Chattahoochee Nature Center Earth Day Kids Fest 2011 – April 16th

Go outside and play – the mantra of many mothers for years. If you had one of these mothers, you had more opportunities to get outside and run, ride and play. Backyards became jungles and open fields had endless possibilities.
These days the mantra has fallen to the wayside. Children now spend muchof their non-school hours working on growing amounts of homework, engaged in structured activities or in front of a computer screen. Children rarely have unstructured free time to play outside.
The result is that children miss the opportunity to explore nature. To discover ontheir own the animals that live under rocks or the sweet smell of honeysuckle.Children are not given a chance to make a personal connection to nature.
What are the ramifications of this? Richard Louv in his book No Child Left Inside describes how childhood obesity, Attention Deficit Disorder and depression could be linked to the loss of unstructured outdoor play. Louv calls this Nature Deficit Disorder. Research has shown that exposure to nature can help relieve depression symptoms, refocus a child with AD/HD and encourage spontaneous active play which contributes to a healthy weight.

This Earth Day, commit to getting outside with your family.What can you do?
Here are some suggestions –

Schedule an hour each week (or each day) where everyone goes outside for some fun.
Go for walk, toss a Frisbee, pull weeds, write in your journal, just go outside.
Build houses out of sticks, rocks and leaves.

But the most important thing that any adult can do is to support and encourage achild’s interest in nature. Your support is the platform that a healthy relationshipwith nature is built upon.
For more fun outdoor activities, come out for Earth Day Kids Fest at theChattahoochee Nature Center, April 16. This event, sponsored by the CaptainPlanet Foundation, features planet friendly activities and lots of fun. For moreinformation, visit chattnaturecenter.org.

How my family is getting involved in Earth Day this year:

Here’s an event at Chattahoochee Nature Center that I plan on taking my 11 and 4 yr old to to celebrate Earth Day this year.

Earth Day Kids Fest with Captain Planet FoundationPresented by Macy’s

Apr 16th, 2011 (Saturday) 10:00 AM – 3:00 PM
The whole family will enjoy many ways to connect to nature and learn fun new ways to help the planet.

Meet Captain Planet who will give you the power!
Visit interactive booths and exhibits from over 30 local groups and environmental organizations
Explore environmental themes such as clean water and air, wildlife and habitat protection, native plants, water conservation and recycling while finding ways of taking green steps to a new level in your home and business
Enjoy live musical entertainment with messages about our Mother Earth
See live animal presentations with CNC naturalists
Paddle a canoe on CNC’s Beaver Pond
For more information on this exciting event, contact Rebecca at 770-992-2055 ext. 236 orr.gilbert@chattnaturecenter.org.

Learn more about Chattahoochee Nature Center on AtlantaMoms.com here.

Visit Chattahoochee Nature Center website here