Tequesta Trace Middle School in Weston, FL
There is currently great concern among health care specialists, educators, environmentalists, and parents about the shrinking amount of time today’s children spend playing outdoors. It is believed that this is increasing obesity as well as other health problems, decreasing first-hand observation of basic scientific lessons to be learned from being outdoors, and causing a sad disconnect with nature among our youngsters. Many programs are being started on the local, state, and national levels to get kids to leave the computer games indoors and get outside for healthy play.
The Florida Wildlife Federation is committed to Florida ’s children as well as to Florida ’s flora and fauna. We think there is a way to tie them together promoting health for both kids and critters by encouraging youngsters to start and maintain a wildlife habitat.
This is an excellent activity for children 12 and under. It gets them outdoors, keeps them active digging and pulling the inevitable weeds, sparks an interest in gardening, teaches them something about identifying both plants and animals in the natural world, and (important to all parents), keeps them at home and from wandering to places where they might not be so safe.
Click here to find how to participate in the 2013 Kids Wildlife Habitat contest!
Go to our Habitat Page
and look at the Habitat PowerPoint there for help and ideas.
Contact Pat Pearson for more information at: firstname.lastname@example.org