In our bones we need the natural curves of hills, the scent of chaparral, the whisper of pines, the possibility of wildness.

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.

Nature has been taken over by thugs who care absolutely nothing about it. We need to take nature back.

What if more and more parents, grandparents and kids around the country band together to create outdoor adventure clubs, family nature networks, family outdoor clubs, or green gyms? What if this approach becomes the norm in every community?

The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) reports that the number of overweight adult Americans increased over 60 percent between 1991 and 2000. According to CDC data, the U.S. population of overweight children between ages two and five increased by almost 36 percent from 1989 to 1999.

Nature is about smelling, hearing, tasting, seeing.

Mothers tend to be more direct. Fathers talk to other fathers about their kids more metaphorically. It's a different way of communication.