Rachel Felder, left, a naturalist with the city of Detroit through the Detroit Outdoors program, encourages outdoor play. Wardrobe stylist Stephanie Bedell, right, of TheBagLadie specializes in plus-size fashion and thrifted fashion, and encourages the sustainability of Mother Earth through thrifting.
Get outside and play – doctor’s orders.
While almost one in three Americans are obese and annually about 600,000 Americans die from cardiovascular disease – not to mention African Americans are 30 percent more likely to die from heart disease – it’s not hard to see why engaging in healthy outdoor activities is a win-win.
It’s time to incorporate more outdoor play and exercise, among other forms of fitness, to keep reconnect with nature (regardless of your age) while simultaneously caring for the earth.
While Earth Day came and went on Friday, April 22, the message remains the same all year-long: reclaim playing outside while taking care of the earth.
EARTHDAY.ORG recently launched their Great Global Cleanup for 2022 campaign, which encourages people to unite to create clean communities.
“From harming marine and human health to clogging our waterways and littering communities, plastic pollution is threatening the survival of our shared planet. Clean ups are just one way individuals can get involved to combat this critical issue. For Earth Day 2022, ‘Invest in Our Planet’ means taking action and participating in community measures to help solve the issue of mismanaged waste,” said Kathleen Rogers, president, EARTHDAY.ORG.
The worldwide campaign encourages the removal of billions of pieces of trash from neighborhoods, beaches, rivers, lakes, trails and parks while reducing waste and plastic pollution, improving habitats and preventing harm to wildlife and humans while protecting the spaces and places that they can enjoy recreationally.
Wardrobe stylist Stephanie Bedell of TheBagLadie specializes in plus-size fashion and thrifted fashion and told the Michigan Chronicle that she fell in love with thrifting while being a major supporter of Earth Day all year long.
“Why not pay less and look good?” Bedell said adding that sustainability through her Detroit-based online business has been her “go-to” for some years.
“I think that it’s great to shop secondhand because it does help with sustainability; the landfills are full of clothing that a lot of times have tags on it,” she said of changing the narrative. “That sustainable portion of simply going shopping secondhand would help to save the earth for the long run.”
Rachel Felder, a naturalist with the city of Detroit through the Detroit Outdoors program, which engages Detroit youth with nature through urban camping, told the Michigan Chronicle that she helps youth-serving organizations bridge the gap between camping, accessibility and more, including running a nature camp out of Palmer Park.
“We’re doing events … that include cleanups and tree plantings … our main idea is to get like inner city, Detroit youth, Detroit area youth outside for them to know like they have access to these spaces,” she said. “These spaces are as much theirs as anyone else and for them to feel safe and comfortable going outside.”
Felder added that their programming camping season starts in May and they encourage youth and families to go outside more because it makes a difference.
“The family aspect is so important,” she said, adding that she started camping at 17 and that stirred a love of the outdoors in her. “This is something that we can all just do together.”
The love for outdoor play starts at an early age sometimes, too.
A new study by a coalition of organizations – including Skillman, Detroit Lions, the University of Michigan and other organizations – delved into the state of play in Michigan.
With schools returning to post-pandemic normalcy, the Coalition for Michigan Schoolchildren’s Right to Play surveyed elementary school administrators across the state, seeking to determine the state of play in Michigan, according to a press release. Convened one year ago by Playworks Michigan, a nonprofit improving the health and well-being of children, the coalition announced its official findings, with best practice recommendations, in a new report.
Key study findings:
- 20 percent of K-5 students in Michigan receive less than the recommended 20 minutes of outdoor recess each day. That represents more than 100,000 students.
- 14 percent of K-5 students in Michigan attending schools that offer recess did not have recess every day. That represents more than 100,000 students.
- Rural schools are more likely to restrict or remove recess as a disciplinary tactic.
- At urban schools, access to recess is restricted, and it is less likely recess is offered outdoors.
“While many school administrators across the state are doing a wonderful job resetting their school day after a long disruption, there is much more to be done,” said Paul Liabenow, Coalition member and executive director of the Michigan Elementary and Middle School Principal’s Association. “With 95 percent of our youth enrolled in schools where they spend nearly half of their waking hours, we have an obligation to utilize play in order to foster and grow their creativity, dexterity and cognitive and emotional strength and development – now and for their lifetimes.”
The coalition offered several “best practice” recommendations including not removing recess as a form of punishment and ensuring that it happens at least 20 minutes daily.
“All children should have access to recess, which should not be taken away for disciplinary reasons,” said Michigan State Senator Adam Hollier (D – District 2). “We know there are alternatives and a better way.”
Chris Jackson, one of the founding members of Black to the Land Coalition and Camping and Conservation coordinator at Detroit Outdoors, helps organize camping trips and other outdoor activities for urban dwellers. He told the Michigan Chronicle that Black to the Land is full of Black outdoor enthusiasts and environmental educators, among many other organizations.
“I’m also working as a member of the Detroit Outdoor Collaborative where I’m serving as Camping and Conservation coordinator,” Jackson said. “As a part of this team of dynamic individuals we are working toward removing barriers, creating opportunities, and helping increase experiences for people to make meaningful connections with nature.”
Jackson said that growing up in an urban area, everyone is engaged with all the green spaces at their disposal like backyards, alleys, school playgrounds and the like. Yet there is not a push always to go outside in the Black community.
“It seems it’s only valued by those that engage in outdoor recreation [fishing, hunting, cycling, hiking, kayaking/canoeing, etc.],” he said. “The real issue is disposable income, time, access and dependable transportation.”
He added that where there is a will there is a way.
“Find groups that are doing what it is that you are interested in doing, get outside and learn how to do it with them,” Jackson said.
