take the TV away, and they go out and stick up a liquor store.

it is my personal humble opinion that if you have never been in the boonies, checked to see if a field of trillium have a scent, grabbed a garter snake, or slept with a chorus of wacky loons waking you up on the hour in Living 3D around your tent, you are not cultured to live in Minnesota. put a stamp on your forehead and go to a big city on the coast.

or get out more.

As a certified nature lover and global warming (climate change) denialist, I often feel that the scare put out on the fragility of Nature would make someone scared of doing anything that may harm the delicate balance. Difficult to enjoy something that you are afraid of breaking.

When I was younger, I remember going fishing and being told that cheese or Velveeta used as bait was bad for the fish (ok for kids but, not fish). I am not sure this is a good example of my point but, it still seems a funny thing to worry about.

It is so important for the parents to make nature interesting for the children. Nature can be much more interesting than any Nintendo game available. Infinite diversity, always changing, always challenging.

Being disabled it is difficult for me to be able to do many things with my daughter so I came up with this: A few years ago I took my 10-year old daughter on a nature "vacation". We live in the Colorado mountains and so one late spring day I gave her a wooden frame anout 3' on a side. I told her to take it outside and throw it somewhere in the grasses and weeds. Then we would study everything in that frame. Initially she thought it was silly and boring but within a very short time she became very enthusiastic and interested in what we discovered. We spent more than three months, virtually every day in all kinds of weather studying every last detail of what was in the wooden frame. She learned many different subjects (biology, petrology, meterology, astronomy, etc., etc.) and to this day she considers that summer her best "vacation" ever.

She is now in her early 20's and still prefers nature over video games.

Wramblin' Wreck

Aren't people not exposed to nature so much anymore because many more of them live in cities, where there isn't so much nature? And don't the new urbanists think that living in urban areas (as opposed to the evil suburbs) is a good thing? And do not even think of going for a ride to the country -- unless you have a solar powered vehicle made entirely from recycled food scraps.

When I was a lad, if I spent too much time watching tv (we had 7! channels thanks to living near NYC) my mom would just tell me to turn the tv off and go outside. Fortunately we lived in the country, so me and my dog had lots of nature to explore.

Cities are full of nature, it just isn't as "pretty" as the stuff untouched by humankind... Just take a moment to look around - squirrels, birds, rabbits, raccoons, bugs, plants... Unless you live in the heart of downtown, it's hard not to be in the presence of nature. The problem with people these days is that they just don't pay attention... They never take a moment to notice the newborn wildflower growing through the crack of the sidewalk, just before they step on it.

Not sure what my point is... I guess I don't really have a point. Just thinking out loud that nature is all around us, even in the cities, and it just takes an observant mind to notice it. The problem is that most people these days are far too self-absorbed to open their eyes to anything that doesn't concern their immediate interests.

When I was a kid I loved going out in nature. Growing up I lived in an apartment complex, but there was a creek behind the building we lived in, and I would go down there and wade in it every fargin' day of the week, mainly in the spring and summer months. In the deeper areas I'd see fish, and on the embankment I'd see the occasional snake. I once nearly stepped on a king snake I mistook for a coral ("red and yellow kill a fellow; red and black venom lack") while carrying a milk jug filled with dirt up to the playground to build a volcano or mountain with a cave out of, and another time I went across the creek to look at an old wagon that was on the other side, and was really close to a rattlesnake that was coiled up around a clutch of eggs. I nearly flew back to the other side of the creek.

When I was older, we lived in a house in a developing subdivision. There was a beaver pond behind our house. It wasn't until three years after I lived there that I took an interest in it. I built a landing out of rocks, dirt, brush, logs, whatever I could get my hands on. I cleared a trail that went behind a couple of houses that were between my house and a friend's house. His stepdad went back there and cleared a better trail. We spent many hours and days back there, exploring the woods, building up the landing, clearing more trails, doing more exploring, who knows what else. Sure, we had the computer. My friend had a Super NES with Mortal Kombat and other games. We went inside whenever it was too hot or too cold to be hanging around the beaver pond, or if it was too late. I spent all of my teenage years down in that beaver pond and those woods. They were the happiest years of my life.

You can view some pictures here.

When we sold the house, I told my parents the only thing I will ever miss from that place was the pond. I still do.

We moved into an old farmhouse that had belonged to my great-granddad. It came with over 100 acres of woods. I spent many a free hour in those woods. Sometimes I wish my parents hadn't sold that place.

My dream home is a small, 2 or 3-bedroom brick home or log cabin, built on a 200-acre tract of land, at least 75% of it wooded.

PatrickRsGhost

I'm not sure that people who care about conservation = people who get out into nature. Seems like the people who care about conservation & send their money to support banning logging and deforestation are the same ones who are quick to cut down trees on their property and complain about the ones on yours that drop leaves and block their TV reception. Getting out into nature gives one a better feel for it, but that might not be the same as the feel that Mr. Pergams wants us to have.

People who don't really know nature sentimentalize it and ruin others' enjoyment by keeping everyone away, on the grounds that the human presence ruins nature.

Just like those who fulminate against pet ownership seem to have missed out on a close, healthy experience of animals as part of the farm or family.

There's a difference between Conservation and Environmentalism. Most of those living outside of the mega-cities are conservationists while those in the skyscrapers tend to be environmentalists.

If you ever watch The Evil Redneck Huntin' and Fishin' and Killin' Shows, you'll find that most of the guys out there have a strong sense of conversation, which could be described as, "hey, this stuff is pretty neat. We should take care of it so we can take our grandkids out here later."

Whereas many urbanites of the concrete lands who couldn't _bear_ the thought of living somewhere without eight Starbucks and five nightclubs within walking distance are evangelical environmentalists. People that follow Al Gore and George Monibot who are utterly convinced that we're on the edge of the apocalypse with The Day After Tomorrow-type-weather due next week and the only solution is immediate government legislation to chase everyone out of the hideous suburbs and into sustainable Panelák.

Sure, you get an occasional forest-dwelling hippie, but a good rule of thumb is that environmental hysteria increases the further one lives from a tree that's not in a pot.

I think you have it right. To a lot of these urbanist types, it seems that the ultimate goal is to reduce humanity to the smallest possible area, with the idea that everything else remain untouched wilderness. On the other hand, I think a lot of so-called environmentalists are motivated more by general misanthropy than by any sort of desire to save the Earth, but that's beside the point.

When I was growing up, one house I lived in was right on the edge of town, with nothing but mountains and forest for miles behind it. Another house we lived in had a "canyon" (more of an arroyo really) in the back yard which provided plenty of opportunities to explore. We also had a really tall Ponderosa Pine in the backyard which got turned into a tree fort (more like a few platforms made of scrap lumber with a rickety ladder to get to them,) and frequently climbed to nearly the top of the tree as well (as high as we were sure the branches would support our weight, anyway, but still a good 40 feet up.) The surrounding area was too hilly to see much from there though.

Far too often these days, nature seems to be presented as something of an abstract concept, with a stern "don't touch it, you'll break it" admonition attached to it.

I think there are a lot of suburbanites who are interested in the outdoors... but it may not be in a traditional "let's go out and hunt a turkey" dnr type of way.

I appreciate the conservation efforts made by the DNR, but really have no interest in supporting hunting, game or fishing (ie stocking) effots... It seems this type of recreation is for one of two groups - small town folks (not meant as an insult) or mega rich "I own the world saffari type of folks. I agree interest in the type of recreation mentioned in the article has decreased - and I have no problem with this! It's not that I am a vegitarian or politically inclined in this way, it's just like it seems like public support of a "sport" like figure skating or something.

What I see as meaninful efforts are parks, trails, purchase of public lands etc.

When I was growing up, playing in my backyard and in the backyards of my friends was exposure to nature - birds, trees, earth worms, ants, daddy longleg spiders, stuff like that. But the real exploration came on my bike. We could spend from breakfast to dinner out on a ride during the summer and on weekends the other days, going through neighborhoods and parks, visiting friends and favorite 5 & 10 cent stores. I think one very important part to that was that the neighborhoods were open. You could ride through them, in effect keeping to the backstreets and off the more dangerous thoroughfares. As a kid on a two wheeler, this made it more fun. We made up convoluted ways to get from here to there and it was great fun. Being outside so much, I ran into nature quite by accident. They were great times that I tried to give my daughters a taste of as they grew up.

I appreciate the conservation efforts made by the DNR, but really have no interest in supporting hunting, game or fishing (ie stocking) effots... It seems this type of recreation is for one of two groups - small town folks (not meant as an insult)

The fees paid by people buying hunting and fishing licenses have done more for preserving habitat than anything yuppies do.

When I was a kid the summer was a bit different. My mother just told me to go play with the neighborhood kids and be back for dinner. We'd disappear all day and hike up into the hills behind my home. We might find rattlers, or tarantulas, or shoot at birds with our BB guns, or whatever. Nobody worried about human predators bothering us. Our fathers, who were just back from WW II, would have exacted quite a severe price for anybody bothering us in that fashion.

Today, I can't let my 11 year old daughter out like that. There are just demonstrably too many weird people running around. Every couple of weeks, there's a story of some kid in town being approached by a adult criminal on the way to school. So we're probably too protective, but I don't think we have a choice. Getting out in Nature suffers.

There is really so much interest in our parks and wild areas that reservations are made months in advance, if you are lucky enough to get one. Families are hesitant to take to the mtns. on the spur of the moment. There might not be a campsite which is a risk worth taking when no kids are involved but not necessarily so with them. Our national parks now seem to favor tour buses, not camping families. Even backpacking seems to always demand a permit and a trip plan. I still take my kids though and hope they will take theirs.

My kids love nature probably because I love nature. I take them camping once or twice a year. My son in the Scouts goes every month except December. He camped out in zero degree weather a few weeks ago.

I've found that if you do something and get your kids to do it with you, unless it is hopelessly boring, they will like it. During the warm months, when I go to visit family, we often camp nearby rather than stay in a hotel. At home we fish, hunt, cut wood, build fires in the backyard, have vegetable and flower gardens, etc.

Unless you are a pathetic adult, your kids will love doing most of these things with you. YOu just have to take the time and energy to do it too.

I've never been to Minnesota although my mother lived there for a while when she was young. I hear the mosquitoes are vicious.

Nature sucks !

Anyone from NYC knows that !!

when mother nature installs some grey's papaya dog outlets at conveniently located spots along well marked trails, then we'll talk, till then, it's the concrete jungle for me, thanks !

-john

When I was a kid (think Eisenhower era) we were almost chased out of the house. We were expected to go out first thing in the morning and only come back inside in case of bad weather or when it was time for meals.

Now I look at the kids in my neighborhood and their parents get them bicycles and they ride them on the sidewalk from one corner to the next, turn around and ride back to the other corner, rinse and repeat. All the playing gets done in the fenced in back yard of one house. If the kids go to the park it is totally asphalt covered with a few swings and some benches and also one basketball court and a handball court. That is it - no other park around here. The kids aren't allowed to play in the street at all. They are not allowed out of the view of their parents at all, not even to go around the block.

I'll say this - I would not trade my childhood for theirs in any way, shape or form. They must be bored to death. No wonder all they want to do is play computer games.

As for me, no, I'm not an outdoorsy girl. Even so, I still care about nature, especially animal conservation.

It's all doom and gloom. It's hard to find a nature documentary on TV anymore that doesn't end with a dire warning about looming catastrophe and a pointed indictment of human vandalism. I think it makes kids subconsciously averse to nature - the schools and eco-nuts have associated nature with negative feelings. No wonder kids would rather play XBOX.

We've got to teach kids to feel good about nature, and feel good about being in it. And yeah, lock up the crazies who prey on kids, and leave some unscheduled time for play.

A beaver pond- you were so lucky! What a great childhood. Cool photos too.

Many of the above comments or right on the mark. Environmentalist have scared everyone to death about how fragile mother nature ... she is a tough old bird that can take a beating. I agree with the commenter about the public tv type nature shows ... it always ends on a depressing note, "the fragile web of life of this ecosystem will be destroyed by humans if we don't leave it totally alone ... blah, blah, blah." That is why fishing and hunting is so important. Stop describing the web of life, be part of it and kill stuff. Hunters and fisherman are so important they actually conserve nature. Where I live so many of our parks exist because of them. These parks were private club preserves turned over to the state. If these places were not first used by fishermen these areas would have been completely developed.

I think the size of our homes is connected to the problem, too. I grew up in a house with a living room. My two children live in a house that has a family room, a living room, a sunroom, and a basement to play in. We had to play outside because there was no room to do much inside. I send my kids outside, but probably not often enough. When I let them walk up to the neighborhood park, I worry that neighbors might think I'm a bad mom for sending them off on their own. "Good parents" do things WITH their children today, don't they?