We are telling our kids that nature is in the past and it probably doesn't count anymore, the future is in electronics, the boogeyman is in the woods, and playing outdoors is probably illicit and possibly illegal.

Reconnection to the natural world is fundamental to human health, well-being, spirit, and survival.

What if a tree fell in the forest and no one knew it's biological name? Did it exist?

Stress reduction, greater physical health, a deeper sense of spirit, more creativity, a sense of play, even a safer life-these are the rewards that await a family then it invites more nature into children's lives.

Unlike television, reading does not swallow the senses or dictate thought. Reading stimulates the ecology of the imagination. Can you remember the wonder you felt when first reading The Jungle Book or Tom Sawyer or Huckleberry Finn? Kipling’s world within a world; Twain’s slow river, the feel of freedom and sand on the secret island, and in the depths of the cave?

How can our kids really understand the moral complexities of being alive if they are not allowed to engage in those complexities outdoors?

No other youth group like the Scouts has trained so many future leaders while at the same time being a nature organization with its outdoor focus.