- Hello and welcome to another Ohio Learns 360 webinar.

My name is Zaria Johnson, reporter at Idea Stream Public Media, and today we'll be speaking with Jen Dennison with the Ohio Department of Natural Resources, and we'll be talking about outdoor learning.

Thanks for joining me.

- Thanks for having me.

- I wanted to start with just asking you a little bit about your job, and what you do with the Ohio Department of Natural Resources.

- So I am the Education and Outreach Manager for the Division of Wildlife, which is part of ODNR, and basically I oversee all of our education programs, our marketing, our website, our social media, and our adult outreach programs.

- And how have children's or parents' relationships with the outdoors changed in recent years compared to previous generations?

- Well, it used to be a lot easier to be outside, to be honest.

You know, there's less green space now, unfortunately.

There's a lot more time commitments put on kids.

There's lots and lots of reasons that things are so much more, not as accessible as they used to be.

It's just not the case now that kids are spending enough time outdoors.

- And when we think about those previous generations, what sort of outdoor activities might they have had the opportunity to participate in compared to kids today?

- Well, it's a lot, again, it's a lot more accessible.

We're a lot more urbanized than we used to be.

Access to urban parks is not as prevalent as it should be, but even kids in the country, so to speak, they don't spend a lot of time outdoors either.

I think that's a misconception that we have.

Those kids are spending just as much time indoors on their phones, on computers.

They're also pretty overscheduled.

There's pressure from society to have kids involved in so much stuff, pressure for good grades, and excellence in sports, and that, you know, just life stresses in general seemed to be taking their toll on our kids.

COVID didn't help that.

COVID added a lot of stress to this younger generation, but then also because of COVID, we saw a lot more people spending time outdoors.

So it was a kind of a catch-22 situation.

But so much has changed since we were kids, even you and I both.

It's just the amount of pressure put on children nowadays and they just don't have time to be kids anymore, just based on the research that I've seen and then my own personal experience with my own daughter and her friends.

So it's just a lot of pressure to be moving and doing something constantly.

They don't have time to relax anymore.

- And how much time should children be spending outside on average?

- So that's a great question.

I had to look that up in a couple different studies, but ideally it's two hours a day, which as a busy mom myself, I thought, "Oh my gosh, how could you possibly do that?"

But even as little as a half an hour outside has its benefits.

So somewhere between a half an hour and two hours is ideal.

The more time the better.

But if that's all you can do is a half an hour, that's better than nothing.

It also showed that boys spend more time outdoors than girls, which I thought was interesting.

And the high schoolers spend the least amount of time outside, and that's probably because, again, they have such busy schedules.

- What are the dangers of not meeting the half an hour to two hour goal of outdoor time?

- Well, we know that spending time outdoors has a lot of great physical benefits from little kids all the way up to high school.

There's physical benefits, such as the actual physical exercise, but even also it has been shown to help nearsightedness.

If you've got kids spending time outdoors, they use those eye muscles to look at things in varying distances, which can keep them from requiring glasses at an earlier stage in life as opposed to having something in front of their face all the time at that same distance.

If they're looking at a bird far away, or a cloud, or trees, or things in between, that exercises those eye muscles, and it keeps them from getting nearsightedness.

And then also the mental health benefits are there too.

Reduce stress, increased attention, and observation skills, those are all big benefits.

- Did you find any other cognitive benefits to being outdoors in your work or in your research?

- Oh goodness.

There's not a teacher in the world that won't tell you that going outside and applying what you've learned in the classroom is a much bigger benefit than watching a video or doing a handout, all of those things have their place and benefits, but for a child to be able to take what they've learned in the classroom, and apply it to something outside or experience that same topic outdoors is much more memorable, which helps with retention for testing and quizzes and things like that.

Maybe a great example would be, you know, you can draw out the lifecycle of a monarch, but if you go out, and you look for eggs, and you look for caterpillars, and you look for the chrysalis, and you see the adult, you're gonna remember that much more than what you drew on that piece of paper.

And so those are some big cognitive benefits for learning outside.

- And how can parents get the most out of outside play or outside learning?

Let's say they only have 30 minutes one day.

What should they be doing to get the most out of that time?

- I think if you can combine that physical activity, and the quiet pieces, like maybe taking a walk first before you cut 'em loose on a playground, obviously they're both hugely beneficial, but if you take a little bit of time to take a little walk, look at the birds, look at the butterflies, look at the plants, and I think sometimes parents are, you know, intimidated by this.

They don't know what this stuff is, and that's okay, because you can make a little sketch, take a picture, whatever the case may be, when you're done with your hike, go let 'em play on the playground or play with their friends and get that physical aspect in, and let 'em wear themselves out.

And then when you get home or maybe you stopped a library and you can look up those things or find an app that is appropriate for you on your phone and you can identify those things and then you're learning together and it's much more memorable for your child as well.

If you are learning together, that's always a fun thing.

- That's a really good point, and how should outdoor play or outdoor learning activities change over time as a child gets older and moves on from elementary school activities to high school activities?

- So there's a little bit of, there's a little bit of brain research with this.

When the kids are little, obviously safety is important.

You have to be mindful of allergies and other safety issues, but you pretty much should just let them dictate how they wanna play.

There's so many parks out there now that have these natural playgrounds where they let the kids get dirty, they build things with sticks and rocks, that kind of self-directed play is important for encouraging imagination and creativity.

But as they get older, you kind of let them dictate those interests as well.

But you're also dealing with a teenager that has, you know, more of a prevalence, or more of a tendency to wanna take a little more risk.

So you might introduce them to more of those adventure type activities, like camping, or fishing, or hiking, or sorry, camping, fishing, kayaking, hiking, rockclimbing, anything that takes advantage of that increased sense of adventure is gonna be inherently interesting to them as they get older.

- Now for older kids, speaking from experience, I know by the time I was in high school I was craving independence and finding ways to do activities without my parents more and more.

Is there a way that parents can be mindful of encouraging outdoor learning and outdoor access without always needing to be present with their kids?

- Yeah, I think you could treat it the way you do any other activity that they're involved in.

Let them go as a group instead of maybe going to a movie or walking around the mall, they get to go to a park or they get to go to a nature center, or they get to go to the rock climbing wall at the metro park, or they get to attend a program at a local park that's made for teenagers.

Letting them do that on their own, and experiencing that on their own is always a good thing.

You can do it the same way.

It's just the venue is a little different and the topic's a little different.

- I'm wondering what are some options for someone who might live in a city where there aren't any convenient parks or maybe there aren't any safe parks and how they can get the most out of their outside time with their kids.

- It is tough, the lack of green space, as I said, is one of the reasons why kids, especially urban kids, aren't spending as much time outdoors.

Check with those local park districts and see if there's anything on the bus line, if that's a transportation issue.

Combining trips to like maybe the grocery store or to Target or whatever, and then taking a little side trip to a local park that you wouldn't normally be able to walk to is always a good thing too, it saves time and fuel if necessary.

Check out your YMCAs and other community organizations, churches, conservation organizations that might have a nearby nature center that help parents find ways to engage their kids in outdoor activities.

There's always programs and things going on for kids at these facilities and these organizations, they're just as much interested in getting your kids outside as you are as a parent.

So make sure you check those out.

- Are there any outdoor learning opportunities with the Department of Natural Resources that kids can get involved in?

- So we have, of course our state parks, our state parks are really upping their game in terms of what the programs the naturalists are providing.

We are also in the process of renovating a bunch of our nature centers at our state parks and then our wildlife areas.

Wildlife Division has a couple of shooting ranges where the kids can go and learn to shoot archery, or shotgun, or a rifle, or handgun, and do that in a safe, and responsible way so that it gets engaged in that, and then of course we have tons of fishing programs.

We work with a lot of urban park districts to provide fishing opportunities in urban areas.

We have increased our fish stocking in our urban areas as well, so that there is more opportunity for kids to catch a fish in a local pond as opposed to having to maybe go all the way up to Lake Erie or to a wildlife area that's not anywhere near them, they can do it right there on their own city in some of those nice little ponds that cities have, so we've increased that outreach as well.

And then we also work with classroom teachers to provide a curriculum that is focused on getting kids outdoors so they can get that experience as part of their classroom learning as well, we have a couple of curriculums.

We have Project Wild, which is what I coordinate, and then we also have Project Learning Tree.

And then the Ohio EPA has Project Wet, which are all three great curriculums that get kids outdoors as part of their activities.

We have lots of good stuff, we have lots of resources on our website.

We've got Feel Goods, we've got Kids Magazine, we've got all kinds of stuff.

So ohiodnr.gov and just look for Environmental Education.

- It's just being outside with your kid as good as playing outside or learning outside.

For example, if you maybe only have 30 minutes, but you just have to walk to the grocery store really quick, is that good enough?

- Yeah, anytime outdoors is beneficial.

You don't have to physically be doing something, you could be just laying in a hammock and reading, or just laying on a blanket and watching the clouds.

I mean, you could be doing anything outdoors, but spending time outdoors is a boost to your mental health as well as your physical health and anytime outdoors is good.

- And what about children dealing with anxiety?

Are there any strategies that parents can use outside to sort of help them find ways to enjoy it?

- So kind of that same thing.

If you give them time and space to do their own thing, they will find a way to relax.

They will find a way to settle down, just provide 'em with the tools to do so.

So that, again, that might be that blanket, it might be a book, it might be some music while they're laying out there.

It might just be a chair in the corner of the yard, or you know, a small short walk in a park where you're just not saying anything, you're just walking and looking.

Anything like that can be helpful to kids that are dealing with some anxiety.

Just providing that space to allow them to collect themselves and think about things or not think about things depending on the situation can be very helpful for anxiety.

- And are there any different or unique benefits to outdoor play and learning for children with autism?

- There's lots of really good research out there about the benefits of outdoor play, and it's really quite honestly not that much different than for neurotypical kids.

If you're a child with autism experiencing time outdoors does a lot of the same things with physical abilities, increasing your large motor and small motor skills, your observation skills, self-regulating your emotions, and you're also maybe in an opportunity to explore some new skills in a place that's not quite so crowded and busy that is maybe overstimulating to them.

And so if you're outside, you can maybe learn how to walk on a log, you know, and practice those balancing skills, but you don't have a bunch of kids around you making a bunch of noise, you know, you just got birds and other things.

And so it's quiet, and you've got time to really settle down, and process those skills, and learn 'em at a pace that's perfect for you with your benefits.

I lost my train of thought there.

Again, it's not much different than what it would be for a neurotypical kid.

Situational awareness, reasoning skills, reduction in stress and anxiety.

All of those popped up in the research for benefits for kids with autism.

- How can parents minimize the impact of things like allergies and bug bites when they're outside with their kids?

- So really this is about being prepared.

I always advocate for teachers and parents to have a bag that has some key items in it that would be helpful and would improve the experience for your students or your kids.

So you might have a little backpack that has safety items like a first aid kit, pain relievers, allergy pills, tweezers for ticks, any medications or inhalers that your children might need, bug spray, sunscreen, a water bottle, a hat and sunglasses and appropriate footwear, and a change of clothes in case they get dirty, then they're uncomfortable again pretty quickly.

Those kinds of things can go a long way to making that outdoor experience a success.

And also, I always tell parents and teachers try to temper your reaction to things, like I'm terrified of spiders, and I try really hard not, I know that sounds funny coming from a nature person, but spiders are not my thing (laughs).

I can handle most other things, but I can't handle spiders.

And so when I'm with my daughter, I try not to freak out when I see a spider, I try to just kind of let her know that it's there and I try not to panic, because that's gonna get passed on to them.

Like for example, if you freak out when you see a tick crawling on your kid, your kid is forever going to be terrified of ticks.

But if you're calm, you get your tweezers out, you pick that tick off and you say, "Hey, we're done.

That's good," and you move on, then that's a much more positive interaction with nature than if you freak out, and so I always try to make sure parents and teachers understand that their reaction is really gonna impact how their children feel about spending time outdoors and how they react to anything that might be a little bit of an adversary to them.

- What are some resources that parents can use to maximize being outside or getting their kids outside?

- Oh my goodness, there are so many organizations that are just aching to get your kids outdoors.

The National Wildlife Federation has magazines and videos to help kids understand how to safely spend time outdoors, how to positively interact with wildlife and other parts of nature.

US Forest Service has a lot of resources and places to go, things to do, National Park Service also.

One really good one is the Children and Nature Network.

They have a collection of resources to help parents understand the benefits of time outdoors.

They have a whole research segment on their website that has tons and tons of great information.

And again, lean on those local park systems, the county systems and the city systems both, they all have great programs and resources for parents to get their kids outdoors and they're right there in your backyard.

So definitely lean on those resources.

- And in your personal experience with your time spent outside with your daughter, is there any activity that you really enjoy doing together or something that you've done with your daughter that worked out really well?

- She and I like to bird watch.

She's still learning, but we've been in the car before, and I've seen a bird off in the distance and the binoculars are in the backseat and I've said, "Hey, hand me the binoculars."

And she's like, "No, I'm gonna look first (laughs)."

So I really need to get her her own binoculars now.

But we do like to bird watch, she likes to go on short hikes.

She's not much of a big walker, but she does like to go on short hikes.

But the thing that she really likes to do, she really likes to go just lay in the hammock in the backyard or sit in a chair and read.

And she's often taken her computer out there and done her homework out there when it's really nice.

So lots of things like that.

You just spending time outdoors in general, any way you can do it is good.

- Are there any recreational or educational programs in Northeast Ohio focused on getting kids outdoors?

- Well, you all are blessed with the only national park in Cuyahoga Valley, the only national park in Ohio, Cuyahoga Valley, there's tons of trails, and the Cuyahoga Valley Environmental Ed Center does a lots of great programs.

You've also got some wonderful county park system.

Cleveland Metro Park, yeah, Cleveland Metro Parks, Lorraine Metro Parks Lake Summit.

Those are all really, really good metro parks systems.

You've got the Cleveland Museum of Natural History that has a lot of wonderful outdoor spaces, Cleveland and Holden Arboretums, Shaker Lakes Nature Center, Old Woman Creek Nature Preserve so many more.

Even a lot of colleges and universities have a ton of natural spaces too.

Mount Union College has a great nature center, Kent State, Oberlin, and again, for education-wise, if you want your listeners and viewers to log into the Natural Start Network, they have a listing of nature-based preschools in the area.

And you can find that there's several scattered throughout Northeast Ohio.

Cleveland Metro Parks has two in its park system alone.

So there are lots of great things to do up in Northeast Ohio.

- And can I ask you a little bit about those nature-based preschools and what the curriculum might look like for those programs?

- So it's varied.

The State of Ohio doesn't have an official designation for nature-based preschools.

It's all done privately.

And so they vary pretty widely as far as what their curriculum is involving, but most of them spend at least half their time, if not more outdoors.

And they're very hands-on, obviously, very much engaged in outdoor play, and they even will integrate natural food sources.

They will integrate natural fibers for clothing and other things.

It just really depends on the creativity of the teachers that are involved in those programs, and they are typically before kindergarten, but there are some schools out there that extend all the way up to eighth grade as far as nature-based learning goes.

Montessori is pretty immersed in nature experiences as well.

So some of those Montessori schools are spending a lot more time outdoors than a traditional elementary school or preschool.

So there's lots of different variations and that Natural Start Network is a fantastic place to go to look for resources and curriculum.

- Thank you for speaking with us, Jen.

I really appreciate it.

- You too, thanks for having me.

- That's it for this Ohio Learns 360 webinar on the subject of outdoor learning.

There is still more to come and we hope you join us again in the future for more educational webinars for families.