Coast

A triathlon isn’t something you’d ordinarily do on a lark, certainly not an Olympic length (0.9-mile swim, 25-mile bike and 6.2-mile run) or longer. A sprint tri, on the other hand … .

Face it, as we near the end of the year do you find yourself without a physical achievement on your 2014 list? And are you aware that the opportunities for such are quickly dwindling? Redemption could be yours this Saturday at the Wilmington YMCA Sprint Triathlon at the Blockade Runner in Wrightsville Beach. A 12-mile bike ride (doable), a 5K run (likely doable), a 1,500-meter swim (you can make it — may the tide be with you!), all points to a salvaged 2014.

Logistics: Saturday, Sept. 27, 7 a.m., Blockade Runner, Wrightsville Beach.  $70 if you sign up before Saturday, here.

Saturday forecast: Sunny, high of 80.

Piedmont

It’s Take A Child Outside Week, and one of the best places you can take a child outside is a North Carolina State Park. In observance of this annual event, many state parks are holding TACO events this weekend. Saturday at Morrow Mountain State Park, for instance, there’s a Kids in Parks Track Trail Hike. The focus on this roughly half mile hike that lasts an hour is on checking out nature.

Logistics: Take A Child Outside Week runs through Sept. 30. You can find out more about the event at the N.C. Museum of Natural Sciences TACO website, you can learn more about the Morrow Mountain hike Saturday and other events at North Carolina’s State Parks, here.

Saturday forecast: Should be a nice weekend throughout most of the state.

Mountains

Saturday is National Hunting and Fishing Day, and the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission will  celebrate the annual event its Pisgah Center for Wildlife Education off US 276 north of Brevard.

A variety of family-oriented events are planned, including hands-on fishing, outdoor cooking, archery and pellet rifle range events. While you’re there, you can also visit the fish hatchery, where three types of trout are raised for release in local streams. And, you can take a three-mile hike up to John Rock.

Logistics: Saturday, Sept. 27, 10 a.m.-3 p.m. More details and directions here, more information on National Hunting and Fishing Day, here.

Saturday forecast: Sunny, high of 73.

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Those are our thoughts on the weekend. Find more options at the sources listed below.

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The post This weekend: A tri, a TACO, a wildlife education appeared first on GetGoing NC!.

“They draw pictures of bears and lions and all these really big animals,” says Weems, the center’s senior manager of early childhood programs. At the end of the program, when she asks them to draw a picture of what they actually did see at this 45-acre natural oasis in the heart of Raleigh, she gets sketches of tadpoles, frogs, crickets, ladybugs … .
“The reality is it’s really much more fun to get close to a lady bug,” says Weems, who has been in the business of exposing kids to the outdoors for 30 years.
The reality is also that today more than ever, too many kids like the ones viewing Prairie Ridge as a wild jungle have only a vague notion of what’s going on outside their living room windows.
That’s why in 2006, N.C. Museum of Natural Sciences’ Director of Education Liz Baird deemed it necessary to create Take A Child Outside Week, seven days at the end of September dedicated to introducing our increasingly insulated youth to the great outdoors. Take A Child Outside Week 2013 begins Tuesday and runs through Monday, Sept. 30. At least 82 Take A Child Outside-related programs are scheduled throughout the state. (To find an event close to you, check our calendar, here.)
“The average child spends seven hours a day in front of a screen,” says Baird, “with no logged time outdoors. Obviously, we still need to remind parents to get their children outside.”
Take a Child Outside Week was spurred by Richard Louv’s 2005 bestseller, “Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children from Nature-Deficit Disorder,” an account of how, in less than a generation, our kids have gone from being weaned in the wild to garrisoned in the great room.
To anyone who came of age pre-1980, the notion of having to be reminded to go outside and play would have seemed crazy; outside — in a local forest, along a nearby creek, in a neighborhood park — was where kids went to escape. But as Louv notes, a proliferation of electronic options and increasingly protective parents have conspired to keep our kids inside.
Some disturbing numbers:

• According to at least three studies conducted between 2001 and 2005, children spent half as much time outdoors as they did 20 years earlier. A 2012 study by the Outdoor Foundation found that the trend has continued, with youth participation since 2006 dropping across the board, with the greatest decline among 6- to 12-year-old girls.
• A Kaiser Foundation Family study found that kids 8 to 18 years old devote an average of 7 hours and 38 minutes to “entertainment media” in a typical day.
• In a typical week, according to a 2008 Children & Nature Network report, only 6 percent of children ages 9-13 play outside on their own.
• Time outside is important, because:
• At least two studies, in 2005 and in 2007, found that children who play outside are more physically active, more creative in their play, less aggressive and show better concentration.
• According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, 60 minutes of daily unstructured free play is essential to children’s physical and mental health. (American Academy of Pediatrics, 2008)
• Kids exposed to the outdoors via “wild nature activities” before the age of 11 grow to be adults more concerned about the environment.

Weems has borne witness to the trend of children separating from the natural world during her 30 years on the job
“There’s a growing gap between child and parent,” she says. “I think sometimes parents forget the joys of just being outside. Slowly, we have to let them explore their world.”
Weems and Prairie Ridge hope to narrow that gap with their new Nature Playspace, which will be unveiled Saturday, Sept. 28.
Nature Playspace is a one-acre playground with a “water feature, a groundhog tunnel big enough for me to crawl through, stumps to balance on and logs to pick up and look under.”
“In a world of ‘don’t touch,’ we want to send a message of please touch,” says Weems. “Please look underneath that rock, you are welcome to move that log.”
The area is designed as a safe place for kids to observe the wild, says Weems. “We’ve removed some of the barriers that parents often are concerned with. We’ve removed the poison ivy, the pokeberry. It’s a little less intimidating.”
That said, Weems acknowledges that one of the benefits of exploring the true wild is that it teaches kids to evaluate risk, to be aware that everything may not be safe and that you need to make those determinations on your own. The Nature Playspace is a first step in letting parents give their kids some space in the outdoors.)
Many of the Take A Child Outside Week events scheduled statewide are likewise geared toward letting parent and child explored together. At Shelley Lake in Raleigh on Tuesday, for instance, there’s a “Family Sunset Walk” intended to expose the natural world after dark. “Festival in Motion” on Saturday at Raleigh’s Walnut Creek Wetland Center includes a range of kid-friendly activities geared toward exposing families to a wetlands. And Saturday’s “Talking Turkey” program lets kids explore the unfamiliar outdoor world through the more familiar world of crafts.
TACO founder Baird says the opportunities to take a child outside over the next week offer an opportunity that no kid should miss out on.
“We need to let kids take advantage of childhood while it lasts,” she says. “Childhood is not something to be rushed through.
“Explore. Play. Be outside.”

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Find an event

Looking for a scheduled outdoor program you and your kid can enjoy during Take A Child Outside Week? Great Outdoor Provision Co. has assembled the most comprehensive list of events in the state, 82 events in all, broken down by the following geographic areas: Charlotte, Greenville-Wilmington, Triad, Triangle. The events begin today and run through Monday. You can find the events here.

Make your own event

The Take A Child Outside folks offer tips on making your own outdoor adventure. Click on the link for direction.

• Getting Started: Simple activities for all ages and seasons
• Animal Signs and Observations: Activities that encourage discovering animal signs and making observations
• Trees and Other Plants: Activities that facilitate the exploration of woods and fields
• After the Sun Goes Down: Activities that involve discovering the night world

Resources

Find out more about the importance of kids being in the outdoors through these resources:

• The Children & Nature Network “Building a Movement to Reconnect Children and Nature” is the mission of this site, established to collect and distribute information between researchers and individuals, educators and organizations dedicated to children’s health and well-being. “C&NN also promotes fundamental institutional change and provides resources for sharing information, strategic initiatives and success stories.” Richard Louv, author of “Last Child in the Woods,” which sparked the get-kids-back-outside-where-they-need-to-be is chairman and co-founder.
• US Play Coalition A unit of Clemson University’s College of Health, Education and Human Development, the coalition is made up of anyone — from parks and rec directors to health officials to concerned individuals — interested in getting kids up and playing. Their focus isn’t entirely outdoors, but their very mission calls for a goodly amount of outdoor play.
• Nature Grounds The focus of this non-profit is to make nature a more integral part of playgrounds. Encourages playgrounds less reliant on standard playground equipment and more focused on natural elements that let kids create their own adventures, as is the case with The Nature Explorer Zone at Reedy Creek Nature Center in Charlotte.
• Green Hearts: Institute for Nature in Childhood Another non-profit founded to get kids back outside. Founded by Ken Finch, a former vice president of the National Audubon Society.
• Richard Louv’s Web site Richard Louv wrote the book on why kids need to play outdoors; it’s called “Last Child in the Woods” and it makes a compelling case, even if you’re an avowed shut-in.

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Explore the largest overwintering population of waterfowl along the East Coast at Lake Mattamuskeet, learn who your winter hiking companions are, or hike the Celo community. It’s all possible this weekend in North Carolina.

Coast

This one is well worth the price considering its a waning chance to sit in on a nature program led by one of the state’s premier naturalists. Friday and Saturday, the N.C. Museum of Natural Sciences sponsors “Lake Mattamuskeet Adventure,” a chance to explore Lake Mattamuskeet and the neighboring Pocosin Lakes National Wildlife Refuge, which together represent one of the largest overwintering sites for waterfowl on the East Coast. Spend day both days — 10 a.m. to 11 p.m. — learning to identify the various waterfowl, raptors and other birds that spend the season here.

The event is lead by three museum educators, Martha Fisk, Jerry Reynolds and Mike Dunn. Dunn is a longtime educator who has led folks on trips from A to Y (Acadia to Yellowstone) and who will be retiring soon. His knowledge is trumped only by his humor, a valuable resource when you’re standing in the cold for hours waiting for a merganser to take flight. He’s also the only naturalist I know who can guarantee a bear sighting — and deliver. (On this trip, in fact.)

Logistics: Friday and Saturday, Dec. 7-8, from 10 a.m.-11 p.m., $95 ($85 for Friends of the Museum).  919.733.7450, x-555 to register. More info here.

Weekend forecast: Highs in the 60s, 30 percent chance of rain both days.

Piedmont

If you plan to do a lot of hiking over the winter wouldn’t it be nice to know a little more about the forest you’ll be hiking in? Like the species of the trees you’ll be hiking amid. Identifying a tree in summer is relatively easy: just check out the leaves. Come leafless winter you need more sophisticated tracking skills, such as those that can be developed at Saturday’s Winter Tree Identification hike at Lake Crabtree County Park in Morrisville. “Learn how to identify several common species through the use of twigs, buds, bark, and growth habit,” promises the program description. “Hand lenses and field guides will be provided.”

Logistics: Saturday, Dec. 8, 10 a.m.-Noon. Free. More info here.

Saturday forecast: 68 and partly cloudy.

Mountains

This sounds like a different kind of mountain hike: Saturday, the N.C. High Peaks Trail Association will lead a 6-mile hike around the Celo community at the foot of the Black Mountains. “We’ll be hiking on a network of wide, well maintained trails, with modest elevation gain,” says the non-profit, which is devoted to preserving and protecting the North Carolina high country’s highest country.

Logistics: Saturday, Dec. 8, meet at the Burnsville Town Square at 8:30 to carpool. More info here.

Saturday forecast: High of 61, partly cloudy.

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Those are GGNC’s thoughts for an active weekend. Find out other ways you can get out this weekend by browsing our super calendar, a collection of events calendars from throughout the state, below.

Coast

CapeFearCoast.com
Comprehensive calendar for the Cape Fear/Wilmington/southern N.C. coast searchable by date and event name.

Coastal Guide
Comprehensive calendar including nature programs from a variety of costal conservation and research agencies that offer nature programs. Covers the entire coast.

Crystal Cost Tourism Authority
Comprehensive calendar focusing on the Crystal Coast. Good source for programs offered by N.C. Coastal Federation, Cape Lookout National Park, N.C. National Estuarine Research Reserve and other costal conservation and research agencies that offer nature programs.

NCCoast.com
Comprehensive calendar including programs for the Outer Banks and Crystal Coast.

North Carolina Coast Host
Comprehensive calendar for the entire coast that lets you search for events by day, by region, by county, by city or by event (based on key word).

This Week Magazine
Primary focus is the Crystal Coast (North Carolina’s coastal midsection).

Mountains

Asheville Citizen-Times
From the main page, click on “Outdoors,” then WNC Outdoors calendar.

Blue Ridge Outdoors
Searchable calendar lets you extend your reach to events throughout the mid-Atlantic and Southeast (or you can just limit it to North Carolina). Also lets you search a boatload of categories, ranging from Hiking, Mountain Biking and Climbing to Trail Running, Triathlon and Road Walking.

The Mountain Times
From the main page, click on “Calendars,” then Main Events.

Todd’s Calendar

Piedmont

Charlotte

Charlotte Observer events calendar
Comprehensive calendar searchable by category, including Nature, Recreation, Recreation & Wellness, Running

Charlotte Parent
Comprehensive calendar concentrating on things the family can do together.

Triad

GoTriad.com
Comprehensive calendar includes a Sports & Recreation category.

Piedmont Parent
Comprehensive calendar concentrating on things the family can do together.

Triangle

Triangle.com
Comprehensive calendar searchable by category, including: Birding, Boating, Cycling, Nature, Rec & Wellness, Recreation, Running, Swimming, Tennis, Yoga.

Carolina Parent
Comprehensive calendar concentrating on things the family can do together.

Statewide

Office of Environmental Education
One calendar for the numerous Environmental Education Centers statewide.

North Carolina State Parks
Lets you search for programs at the state’s parks, recreation areas and natural areas by location, by month, by topic. To reach the calendar from the home page, click on “Education,” then “Fun & Free Programs at Parks.”

National Forests in North Carolina
From the home page, click on Carolina Connections for news updates on the state’s four national forests as well as hints on recreational opportunities and a detailed rundown of recreation areas and the amenities at each.

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The post This weekend: commune with nature appeared first on GetGoing NC!.

As Take A Child Outside Week draws to a close and as we segue into National Childhood Obesity Awareness Month comes the disturbing news that the nation’s childhood obesity epidemic may be even worse than the numbers suggest. First, to recap those numbers: Nearly 20 percent (19.6) of the nation’s kids ages 6-11 were considered obese in 2008 (up from 6.5 percent in 1980), while 18.1 percent of 12- to 19-year-olds were obese in 2008, up from just 5 percent in 1980; In North Carolina, more than a third of our kids are either obese or overweight.

Bad as those numbers are, the National Council on Childhood Obesity Awareness Month says one of five parents may be guilty in under-reporting their child’s weight, thereby skewing the statistics. One of the goals of October’s inaugural National Childhood Obesity Awareness Month is to raise awareness about the problem and give parents and kids direction in trying to live a healthy life.

Now, perhaps you’re thinking that the issue is overblown, who cares if Dick isn’t on the track team, or Jane doesn’t do gymnastics: They need to focus more on their studies so they can compete in this increasingly competitive global climate. Which is exactly why they need to be active, according to a recent study that found a link between physical activity and brain development in 9- and 10-year-old kids. According to MRI results, kids who are more active tend to have a bigger hippocampus, the hippocampus being a device inside the brain associated with learning and memory, specifically with spatial reasoning and other cognitive tasks. So, which do you want for your kids: A bigger hippocampus or gluteus maximus?

And despite the rain, this is a great time to start bulking up your child’s hippocampus. As posted last week, this is Take A Child Outside Week and there are all sorts of programs going on aimed at getting your kids moving outdoors. Thursday, for instance, there’s a TACO event scheduled at the N.C. Museum of Natural Sciences’ Prairie Ridge facility in Raleigh.

Go here for more on TACO and where to find TACO-related events statewide.

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