Getting outside: Kids, Geese, and Migration Toward Community
by Richard Daley
Recently I led a group of young children on a walk through the woods. We stumbled upon a clearing that allowed us to observe a flock of Canada geese flying overhead in their esteemed V-shape formation. The geese honked vehemently as they soared south on their bi-yearly exodus, leaving the children fascinated. These kids were from the inner-city, where the calls of soaring geese may be lost to them within the cacophony of the urban environment.
To some, this was a wondrous opportunity to open up their senses to perceptual experiences outside of the day-to-day, and just be. Others asked questions, and had to know more. The vastness of the wooded area alone was enough to get them thinking about the richness and depth of Mother Earth’s genius and beauty. But the charm of this moment was in the joy found in simplicity, and how easily it can be missed.
Cutting through the noise and digital dust storm is not an easy task nowadays. So many are engulfed in the glare of devices and the hypnosis of “influencers,” sadly missing opportunities to connect with the natural world. Inner-city and suburban kids are especially at a disadvantage, where cities and newer developments have generally reduced green space over the past century.
Thankfully, many community organizations and cities are coming together to achieve more green space. However, as an article in the science news magazine Eos puts it, “Done right, adding new green space in and around our cities can improve human health, revitalize ecosystems, and boost a region’s economy. Done wrong, it can worsen existing socioeconomic and ecological problems or even create new ones.”
How, then, do we do it right? I think the most important thing to consider is human well-being. That moment the Canada geese flew overhead offered a pure and direct connection for those youth, and for a few minutes, a complete immersion of varying depths and scopes into Nature and her grace. This brief period offered a respite from the hectic city life, and a glimpse of what parks and Nature connection can offer. No quantified data needed: the truth was clear and present, with value beyond measure.
The goose encounter brought up the topic of migration. Many of the kids associated the word migration with birds, as do many adults. I used the opportunity to explain how migration represents the general movement of organisms from one place to another. We talked about how even people migrate in various ways; sometimes to temporarily escape the cold of winter—in the case of snowbirds (no pun intended)— and other times to liberate themselves from unfortunate social situations like war, famine, or loss of their homes or communities. Some had questions about Native Americans—whose tribes have lived in the very area we walked upon.
This conversation conjured up introspection and compassion. What blossomed from a readily available opportunity outdoors was a learning experience, both for me and for the children looking to me for guidance in an unfamiliar place. It clarified my commitment to the important work of connecting kids with Nature. It confirmed how communities must value these interactions, and must make certain they occur more frequently. The author Richard Louv put it best, saying, “Time in nature is not leisure time; it's an essential investment in our children's health (and also, by the way, in our own).”
To make known how important this time is, we only have to look at a recent study. Out of 2,000 parents, 43% say their children would rather watch television than go outside to play with friends, while another 42% prefer to play computer games. In my heart of hearts, I hope a desire was spurred within these kids to go outside more, and spend less time staring at glowing screens. Those numbers are not only scary, but are another factor in the formula of societal deterioration that we all should be worried about. This isn’t just about what children’s preferences might be, but adult behavior as well.
I have sometimes observed a lack of enthusiasm for outdoor activities from adults—who should be the ones encouraging kids in their care to go outside—to step out of their comfort zone, and to put down the video game controller or tablet themselves. As a father, I have watched in parks and playgrounds, as parents of young children ignore their kids playing. Succumbing to the feedback loop of technological dopamine hits as they loom over their devices, they are missing their children grow up, and missing the wonder of outdoor play. We have largely disconnected ourselves from the natural world, and from true community. But life is made possible by the wisdom and brilliance of Mother Earth, everything starts with her, and to ignore this fact is to ignore life. Children should not have to wait ten years to notice a flock of geese above.
I was left humbled by these kids. But I was also left pondering this term migration—what it truly means, or can mean to different individuals. I realized that the idea of “place” in the modern, jet-setting world, may be preconditioned in our collective consciousness as a geographical location. Connecting with that study, I wondered: how do we migrate, not from place to place, but rather toward a community and cultural dedication where parents and role models encourage kids to get outdoors?
The first step is getting kids outside, and letting them submerge themselves in the marvels of Nature. If a better path is to be followed, one of meaningful collective existence within a caring and environmentally aware community, we must forge its presence. We must bring about the positive change we want to see. This starts with the one we see in the mirror.
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