A big thank you to my backers! I appreciate your support of this project and hope others will come along to help make this project a success. I'm in Florida right now and will be going out to JN Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge to talk with them about how they are involving the community in their Be Outside program, with plans to bring back some of those ideas to Idaho and the programs being initiated there, plus get inspiration for the remaining concept photos on my list.

There's just over a month left for this project. If it's not funded this summer it will be delayed until next year. We do need to take action now to bring more awareness to this growing issue. Thank you!

A fourth grader in San Diego characterizes the trend of young people's relationship to nature in this quote: "I like to play indoors better, 'cause that's where all the electrical outlets are."

Particularly in the west, the outdoor experience is typically related to a vehicle, on an ATV, motorcycle, 4WD truck, boat, jet ski, or snowmobile. Another elementary school student describes her trips outdoors, "My dad had a four-wheel-drive truck and we go out in the desert, not out in nature or anything."

I grew up with a healthy dose of nature. We went camping, I was in Boy Scouts, I became a wildlife biologist, now I'm a photographer (still concentrating on nature). I've had the connection with the natural world and, through education, developed an understanding of the workings of environmental processes and the human relationship (at least for me) to nature. This is where we get our food, our resources, our air and water, our spiritual peace, some or most of our inspiration, our escape.

Even before the appearance of Richard Louv's book, I'd noticed a marked change in how people relate to nature, both in their use of woods, fields, streambeds and deserts and their knowledge and understanding of natural processes and the importance of open spaces, the increased fear of being in the "wilderness" with wild animals, insects, and away from the "safety" of urban streets, buildings and technology. Technology draws us inward (even as we are able to reach farther), creating a real and perceived barrier between us and the outdoors. It's something I've experienced, personally, despite my lifetime of outdoor activities. Even people engaged in bicycling or hiking, camping or just walking in the woods, activities inherently slow-paced and immersive, are often isolated from surroundings by wearing earbuds attached to an MP3 player. Campers longing to "get away" increasingly bring music, satellite TV, cell phones and the internet with them into the woods. Children on long drives are no longer entertained with games of "I Spy", but are kept quiet and ignorant of the scenery rushing past the car window by video games and DVD movies.

The human species doesn't do well in captivity. Cooped up in our homes, it's like being held in a cage at the zoo. We, like all other animals, need the freedom to explore open spaces.

This project seeks to illustrate our self-separation from the outdoors and encourage parents, city leaders, educators, and others to develop programs (reinstate field trips!) in science, art, economics, math, and recreation, to get children outdoors.

I look forward to your support of this project and of the ideas it represents. Thank you.