THE WONDERFUL THING ABOUT BEING A CHILD IS IN CLIMBING TO THE TOP OF THE HILL OR A CLIFF WHERE THERE’S NOBODY AROUND AND BELIEVING YOU’RE THE FIRST PERSON WHO’S EVER BEEN UP THERE.
Lanza recommends allowing kids decide what gear (or toys!) they want to carry themselves. In time, they’ll want their own full pack.
daughter’s 12 now, and I think the confidence she’s gained outdoors—from climbing and exploring and from carrying a backpack for ten or twelve miles in the wilderness—that translates to a confidence that can help her stand up to peer pressure. Whatever other kids have been trying to get her to do, we can say to her, you know that you’re smart and capable and can do things those kids can’t do. You don’t have to give in to that.
And of course, time spent camping or exploring together can help families become closer. Yes. Part of what’s so valuable about experiencing the out- doors with my kids is the one-on-one time, the opportu- nity just to talk to them. Younger kids thrive on that direct parental attention—and older kids, too, even if they don’t show it as much. And everybody knows that it doesn’t generally happen in
everyday life, when we’re constantly interrupted by other responsibilities—or by the phone, our texts, and e-mails.
Quality time can be difficult with so many distractions. Kids and adults have this constant stream of stimulation coming from their environment, electronic and other- wise. But when you’re in the wilderness and you’re taking a break on a hike, you can’t flip open your phone or check into your Facebook or Instagram account. So you’ll actu- ally look at what’s around you and spend some time inside your own head—and that’s an important thing for kids’ emotional and creative development. It’s something both adults and kids are deprived of these days.
Do you feel it’s getting more difficult to provide children with that kind of experience? When I was a kid the woods were nearby. Today, the neighborhood I grew up in is like a subdivision—kids can’t just wander in the woods. They can’t cut through yards to the next neighborhood anymore because everybody’s put up fences and no trespassing signs. We’ve created an urban and suburban environment
where kids are discouraged from being outside and en- couraged to be indoors more. So we can’t blame our kids for following the path of least resistance and wanting to play a game online instead. Nature is endlessly fascinating to a child, once they get
out there. The biggest obstacle children have to discover- ing that right now is that they don’t get exposed to it.
What can be done to overcome that obstacle? We have to create more opportunities for kids to get out- side—and not just out in the wilderness. My family lives near the Boise foothills, about a half mile from a trailhead with miles and miles of trails. Close-to-home options like that are critical, both because these are the places where people get their regular nature fix and rejuvenation and because it’s how many kids first get introduced to the outdoors. So when we think about protecting nature—whether
from the effects of climate change or whatever else—pro- tecting these close-to-home places is as important as protecting big tracts of wilderness. If we lose the local ac- cess, we begin to lose the connection to the bigger wilder- ness. We lose the understanding of why we need to protect nature in the first place.
30 · LAND&PEOPLE · SPRING/SUMMER 2015
michael lanza
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