7 Black Outdoor Organizations Making a Difference that Everyone Should Know

While wandering through nature, we take in our surroundings using our senses. We smell flowers, touch tree bark, listen to bird calls, see details (like an ant trail on a tree), and even taste some of the natural objects we come across (think berries or edible flowers). And, while investigating nature in this way comes naturally to most children, sometimes we forget to allow children the time and space they need to do it. We are sharing five different ways to explore each of the five senses with children. So get outside as a family, slow down, and explore nature with your senses together! Photo Credit: Michelle Pearl Gee Exploring Nature by Touch Humans inevitably explore the world through touch. Pretty much every single moment of the day is filled with some variation of the touch sense. Though we take almost all of our touch sensations for granted and do not think much about them, one minute outside can feel like this: You touch the doorknob to let yourself outside and immediately feel the warm air and a slight breeze on your skin. You take a step outside and your bare feet feel the warm cement ground. You walk toward your front yard and brush your arm up against a bush. You reach out to touch some flowers right before your feet touch the cooler grass. You take a moment to relish the feeling of the grass before you sit down and feel the soft ground under your body, and maybe a slight itchy feeling on your legs. The sensory experience of touch literally happens all the time, so much so we tend to block out much of what we are feeling. But, if we slow down outside, practice a little mindfulness, and think about each feeling as it touches our body, it can shift any outdoor experiences greatly. Five ways to slow down and experience the sense of touch in nature: Create a touch box. Children love guessing games and creating this simple activity will not only provide a delightful family gaming experience but will also create an opportunity to really explore nature through touch. All you do is gather some simple nature items and put them inside a box. Don’t let your children see what is in the box and have them guess what nature item it is based on touch alone. You can put one item in at a time (good for younger children) or all at once to make it more challenging.   Walk barefoot in nature. The human foot is incredibly sensitive and experiencing a variety of ground cover feels different on our feet and provides different sensory input. When you intentionally think about each sensation your feet are feeling, the whole experience of walking barefoot shifts just a bit.   Find different textures in nature. Create a simple scavenger hunt and set your kids loose to find a variety of textures outside. You can also just have the ideas in your head and have the kids search for one at a time while you meander your favorite trail. Some examples of easy-to-find nature textures are rough, smooth, cold, warm, wet, dry, hard, soft, etc.   Hug a tree. Literally. Not only will it feel really nice to do it, but you will also be able to feel different sensations. Are you able to wrap your hands all the way around? Is the bark rough or smooth?   Count the skin sensations. Sit down for 1 to 5 minutes depending on the ages of your children and their ability to focus and count how many sensations you can feel on your skin. The wind on your skin, the warmth of the sun, the feeling of the ground under your body, the fly that landed on your leg, and so much more. It is hard to focus on only the feeling of touch, but it is amazing how many different things our skin can feel in just one minute. Want to learn more about exploring nature with your senses? Check out our other posts on using your senses of hearing, taste, smell, and sight!   ABOUT OUTGROWN OutGrown is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that works to create a world where everyone can enjoy the physical and mental benefits of spending time outside. We are focused on creating opportunities and removing barriers to access so families with babies and young children can take their first steps outside. We believe all families have the right to connect with nature, benefit from spending time outdoors and be inspired to a lifelong love of nature. Since its grassroots inception in 2013, OutGrown is a growing community of 280,000 families and over 300 volunteer Branch Ambassadors. More information on all of our programs can be found at WeAreOutGrown.org    EDITORS NOTE: We hope you enjoyed reading this article from OutGrown. We’re working hard to provide our community with content and resources that inform, inspire, and entertain you. But content is not free. It’s built on the hard work and dedication of writers, editors, and volunteers. We make an investment in developing premium content to make it easier for families with young children to connect with nature and each other. We do not ask this lightly, but if you can, please make a contribution and help us extend our reach.

“We must begin thinking like a river if we are to leave a legacy of beauty and life for future generations.” ― David Brower Summer is here. With that, the chance to make goals and opt to improve yourself and your family in some way.  Let’s collectively come together and choose to create an outdoor legacy for our children. That’s right. Let’s pass on some variation of going outside and enjoying nature. Let’s be the river and slowly carve out an appreciation and love of the great outdoors for our children. What is an Outdoor Legacy? Simply put, an outdoor legacy is an impression you instill in your children about the outdoors. It is the long lasting impact your actions surrounding the outdoors have on your children. It is how your children will approach the outdoors when they reach adulthood. Leaving this outdoor legacy behind doesn’t happen overnight. It is something you will continue to foster and develop throughout your child’s life. Even after your children are adults and long gone from your home, you can still actively engage your children in outdoor adventures that feed into the outdoor legacy you want to leave behind. Why Create an Outdoor Legacy? According to a 2004 study, 90% of adults participating in outdoor activities were first introduced to them between the ages of 5 and 18. In other words, exposing your children to the great outdoors during their childhood will likely result in their continued enjoyment of nature as adults. That's why at OutGrown we offer support and resources for families with babies to get outside. Knowing the earlier the exposure to nature, the higher the probability a child will connect with the outdoors and the benefits of time outside. And when only a mere 18% of adults and children spend time outside once a week and a solid 54% of individuals who currently do not participate in outdoor recreation are content to remain indoors, it is important to consider the impact we, as parents, have on our children in regards to getting outside. How to Create an Outdoor Legacy for Your Children Don’t worry, creating this outdoor legacy is not difficult and not nearly as daunting as it may seem. It is absolutely something you can ease into and still leave a beautiful and lasting outdoor legacy with your children. Here are some simple ways you can begin. Set an outdoor expectation for your family Invite your entire family to help you create an expectation for getting outside each week. Start off with an attainable goal that you can all hold yourselves accountable to and then once you consistently meet that goal, reevaluate it. And if you are like me, and set lofty goals, it is absolutely okay to lower your expectations of yourself and your family. Adjust the expectation to meet your family’s abilities. Getting outside is supposed to be fun and enjoyable. Don’t lose sight of that. Create outdoor focused traditions Outdoor traditions are another way that you can get your family outside and create lasting memories together. Here are just a few ideas, but there are so many traditions out there to choose from. Join Hike it Baby on New Year's Day for a First Day Hike Go for a hike in your holiday jammies and join the Holiday Jammies Hike Challenge (hosted by me on Instagram - @familyinwanderland Dress up in costumes and go for a hike, maybe add it in as part of your Halloween traditions. Give back to nature! Create a tradition of picking up trash once a month in a local park  Add an outdoor adventure into an already existing family gathering. Maybe start a tradition of going camping, fishing, or for a hike every year for your birthday. Walking or running a 5K as a family. If you don’t already, consider creating the tradition of an annual camping trip. You can absolutely rent a cabin or an RV, no need to sleep on the ground if that isn’t your cup of tea. But, the idea is to foster a love of the outdoors and camping absolutely allows you to soak in a ton of nature. Maybe your parents have an outdoor themed tradition you can renew. Something you remember doing as a child, but no longer do regularly? Bring it back and put your family’s own spin on it. Need more inspiration, try this post on outdoor holiday traditions. Take indoor activities outdoors Another way to spend more time outside and help pass on a love for the outdoors and create positive nature-related memories is to take your indoor activities outside. These are just a couple of examples, but just about anything can be done outdoors. Family read aloud in the backyard. Serve a meal outside picnic-style. Do homework on a blanket or outdoor table. Take indoor toys (legos, dress-up clothes, dinosaurs, etc.) outside for playtime. Make it fun and keep trying! Don’t forget to make it fun! Mix it up and do different activities outside. Host tea parties or themed hikes for some additional fun. And remember to keep trying. Often when we set goals for ourselves and our families, we tend to feel bad when those goals are not achieved. And if you are like me, when we feel bad, we start to get frustrated when our loved ones are not as into an adventure or activity as we want them to be. Don’t worry. If your last outdoor adventure was an epic failure (I’ve been there so many times), you can always try again another day. Repeatedly taking your children outside and continuing to share how to protect nature with them shows them it is important. They probably won’t remember the time they screamed at the top of their lungs for an entire quarter-mile on a busy trail or when they complained about all the roots on the trail. But, they will remember the general feeling that being outside gave them. They will remember the memories you create together and the amazing adventures and things they see. So be like a river and create the path for outdoor enjoyment for your children to follow. Create memories and develop skills. Create an outdoor legacy for your children. Some additional reading on this topic: 10 Ways to Get Your Kids Out of the House When Life Gets Busy 10 Tips to Raise the Next Generation of Adventurers in a High-Tech World How One Family Makes Getting Outdoors a Priority Learning in Nature: Programs that Promote Love for Nature ABOUT OUTGROWN OutGrown is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that works to create a world where everyone can enjoy the physical and mental benefits of spending time outside. We are focused on creating opportunities and removing barriers to access so families with babies and young children can take their first steps outside. We believe all families have the right to connect with nature, benefit from spending time outdoors and be inspired to a lifelong love of nature. Since its grassroots inception in 2013, OutGrown is a growing community of 280,000 families and over 300 volunteer Branch Ambassadors. More information on all of our programs can be found at WeAreOutGrown.org    EDITORS NOTE: We hope you enjoyed reading this article from OutGrown. We’re working hard to provide our community with content and resources that inform, inspire, and entertain you. But content is not free. It’s built on the hard work and dedication of writers, editors, and volunteers. We make an investment in developing premium content to make it easier for families with young children to connect with nature and each other. We do not ask this lightly, but if you can, please make a contribution and help us extend our reach.