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Paws
02-14-2007, 23:24
I could use your help and positive feedback. I have scoured the books and read all the research on the importance of outdoor/environmental ed, now I would like some good ole' grassroots opinions(on the subject). In my job - I work with youth, outdoor (backpacking, canoeing, etc.) and environmental ed. I'm working to compile a report to plead my case to the powers that be to try and secure funding for outdoor/enviro ed/programs. My question to you - do you feel that the AT (the AT specifically due to a particular grant) could be threatened or in jeopardy in the future (when today's kids are adults) due to the lack of concerned citizenry because most of today's youth are plugged in not out or disconnected from nature? Who will be the future caretakers of the AT? In other words, lack of knowledge now - could possibly cause long term effects where or how? I know it's long and wordy but thanks. :)

passinBYE
02-14-2007, 23:33
I believe it is our responsibility as current hikers.. to raise our kids to enjoy our wonderful world. I also whenever anyone I know come down to visit me. Which I live 3 miles from Dennis Cove, take all of my visitors on day hikes. So they can experience the hobby I love and most of them are now hikers as well if not hikers in planning.

rafe
02-14-2007, 23:38
Wilderness only decreases over time. Here's a very inspiring talk by Ed Zahniser (http://www.terrapinphoto.com/Ed_Zahniser_talk_on_wilderness.pdf) on the topic.

Paws
02-14-2007, 23:42
Thanks for sharing - I try to do the same with my family & friends. I once read - that we can't ask kids to help save and protect the Earth until we help them learn to love it.:)

Hikerhead
02-14-2007, 23:44
Somebody probably said the same thing 40 years ago. Except back then it was the kids won't stop listening to Beatle records or playing on their Pogo Sticks. Every year there's a new bunch of kids fresh out of highschool or college doing their thru hikes and more people living closer to the trail. The AT will still be here long after we are gone and just dust in the wind.

Paws
02-14-2007, 23:55
Thanks TT for the link.

weary
02-14-2007, 23:58
Somebody probably said the same thing 40 years ago. Except back then it was the kids won't stop listening to Beatle records or playing on their Pogo Sticks. Every year there's a new bunch of kids fresh out of highschool or college doing their thru hikes and more people living closer to the trail. The AT will still be here long after we are gone and just dust in the wind.
I periodically hear concerns expressed by MATC members about the lack of young people participating in trail maintenance. I tend to look around the room, and think, "they're right. There's me, and no one else." Then I remember.

Weary

Paws
02-15-2007, 00:02
Somebody probably said the same thing 40 years ago. Except back then it was the kids won't stop listening to Beatle records or playing on their Pogo Sticks. Every year there's a new bunch of kids fresh out of highschool or college doing their thru hikes and more people living closer to the trail. The AT will still be here long after we are gone and just dust in the wind.

I hope your right. I'm still gonna give it a good fight.

Paws
02-15-2007, 00:07
I periodically hear concerns expressed by MATC members about the lack of young people participating in trail maintenance. I tend to look around the room, and think, "they're right. There's me, and no one else." Then I remember.

Weary


Hey Weary, If you had to guess - what would you say the average age of a trail maintainer would be?:)

emerald
02-15-2007, 00:12
It's not just today's youth who are "plugged in, not out or disconnected from nature." However, I think it's most unfortunate when young people do not have the opportunity to live in close proximity to the natural world.

I would call to the thread starter's attention that "plugged in" if it means spending time online is not necessarily bad. It's one way of maintaining connectedness with the natural world by learning about it and forming relationships with people who share an interest in it. Even television isn't necessarily bad. There are wonderful programs available that can help people connect.

While these indirect connections are valuable, I prefer to see people making a more direct connection. We don't all need to be out hiking in the backcountry. That wouldn't be desireable even if it were possible.

There are other ways to connect with the natural world too. One activity that I think holds great promise is gardening. It's an activity that brings people into direct contact with their surroundings and improves them in the process. Caring for public spaces brings people together to learn about the natural world and this kind of interaction improves both the people who engage in this activity and the world on which they depend for their sustenance.

briarpatch
02-15-2007, 00:38
At the GATC, our membership has a decidedly older slant, with 40 and up being pretty common. We have some members in their 20's and 30's, but the bulk of folks are older. From talking to some of the clubs long time members, it seems the club's demographic has changed from the 1960s/70s when families used the club as a recreational outlet. Parents and their children participated in club activities and their circle of friends came form the club. Now, there are so many other recreational outlets that the club isn't a first choice for family activities, so the membership is weighted toward older people.

One thing we are doing is to have an active outreach plan to raise awareness of the AT in schools in the counties that it passes through. The outreach committee is also targeting "non-traditional trail users", such as inner city kids, to introduce them to the outdoors.

I am looking at the possibility offering our Ridgerunner to visit youth camps in the mountains for AT and LNT talks during the slow parts of the week in the summer, as well.

The whole focus is to raise AT and wilderness awareness among an age group that hasn't had as much exposure to the outdoor world as previous generations.

rafe
02-15-2007, 01:03
Most of the maintainers that I've met on the trail appear to be middle aged or retired folk.

Paws
02-15-2007, 01:18
It's not just today's youth who are "plugged in, not out or disconnected from nature." However, I think it's most unfortunate when young people do not have the opportunity to live in close proximity to the natural world.

I would call to the thread starter's attention that "plugged in" if it means spending time online is not necessarily bad. It's one way of maintaining connectedness with the natural world by learning about it and forming relationships with people who share an interest in it. Even television isn't necessarily bad. There are wonderful programs available that can help people connect.

While these indirect connections are valuable, I prefer to see people making a more direct connection. We don't all need to be out hiking in the backcountry. That wouldn't be desireable even if it were possible.

There are other ways to connect with the natural world too. One activity that I think holds great promise is gardening. It's an activity that brings people into direct contact with their surroundings and improves them in the process. Caring for public spaces brings people together to learn about the natural world and this kind of interaction improves both the people who engage in this activity and the world on which they depend for their sustenance.

Thanks Shades of Gray - I guess I should clarify - plugged in referring more to video games/ipods but also including TV and the computer, though I agree, that the internet can be a valuable source of information when used for that purposes. I wonder though about television - there are great programs out there depicting nature in all of its grand wonderment, which I enjoy myself from time to time but through the eyes of a child may seem exoctic, far away, and perhaps unattainable to child not realizing that nature exists in their own backyard. Experiencing nature hands-on makes a realistic lasting impact. I would agree too, that its not just today's youth who are "plugged in" which perhaps compounds the situation even more. And gardening is a great way for both to grow in nature.:)

Peaks
02-15-2007, 10:49
Hey Weary, If you had to guess - what would you say the average age of a trail maintainer would be?:)

I think some one figured out the average age of those that attend the ATC Bienneal conference and found that it was it was late 40's or early 50's as I recall. Dispite attempts, the conference attracts very few families and "young" people. It's mostly the retired crowd.

The problems are not unique to ATC. Many organizations, including churches, face the same ageing population problem.

ASUGrad
02-15-2007, 12:14
A lot of local college students and Scout troops are involved in trail maintenance. They try to do it in the "off season".

passinBYE
02-15-2007, 13:33
Now that I think about it... I use to live in Michigan and I lived here in Tennessee as a child... and I went to Laurel Fork Falls.. but it wasn't until I was an adult did I ever realize that trail I used to go to those falls.. was actually just a small piece of trail that spanned 2,174 miles passing through 14 states.. I bet is I was to go to local school here in Hampton there would maybe only a small number of students that actually knew that as well... I wonder if Bob Peoples would be game for a few elementary feild trips?

Lugnut
02-15-2007, 16:19
Bob Peoples has set up a partnership with the TN - Eastman hiking club and East Tn. State using students in maintaining programs. As I understand it they get some kind of points for participating and the best part is that the trail has gained several new hikers who continue help on their own time. Bob says he is doing this specifically to insure that someone will carry on after the old guys, and gals, are no longer able.