There is so much documented evidence, now, of what I call the Empty Playground Syndrome that it is time for action, not more evidence. Still, it bears repeating that the ever declining participation of young people in outdoor activities bodes serious long term issues when it comes to protecting the environment. Children who don't experience the outdoors are not likely to grow into adults who are concerned about the environment. You don't have to be a rocket scientist to come to such a conclusion. There are many reasons for this alarming trend, but one of them is an ever growing urban population with no connection to traditional outdoor activities. So what can be done? Plenty. One of the best ways to get kids outdoors and connecting with nature is bird watching and, no, you don't have to head for the wilderness to do some bird watching a so many think. It comes as a surprise to many urban dwellers when I tell them that some of my best birding has been in urban areas and that birds are everywhere. In other words, anyone can start bird watching, as explained in my article,
10 Reasons to Start Bird Watching Today But what about all those kids who need a guiding hand to get started? To that end, there is no better program than
Cornell's Celebrate Urban Birds. A small donation in this program is truly an investment in the future of our environment, not to mention the well being of so many young people. OpticsPlanet is a proud sponsor of the
Cornell Lab and as both a birder and former middle school science teacher, I can't think of a more worthy cause than our kids and our environment.