I was shocked to learn that nearly half of all Americans did not go outside for recreation even once in 2018, according to the Outdoor Foundation. That means that Americans went on 1 billion fewer outdoor outings in 2018 than they did in 2008. Even worse, the number of kids between ages 6 and 12 who recreate outdoors has fallen four years in a row.
I participated in a Maine Calling show on public radio in December about how things have changed for kids since I grew up in Winthrop. As a kid, I lived outdoors, roaming the woods and bicycling all over town, often with my fishing rod. I walked a mile to school, including through the downtown, and no one worried about me. Today, kids don’t even go in the woods, and apparently a lot of their parents don’t either.
For my entire life, I found our brooks and streams to be beautiful and comforting — and yes, quite often loaded with brook trout.
I have to tell you one funny story. My wife Linda and I Facetime a lot with our little granddaughters, ages 3 and 5, who live in Massachusetts. In December, just before we dialed them up, our son Josh had the girls listen to that Maine Calling show. And just after we dialed them up, the 3-year-old was jumping up and down shouting, “Great job Grampy!”
Throughout our lives, Linda and I spent a lot of time outdoors, both in Maine and on our trips all over this country and in other countries. We hiked in spectacular places from Costa Rica to Italy, and in many national parks — our favorite was Big Bend National Park in southwest Texas — often times seeing amazing birds. Maybe we could get more people outside if they developed a passion for some kind of outside activity like bird-watching.
I have photos of our kids in Yellowstone National Park, surrounded by elk, and photos up to camp of the kids on our lawn surrounded by moose and deer. For sure, seeing wild animals is an important part of our outdoor adventures.
I have been particularly pleased that so many people have enjoyed hiking the trail on the woodlot just up the road from our house that we donated to the Kennebec Land Trust, which has a lot of great trails in this area.
Really, in Maine, there is no excuse for not getting outside, because even in cities like Portland there are some wonderful hiking trails.
I found it interesting that 63% of Americans who recreate outdoors always do so within 10 miles of their house. Less than 19% traveled 25 miles or more to recreate outside.
Given all the spectacular places we have to hike in Maine, I do hope you do some traveling to enjoy those places, from Baxter Park to the oceanside trails in Lubec.
I am hoping that more of you who do enjoy being outside, will spend some time picking up roadside trash. It astonishes and disappoints me that people toss so much garbage out the windows of their vehicles.
For a long time, I collected roadside trash once a week, starting at our house and going a couple hundred yards to Route 41 and walking all the way up to the other end of our woodlot. I would fill one bag with trash and one with returnable bottles and cans. And I would often find things like tires and anything else that you had to pay to leave at the transfer station.
To save $3 people would throw their tire on my woodlot. Sometimes I would even find a whole bag of trash. I always figured that was somebody who was leaving town and wouldn’t be here when the transfer station was open. Probably the most disgusting thing I ever found was a used condom.
OK, let’s change the subject. I did a podcast with John Hagan for the Maine Climate Change group, and included some funny stories. I hope you’ll listen to the podcast, which you can hear here: maineclimatetable.org/the-climate-common
Be sure to read John’s column about our visit, also available at that location.
And after you watch the podcast, get outside!
George Smith can be reached at 34 Blake Hill Road, Mount Vernon 04352, or georgesmithmaine@gmail.com. Read more of Smith’s writings at www.georgesmithmaine.com.
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