Go Play Outside
By Christine PietKiewicz
The fond recollection of bare feet in the wet warm grass. Dirt-dusted hands and legs; scabby knees sporting striped capris; and a gummy, gap-toothed smile brighter and bigger than the sun. I was eight years old, wearing a stellar purple flower sundress, and my parents and I had gone down to Narragansett. The forty-minute drive felt like the excursion of a lifetime to me as we crossed gargantuan bridges over sheets of sparkling sea water. I loved how the floating boats looked like flocks of seagulls from that high up. At Point Judith, I stood in the clover-studded grass and imagined myself flying over the Atlantic surrounded by dozens of colorful kites. I visualized being the captain of a magnificent ship, arriving upon this peninsula in the depths of the night, guided only by the stars and the beams from the lighthouse.
It didn’t matter where we were: the park, the woods, the yard, the pond, a vacant parking lot with dandelions growing through the cracks. We could turn any outdoor terrain into an exploration of the unknown, a treacherous journey, or a whimsy-filled utopia. It was simple, natural, and exciting. As children, our wonder belonged to us, so tangible that we could conjure it, bottle it, and carry it with us all day. Nature provides children with endless tools of the imagination to construct their unique ideas of our world. Being outdoors facilitates unimaginable growth of knowledge and creativity that allows for a better understanding of what makes up our planet. The pure intentions and compassion of a child’s love for nature is something that, if carried into adulthood, could result in a major shift in worldwide affections for our environment.
Like many of my peers, my happiest childhood memories took place outdoors: riding my bike up and down my street, collecting pine cones, acorns, and pebbles in my basket to take back to my yard and build a fairy house; swimming in the ocean, pretending that I was a fish and could talk to all of the marine animals; fishing and catching frogs and bugs in nets in a murky pond, hoping to find as many different creatures as I could. As a kid, my imagination bloomed the moment I went outdoors.
It is apparent today that children experience nature differently than I once did. With phones, tablets, and other devices being much more accessible to young kids, we have seen a decrease in interest in playing in nature or going outdoors at all. Research from the journal Frontiers and Public Health has shown that from 2019-2021, the proportion of kids who played outdoors for an hour or more a week decreased by 15%. Of course, this could be attributed to the uncertainties of the pandemic and the increase in screen time for school, but the harmful effects of this decrease in outdoor activity are extremely apparent. Children who do not spend much time outdoors are more likely to have physical health problems, such as obesity and vitamin deficiency, as well as mental health issues like anxiety or depression. A lack of outdoor play, accompanied by a major increase in screen usage at a young age, has led younger generations to have immense difficulties with attention, a decreased appreciation for the environment, and even eyesight issues.
This is deeply saddening and concerning, as, in my opinion, our childhoods should be centered around play, especially play outdoors. With outdoor play comes a surplus of imagination, creativity, joy, happiness, desire, and hope. All of these traits are important factors in mental health, and by improving the mental health of our communities, we subsequently improve the community as a whole. Get kids outside! By nurturing childhood love for nature, a life-long appreciation and curiosity about the environment is supported. This compassion could be foundational to combating climate change and other environmental issues.
My concerns don’t stop here. In my transition to adulthood, I have noticed that adults have a completely different perception of how they spend time in nature. For many in adulthood, nature becomes a place of relaxation, escape from the troubles of life and work, and a getaway to separate us from our day-to-day lives. These pure intentions have resulted in the commercialization and capitalizing of the outdoors, making the “Outdoors” something separate from society. So many beautiful natural landscapes have been turned into luxurious tourist destinations marketed toward those wealthy enough to abuse them and swiftly return to their everyday lives elsewhere. We claim to love nature, but we have taken advantage of all it provides and played a role in its decline.
I feel that this collective separation of ourselves from the outdoor world is detrimental. We must incorporate that childish whimsy that we remember so fondly into all of our outdoor experiences. By approaching natural spaces with a compassionate and open heart and mind, we will feel its benefits much more deeply and profoundly. We must be conscious of how our actions affect the landscapes around us; we must repair our relationships with our childhood selves and community histories.
I didn’t notice the heartfelt impact on my life of playing outdoors until I started to prioritize it again. I have always enjoyed being outdoors, but for many years I stifled any creative or childish energy that was stirred from walking along a bike path or swimming at the beach. A few summers ago, my friends and I decided to go for a few local hikes together, in which we climbed trees, leaped over streams, and examined with curiosity every bug or small mammal we came across. Instantly, the whimsy and joy that I had felt while creating fairy houses and pretending to be a sea creature as a child returned. I decided I wanted to constantly harness that feeling, to feed it and nurture it and everything that came with it. Now, the outdoors is a playground in which I receive constant inspiration and education, and the natural world surrounds my perception of myself, my community, and the world. We can all revisit the joy and whimsy of our childhood adventures at any time if we just allow ourselves to go play outside. H
Art by Alexandra Sicat
