Connect with nature in your own backyard! Get ready for a night of outdoor fun when you join in The National Wildlife Federation’s Great American Backyard Campout, Saturday, June 27.
The National Wildlife Federation encourages parents and kids alike to trade their website for a campsite and screen time for green time. Turn off computers, TVs, iPods, Wiis, MP3 players, cell phones and all things high tech, to experience a night with Mother Nature, listen for nocturnal wildlife (maybe even see some), star-gaze, cook outdoors, tell stories about Bigfoot and the Loch Ness Monster, and explore a whole other world right in their own backyard.
Gather the kids, grandkids, neighbors, and friends to join in the fun. It’s a great way to pass along your love for the outdoors to future generations.
Last year thousands of people from around the country participated in the Great American Backyard Campout®. You don’t need to go to Yosemite National Park to experience the great outdoors and the wonders it has to offer. Just open up your backdoor!
June has been officially designated Great Outdoors Month by the White House and more than half of America’s governors. What better way to celebrate?
This initiative is part of the National Wildlife Federation’s “Be Out Thereâ€Â campaign that encourages young and old alike to get outside and connect with the natural world. It’s especially important for children because for the first time in our country’s history; we have an entire generation that is growing up disconnected from nature.
This nature deficit can lead to a weaker immune system, increased childhood obesity, greater dependency on Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) drugs, lost creativity, less self-sufficiency, and a lack of interest in maintaining the wildlife legacy they have inherited. To say nothing of the good old fashioned fun they are missing!
The National Wildlife Federation is providing everything you need to head out into the great outdoors called your backyard. Or you can check out to see if a local group is planning a large family Campout near where you live. NWF’s web site has packing lists, recipes, nocturnal wildlife guides, exploration activities, nature guides and more. Check it out at www.backyardcampout.org.
Camping out in the yard is so easy, anyone can do it—even first-timers!
And what’s a night of camping without s’mores for a snack?
S’mores
Roast three marshmallows on a skewer or stick until browned, but not black (unless you like them that way). Put a chocolate bar of the same size, on a graham cracker. Carefully put the hot marshmallows, still on the skewer, on top of the chocolate bar. Put another graham cracker on top, like a sandwich, and slide out the skewer.
Great American Backyard Campout
To get information about a campout in your area, contact:
Ashleigh Poff, National Wildlife Federation
Phone: 703-438-6515
campout@nwf.org
National Wildlife Federation – Find Nature
If you’re new to camping, there are lots of web sites that give you the A to Z of camping. Here are a few to get you started:
About.com: Camping
