The value of getting out and away from the TV
Submitted by Allen Dale on Thu, 2017-07-13 00:00
When you are my age you hear this all the time, "in my day we made our own fun. We didn't have games or phones to play with." Unfortunately our phones are more addictive than the things that we can do on the outside. This is starting to become a big concern and not just to me because I hate texting and phones in general. So what is the benefit from spending time outdoors? If they are sitting there playing a game doesn't that help with their hand eye coordination and other important brain function? Maybe it is but at what cost to the rest of the system? All the other senses are getting passed up because they are not getting used. Once I was driving down the interstate and a Swainson's Hawk flew right in front off the driving in front of me. It was so close that if the windshield had not been there the driver could have grabbed the hawk. Right away I can say that I believe this person definitely could have benefitted from spending more time outdoors with a knowledgeable person. I think a really important benefit to spending the time outdoors is learning to be observant. I hear so much people saying, "I had no idea there were this many different kinds of birds out here.
How could you get students outside more?
Comments
Getting outdoors but not always getting away from our technology
I have spent the last year here in Boise and have hiked the foothills for many hours over that time. One of the joys for me is hearing the sounds that we don't get to hear in the home or workplace; the shrill shreiks of a hawk on the hunt, ospreys chattering at each other, the wind as it rustles through the trees on a hot afternoon, or bees swarming in a hole in a dead tree. The sounds I hear while hiking about the hills rival the sights I see, but I notice so many folks who are hiking or runnig, or biking with earbuds connected to their phones or music devices. I'm sure it helps to motivate some peolple to get them outside and exercising, and that is a good thing, but one misses so much while focused on canned music when there is a plethora of natural music happening in the environment!