Neighborhood Outdoor Adventures – Extension and Organization Support

Del Benson, Professor and Wildlife Specialist

The following ideas are provided as a guide for Extension and other organizations to reach out to more youth and adults in neighborhoods and to form lasting behaviors about the out-of-doors.
1. Make plans for your organization to reach more people in more neighborhoods more often.
2. Try new methods because the old methods resulted in fewer participants in many nature-based outdoor activities such as angling, hunting, golf, and visits to parks. Richard Louv’s book entitled “Last Child in the Woods” suggests that modern youth have “Nature Deficit Disorder.”
3. Organize “block leaders” to spread the word. See the last blog with ideas for finding and empowering block leaders.
4. Ask block leaders to find interested parents, youth and more leaders on more blocks.
5. Provide leaders with 40 Neighborhood Outdoor Adventure ideas (see earlier blog) and other materials from 4-H or other sources of environmental materials.
6. Supply leaders with procedures, content materials, fact sheets, and door prompts to share with others.
7. Establish procedures for participants to be part of Extension and 4-H or other existing community organizations.
8. Maintain lists of leaders and youth.
9. Have success stories published internally for recruiting others and available for with local media to use.
10. Advertise “Neighborhood Outdoor Adventures” opportunities with local media
11. Link the neighborhood activities with other environmental activities in the community such as field days, visits to local parks and environmental learning centers.
12. Link with school and after school programs.
13. Become part of the community network that works with kids in nature.
14. Use county fairs to promote, acknowledge and to show off Neighborhood Outdoor Adventures.
15. Use county fairs as a forum for promoting and celebrating Outdoor Adventures beyond the current scope.
16. Supply or encourage creation of T-shirts or other paraphernalia to help promote a local identity.
17. Make sure participant know about LandHelp.info so they can see what is happening in other places and they have a constant resources to use for more information.
18. Contribute to this blog so we can improve and help others to help themselves.
19. Create Neighborhood Outdoor Adventures in your neighborhood.
20. Enjoy nature where you live with the ones that you love.