Take a kid outdoors.

Bill Dance used to say "Take a kid fishing". I am going to steal that phrase but make it "Take a kid outdoors". I took my son squirrel hunting in the Norris Watershed opening day of squirrel season and had a blast imparting my love for the outdoors to my him. Late in the morning we were near a trail called Raccoon Run when we heard a whooshing sound so we moved into position to see where the noise was coming from. Flying down the trail was a group of mountain bikers and one of them was obviously a kid. My son said wow they are pretty good riders, and I agreed. They probably did not realize we were even in the woods but we were doing the same thing, taking our kids outdoors. I think we need more of these multi-use areas near our suburbs so parents can more easily involve their children in activities like hunting, hiking, biking, birdwatching, and fishing. Bill Dance is right, the more children we take outdoors the more likely they will appreciate the outdoors as adults. So lets get out there this fall and take a kid to do whatever outdoor activity we fancy and in the process we will be making the conservationists of the future.