I bought a t-shirt to support the Center for Environmental Education and Discovery. A naturalist friend of mine, Eric Powers, is raising money to restore a building in Bellport. Since I too am a naturalist, I find it absolutely necessary to spend a few minutes fleshing out the brief but spontaneous mission statement THINK OUTSIDE:

I agree with thinking outside. Me and thinking outside go way back. Ias a child, I played outside practically all the time. I had no computer back then. And Television was so new I only had three stations to look at. There were no cell phone interruptions when I played solt ball with my buddies.

I made forts and camps outside, played tennis, basketball, ran around playing tag, mowed my grandfathers lawn, played at the edge of his pond. I did almost all of my thinking outside. How glorious a boyhood can one have?

What did I think about outside? Here’s an incomplete list:

  1. felt good not being enclosed by four walls, floor and ceiling.
  2. felt dam good being free to shout, scream, bicycle as fast as possible
  3. feel the weather – wind mussing my hair and sunshine on my face.
  4. feel scared by wasps, marvel at carpenter bees with mysterious flight patterns.
  5. feel the shadows of tree branches and leaves in summer, the coolness of those shadows, the bark, the trunk, the branches, and the bird nests.
  6. feel the mystery of the night sky, the moon, stars, planets, meteors, dawn and dusk.
  7. feel the strange motion of big puffy clouds passing overhead.
  8. feel the earth beneath my feel while walking, running, standing still hearing sounds that come     from nature.
  9. feel the torture of those incarcerated, bedridden in hospitals, housebound, sitting in front of a      computer screen for hours
  10. feel the excitement when making discoveries, my discoveries, how they satisfy.
  11. feel the companionship of friends when I go hiking, play sports, go to the beach.

 

Thing outside. You bet. Today, more than at any time, I see people not engaged with nature, not enjoying nature, not discovering or observing, or relishing time outside.

Tom Stock                                       life member of the New York State Outdoor Education Association