SALT LAKE CITY – September 17, 2015 (Gephardt Daily) – It’s a fact: kids are spending an increasing amount of time in front of a screen and an ever shrinking amount of time outdoors.
Salt Lake’s answer to this emotional and physical health problem is to launch the SLC Kids Explore program. And it comes with a challenge to local children and their parents to spend 30 minutes a day outdoors connecting with nature for a 30-day period.
Mayor Ralph Becker issued the challenge saying, Salt Lake is that “rare gem of a city” where “residents can enjoy the benefits of living in a major metropolitan area,” Â while walking, biking, or driving a short distance to “one of the country’s most beautiful outdoor recreation resources.”
Becker and organizations supporting the Go, Seek, Discover: 30 Minutes in Nature for 30 Days program are also interested in cultivating a new generation of environmental stewards who will focus on issues like climate change and ecological balance as they become adults.
In Becker’s words, the program is one way Salt Lake can help its youth “make a stronger connection with the outdoors and nature from their backyards to the back country.”
There is a free directory of nature activities on a new public calendar that can be accessed at www.goseekdiscover.com. The site offers ideas for families to get active and an area where participants can post their activities, share stories and earn activity pass rewards for themselves and their families.
