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YOUTH OUTDOOR SAFARI DAY -- Jim Matthews column 30jun04
Introducing kids to the outdoors
Outdoor News Service
There is a television four-wheel-drive car commercial -- I can't or subconsciously won't remember the company name -- where a bunch of pre-teen kids are taken out to some magnificent sand dunes and sit around bored until roaring dune buggies come racing over the hill.
It illustrates many of the ills of our hyper-stimulated society today, but I guess I am most offended by the idea that kids would not be enamored with such a massive sand box on its own merits. Or that a parent would not point out the natural wonders of such a place.
I have too many friends today who are absolutely ignorant and terrified, on some levels, of the outdoors. They really prefer a sterile concrete and mowed-lawn world to the dynamic of the real one. They could never drink out of a mountain spring pool that had green algae growing over much of its surface. If they do go camping, they can't tell the difference between an owl hoot, a coyote, and crying kid in distant campsite. If I can convince them to go hiking and they lose the cell phone signal, they want to go home.
You know people like this, I know you do, and we agree that their children deserve better than sitting bored on those sand dunes waiting for loud vehicles, like in the TV commercial. They deserve to chase lizards, sand ski (or at least toboggan on cardboard) down the slopes, marvel at the sculpting done by the wind, and follow insect tracks.
The Sixth Annual Youth Outdoor Safari Day will be held Saturday, July 17, at Raahauge's Enterprises in Prado Basin. It is a great event to take those kids to get them a little exposure to nature and put them among people who still believe its OK to be a part of the outdoors.
The event gives kids an opportunity to spend a few hours doing things that we did as kids. They can fish for panfish and catfish in a pond, learn kayaking by splashing around, falling in, and getting wet. They can hug wet Labrador retrievers after watching them swim 100 yards to fetch a faux duck. The kids can shoot BB guns, .22s and shotguns, take a nature walk and learn how to identify birds, and make a quail call. They can talk with a falconer and see his birds, learn how to paint decoys, and experience the thrill of rock climbing. There are modern mountain men and cowboys dressed in authentic garb, and a trailer filled with mounted animals from around the world the kids can actually touch. There will be Olympic athletics on hand to talk with and tutor the kids.
It's not like being in the wilderness, but it gives them a feel for what nature is like and how they are part and parcel of the process. It will make them want to go back out.
Last year, the event drew over 4,000 kids and their adult mentors -- mostly parents, aunts, uncles, grandparents. One year, I brought half my Little League team, and they had a blast. For some, it was the first time they'd ever shot a BB-gun, used binoculars, or heard the call of a great blue heron during their nature walk around the marshy Prado basin.
Sponsored by Safari Club International, the 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. event is free for kids, and adults cost $20 per family, and that includes lunch. Pre-registration is recommended by calling Raahauge's at (909) 735-7981, or you can visit the Web site at http://www.youthsafariday.com.
I'd like to think that kids who spend time at events like this wouldn't sit around on a sand dune bored until dune buggies came over the hill.
Introducing kids to the outdoors
Outdoor News Service
There is a television four-wheel-drive car commercial -- I can't or subconsciously won't remember the company name -- where a bunch of pre-teen kids are taken out to some magnificent sand dunes and sit around bored until roaring dune buggies come racing over the hill.
It illustrates many of the ills of our hyper-stimulated society today, but I guess I am most offended by the idea that kids would not be enamored with such a massive sand box on its own merits. Or that a parent would not point out the natural wonders of such a place.
I have too many friends today who are absolutely ignorant and terrified, on some levels, of the outdoors. They really prefer a sterile concrete and mowed-lawn world to the dynamic of the real one. They could never drink out of a mountain spring pool that had green algae growing over much of its surface. If they do go camping, they can't tell the difference between an owl hoot, a coyote, and crying kid in distant campsite. If I can convince them to go hiking and they lose the cell phone signal, they want to go home.
You know people like this, I know you do, and we agree that their children deserve better than sitting bored on those sand dunes waiting for loud vehicles, like in the TV commercial. They deserve to chase lizards, sand ski (or at least toboggan on cardboard) down the slopes, marvel at the sculpting done by the wind, and follow insect tracks.
The Sixth Annual Youth Outdoor Safari Day will be held Saturday, July 17, at Raahauge's Enterprises in Prado Basin. It is a great event to take those kids to get them a little exposure to nature and put them among people who still believe its OK to be a part of the outdoors.
The event gives kids an opportunity to spend a few hours doing things that we did as kids. They can fish for panfish and catfish in a pond, learn kayaking by splashing around, falling in, and getting wet. They can hug wet Labrador retrievers after watching them swim 100 yards to fetch a faux duck. The kids can shoot BB guns, .22s and shotguns, take a nature walk and learn how to identify birds, and make a quail call. They can talk with a falconer and see his birds, learn how to paint decoys, and experience the thrill of rock climbing. There are modern mountain men and cowboys dressed in authentic garb, and a trailer filled with mounted animals from around the world the kids can actually touch. There will be Olympic athletics on hand to talk with and tutor the kids.
It's not like being in the wilderness, but it gives them a feel for what nature is like and how they are part and parcel of the process. It will make them want to go back out.
Last year, the event drew over 4,000 kids and their adult mentors -- mostly parents, aunts, uncles, grandparents. One year, I brought half my Little League team, and they had a blast. For some, it was the first time they'd ever shot a BB-gun, used binoculars, or heard the call of a great blue heron during their nature walk around the marshy Prado basin.
Sponsored by Safari Club International, the 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. event is free for kids, and adults cost $20 per family, and that includes lunch. Pre-registration is recommended by calling Raahauge's at (909) 735-7981, or you can visit the Web site at http://www.youthsafariday.com.
I'd like to think that kids who spend time at events like this wouldn't sit around on a sand dune bored until dune buggies came over the hill.
