The Great American Backyard Campout is coming up on June 22nd, 2013. It’s time to start planning now!
What is the Great American Backyard Campout? It’s an event created by the National Wildlife Federation and their “Be Out There” campaign to reconnect kids with nature and the outdoors. On the 4th Saturday of every June, thousands of families will head outdoors for a night of camping, either in their own backyard or together with others in their communities or neighborhoods. Can’t participate on June 22nd? Do it another night! We’re planning our campout for Friday night, June 21st.
Why is an event like this important? Did you know that only 25% of kids today play outside daily? When I was a kid, we played outside just about every day, and according to statistics, 75% of other kids did so, too. What does the average kid do today? They spend almost seven hours a day using electronic media (watching TV, sitting at a computer, texting, or playing video games). Think back to your childhood. What are the memories that are still with you today? The strongest ones for me are the ones spent outside, either exploring, playing with friends, or camping with my family. Children today should be given the same opportunities to enjoy free-playtime outside, to be given the time to connect and fall in love with nature and the outdoors, and to receive healthy benefits of increased physical activity and creative play.
Want to participate? You can register here… “Register Now – Free“. You’ll receive lots of fun camping tips, recipes, and games to make your backyard campout a success.
Join our team! I’ve created a team here for families in the San Francisco Bay Area.. Team Nature Time! Click here to register with us… http://online.nwf.org/goto/NatureTime.
Can’t participate, but you’d like to help the cause? You can make a donation! Any amount helps… $5.00, $10.00, or whatever you’d like. The National Wildlife Federation uses 80 cents of every dollar raised in the Great American Backyard Campout to support programs that address the problems of America’s indoor childhood and the health risks associated with them. You can easily donate here.. http://online.nwf.org/goto/NatureTime. Select the name of the camper you’d like to make your donation through. I’ve donated $10.00 to kick things off.
For more information: Check out this link to the official page… Great American Backyard Campout.
Now let’s head outside and have some fun!
hike.wander.wonder 
I’m not sure where we’ll be on June 23 (we’ll almost assuredly be in Spain but in a rental flat), but you’ve inspired me to set up the tent in the yard for a night of backyard camping before we go. Tonight we went on another hedgehog hunt (found two) and watched bats skimming through the evening sky. To cap that off with a night of camping would be perfect. Thanks for the inspiration!
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I’d love to see a hedgehog! And, yes, there’s no need to wait until June, but head out whenever it’s convenient. 🙂 Moving to Spain is going to be an exciting adventure!
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What a great event! We will definitely need to look into how we might participate! 🙂
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Ooh, the grandchildren would love it. Or why not just the adults!
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When our kids were small we went camping at least once per year. At first it was three in a tent, which our first son thought was a fabulous opportunity to play with mommy and daddy, no matter how sleepy they were. Eventually we would all fall asleep in H formation. When our second child was born we also got a second tent.
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Ah, the H formation that kids always seem to get into when sleeping between mom and dad. 🙂 I loved having my own tent when camping with my parents!
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We love to camp and doing so in the backyard allows us to take part in activities that might not be portable enough to take on a long trip with us. So much fun!
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Yes, camping in the backyard is a very different experience, but can be filled with all kinds of fun activities you wouldn’t consider while camping in the wilderness. Like when I was a kid, we never slept in the yard with adults!
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