Come Alive Outside Helps Families Reconnect with Nature

This article appears in the Spring 2024 Long Trail News, titled “Reconnecting with Nature: A Tech-Friendly and Family-Friendly Approach.” It was written by Arwen Turner, the Executive Director of Come Alive Outside, a Rutland-based nonprofit dedicated to connecting families to the health and wellness benefits of the outdoors. She also co-founded a plus-size outdoor apparel brand, and advocates for inclusivity in the outdoors.

Last summer at the Rutland Downtown Festival a child visited our Come Alive Outside (CAO) booth with a freshly painted tiger face from a nearby booth. Clutching a well-worn Summer Outdoor Passport adorned with stickers (and what looked like mustard), this lively tiger aimed to collect a stamp and share their record of completed activities.

The CAO Passport, a Rutland tradition for 10 years, promotes more than 35 local activities exploring green spaces, completing nature tasks, and attending outdoor events. It’s distributed to every elementary school student in the county, and strives to provide opportunities and encouragement for families to spend time outdoors for health, wellness and joy.

Ten-year-old Ryan, the tiger, had a special relationship to the small colorful pamphlet. Ryan’s family of six had spent the summer living in an RV after their home suffered flood damage. Mom handed out the passports to encourage the four kids to stay active outside of the small space they called home.

Ryan took up the challenge, earning 184 points (more than four times the average!) and a slew of prizes, even while their siblings had lost or damaged their small passports. Ryan also proposed combining the passport program with a smartphone, since no one in the family had ever misplaced their phone for long. Fortunately, we were already launching a mobile app version of the passport.

The Power of Nature

Nearly 20 years ago Richard Louv introduced the world to his concept of nature deficit disorder (NDD) in his book Last Child in the Woods. NDD is a simple yet profound concept – humans (especially children) were spending less time in nature than earlier generations, and this decline was damaging their health and wellness. Louv publicized the value of time in nature, and suggested parents, teachers, and individuals create opportunities for children to experience nature, even if in simple ways.

Louv advocated for lives balanced between the indoors and outdoors, but publications around the same time with similar themes inspired some people to immediately declare war on the inevitable growth and prevalence of technology in our lives. A cultural dichotomy emerged, with nature equals good and technology equals bad, and nothing in between.

Some families tried to eliminate all screen time, but that became impractical as our reliance on technology increased. Many felt they were compromising their family’s health by their inability to entirely stop using technology to spend more time outdoors. Cutting out technology, becoming trail weekend warriors, and seeking solutions to nature deficit disorder was and is not feasible or even possible for many families.

Nature deficit disorder has a greater impact on those with lower incomes and who hold marginalized identities. Low-income urban areas often lack green spaces, even in Vermont. The 2017 census noted Vermont BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and people of color) and low-income communities are more likely to experience nature deprivation than others.

Parents experiencing poverty or working class lifestyles must spend more time at work to support their families, so they have less time and resources for nature outings.

As the theory of nature deficit disorder reached the mainstream, many nonprofit organizations and initiatives worked to provide resources and tools to help families connect to nature. No Child Left Inside, Children & Nature Network, and Come Alive Outside address the gap between modern lifestyles and declining connections with nature. These and similar organizations seek ways to integrate experiences of nature into modern lives, technology and all. Their websites are chock full of programs, resources and ideas to make spending more time with families outside fun and accessible.

How Screens Can Help

Eliminating screen time was difficult in 2005, and nearly impossible today. What if we reject the idea that embracing technology means forsaking a connection with the outdoors?

In my personal and professional life, I advocate for tech-lovers to use technology to enhance their outdoor experiences. When I ask people about their barriers to spending time outdoors, they rarely blame screen addiction, but often cite time constraints, safety concerns, cost, health problems, unfamiliarity with the outdoors, and feeling unwelcome or unrepresented.

Ninety percent of families of all incomes use smartphones every day to communicate and manage their schedules, finances, health care, and even to track their children’ grades. By offering the Outdoor Passport as a mobile app, we meet families where they are, and eliminate some of the barriers they face. We can send reminders and notifications of free outdoor events; notices of cancellations or park closures; and announce last minute events.

Of course, many folks prefer to take a break from electronic devices while in nature or playing outside. So we still offer paper passports. And we believe all time in nature is valuable, whether in remote mountains or backyards.

Some of many mobile apps that make the outdoors more enjoyable and accessible include:

• PictureThis identifies plants; it’s ideal for nature newbies, foragers, and wildflower hunters.
• AllTrails, though imperfect, is a digital guide for hiking, with user reviews and details about trail accessibility and difficulty, and amenities like restrooms, parking, and cell phone access.
• SkyView, an augmented reality app, overlays celestial information for stargazing with or without a data signal. Find the app for Apple devices and on Google Play.
• The Outdoor Passport by CAO connects people to hyper-local activities and green spaces so they can experience nature where they live, work, and play, in Rutland and beyond.

Technology can also connect people to like-minded and affinity communities, to help break down the barriers around representation, safety, and inclusivity. In Vermont, these include Unlikely Riders, Body Liberation Hiking, Outdoor Afro, and more.

Integrating technology and outdoor programs not only addresses contemporary challenges but ensures that reconnecting with nature becomes realistic and enjoyable for individuals and families alike. Rather than fostering guilt about screen time, using technology can enhance natural experiences, enabling individuals and families to relish in the best of both worlds.