picture. Kids today are increasingly cut off from nature
by urban development, societal fear and intol- erance for risk, and the annihilation of outdoor education and natural science curriculums in schools. Not to mention helicopter parents hov- ering over their little ones, protecting them from what they feel is risky. The real kicker, Louv argues, is if they don’t
have a relationship with nature, kids today will have little value, use, or need for it as adults, adults who will eventually make decisions on be- half of the environment. We river people are in the same boat. Look
around your local put-in next spring; chances are you won’t find anyone under the age of 15. Who will look after our rivers when the current crop of paddlers gets too old and tired to con- tinue the fight? Other outdoor sports are doing a better job. Climbing gyms cater to kids’ birthday parties. The Jackrabbit cross-country ski program has been around for generations. All kids learn to ride bikes and the downhill ski industry has gone so far as to provide free ski passes to all kids in Grade 5. They know the likelihood of them skiing as adults hinges on skiing before the age of 11. In 1997, when the first Wave Sport Stubbies
“When I grow up I want to be a river keeper.” PHOTO RICK MATTHEWS
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appeared on my home river, I predicted kaya- king would become a kids’ sport. The Stubby proved an ideal boat for beginners and kids. It was stable and short, so they could turn it. It was fat, so water shed from the deck, eliminat- ing the need for a potentially dangerous skirt. It was magic.
RAPID
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