Great American Backyard Campout June 26

On Saturday, June 26, 2010, thousands of people across the nation will gather in their backyards, neighborhoods, communities and parks to take part in a one-night event that will provide an experience for all generations to connect with nature.

Remember summer evenings catching fireflies, star-gazing and sharing campfire stories? Roasting marshmallows around a campfire is a simple way to create new memories for your friends, family and children. Plus the health benefits and family memories will stay with you for years to come.

National Wildlife Federation’s Great American Backyard Campout is the ideal solution for today’s indoor kids who only spend a fraction of their day outdoors. Plus it is time to recapture an essential part of childhood—outdoor play.

Join in the fun with families, friends, and communities for the sixth annual Great American Backyard Campout on Saturday, June 26. National Wildlife Federation encourages parents and kids alike to trade their website for a campsite and screen time for green time to experience a night under the stars with Mother Nature.

In the last two decades, childhood has literally moved indoors with kids spending almost eight hours per day in front of electronic media. Simply put, the nature of childhood has changed, and there isn’t much nature in it. Doesn’t leave much time to catch a firefly, does it?

Studies show that outdoor time helps children grow lean and strong, enhances creativity and attention spans, decreases aggression, and boosts classroom performance. Bottom line—healthier, happier kids.
A signature fund-raising event for the National Wildlife Federation's Be Out There movement, the Great American Backyard Campout will let kids explore a whole other world right in their own backyard, at a neighborhood-hosted campout, or at large community campouts.

When camper’s register on National Wildlife Federation’s website, they’ll get helpful information to make their camping experience a memorable one. There are also easy-to-use campout recipes, nocturnal wildlife guides, campfire songs and games, nature activities and more.

www.backyardcampout.org

Be Out There Campaign

The Great American Backyard Campout is part of the special event series from the Be Out There movement. Be Out There's mission is to return to the nation's children what they don't even know they’ve lost: their connection to the natural world. Kids today spend twice as much time indoors as their parents did, missing out on the simple pleasures and lasting mental and physical health benefits of daily outdoor time.

Be Out There's practical tools for families, schools and communities make being outdoors a fun, healthy and automatic part of everyday life. By raising awareness, inspiring behavior change and taking action, Be Out There will help get American children and families back outside--where they belong! There's a reason they call it the Great Outdoors.