In today’s expanding digital world, children are finding it less interesting to spend time in the great outdoors.
In an effort to instill an appreciation of nature in youths of the new millennium, the Mohawk Hudson Land Conservancy has developed a program to allow children their own space out in the woods.
“There’s evidence that nature does kids a lot of good in multiple aspects of their lives,” said Jill Knapp, executive director of MHLC. “We’ve found many kids, especially from urban areas, aren’t growing up with these experiences in the outdoors, and we want to change that.”
The program is called Adopt-a-Forest Lot, and it works by lending children and their families a parcel of land within the MHLC preserves. The children can clean up the space and use it to plant a garden or build a fort. They could also leave it be and use the parcel to interact with nature in its natural habitat.
“The point is for them to play, and work and enjoy the small parcel as if it was their own,” Knapp said. “So much now children are forced to look but not touch. This will be a totally different experience for many of them.”
The Conservancy received a $6,500 grant through the Land Trust Alliance in partnership with the Department of Environmental Conservation earlier in the year. The group then reached out to local schools, mostly in the Albany and Troy area, hoping to drum up interest. So far, few have asked about the program.
This seems funny to Knapp, since the program would be a unique learning experience for students. The group also has the means to pay for busing students, so it would be a good opportunity for schools to use as a field trip when many district have tight budget concerns.
Few parents have contacted the group about the program.
“A lot of parents are scared to let children out in woods and it’s a shame,” Knapp said.
The parcels would be within the Normans Kill and Schiffendecker preserves in Bethlehem. Knapp said she knows last year there were concerns about poison ivy and the increase in ticks within the area, but the group hired people to safely control the invasive plants and pests.
The hope is to eventually use some of the funds to place cameras in certain areas of the preserve so students can see what kinds of creatures visit their parcel when no one is there.
The program is open to youth groups, community organization, schools, families and adults. All children most be accompanied by an adult, and an adult from each group must attend a short orientation. Campfires, hunting and trapping, and overnight camping are not permitted.
The hope is groups will “contribute to creating a healthy environment in their local community” and increase awareness and vigilance of invasive species, while developing new skills and “exploring career options in the natural resources.”
“We want children to learn to explore the world around them,” said Knapp.
Any group or family from throughout the Capital District is welcome to join. To learn more, visit www.mohawkhudson.org or call 436-6346.
