Are Vermont Kids Picking TV over Trees?

Research from Nature Conservancy and VT State Parks Confirms Trend

Montpelier, VT— 13 August 2007 — A second national study in as many years, funded by The Nature Conservancy, confirms a growing trend: more American families are spending time in front of the television and away from the great outdoors. Vermont’s reputation as an environmental-friendly and outdoor-oriented society is at risk. While the Green Mountain state still resists the decline, evidence of so-called "videophilia" is growing.

Researchers have found that “videophilia,” as they call it, can have disturbing implications for children’s mental and physical health, educational achievement, well-being, and their personal values and priorities later in life. The study, published last month in the Journal of Development Processes, also cited serious consequences for the future of conservation.

“The greatest threat to conservation…may be more subtle than bulldozers and chainsaws,” wrote authors Patricia Zaradic, Ph.D and Oliver Pergams, Ph.D. “Direct experience with nature is the most highly cited influence on environmental attitude and conservation activism.” Researchers added if the youngest generation loses that experience, the future of conservation is in jeopardy.

Per capita visits to U.S. national parks have been declining since 1987, after rising for the previous 50 years. The research demonstrated that video games, home movie rentals, Internet use, and rising fuel prices explain almost 98 percent of the decline.

Visits to Vermont State Parks, which offer traditional outdoor activities such as camping, hiking, swimming and picnicking, have decreased from the peak times of 1970’s and early 1980’s. On a positive note, park use has remained relatively stable over the last ten years, from 670,000 to around 800,000 visits per year. In the short-term weather is one of the major contributing factors, however in the long-term economic conditions, related travel patterns, electronics, and an aging population are competing for leisure time.

Craig Whipple, Director of Vermont State Parks commented, “At no time in human history have children spent less time outdoors. Attention deficit disorders, obesity and a variety of other physical and emotional ailments can be attributed to a decline in exposure to the out of doors and the natural environment.”

Lisa Purcell, co-author of Hands-On Nature and director of the Four Winds Nature Institute said, “Adults and children both benefit from spending time outdoors together. Children are naturally curious and learn about the world around them by looking, touching, exploring and asking what seems like endless questions. We adults can encourage this process, and prevent videophilia, by spending uninterrupted, unstructured time with kids outside. Turn off the TV, ignore those text messages, close up the laptop, and appreciate the world through a child’s eyes.”

In the Conservancy-funded study, researchers pointed out that outdoor play and nature experience have proven beneficial for cognitive functioning, an increase in self-discipline and emotional well being at all developmental stages. But American children, on average, are spending only 30 minutes of unstructured time outdoors each week.

Bob Klein, Director of the Vermont chapter of The Nature Conservancy noted, “This alienation from nature is a growing trend worldwide and could be the most serious threat to conservation for future generations.” He added, “Today, the majority of humans live in cities, and urbanization is accelerating so rapidly that by 2050 only a small portion of the human population will live outside urban areas. The more disconnected city dwellers are from natural landscapes, the less people understand how their well being is inextricably linked to the health of the natural world.”

Several Vermont organizations involved in outdoor recreation, health and child services have joined forces to work to reverse this trend with the “No Child Left Inside” program. Whipple adds. “We are working hard to deliver the message that playing outdoors can improve the physical and emotional health of children and can help create the next generation of environmental stewards.”

The Conservancy continues to step up its efforts to engage young people in environmental and conservation issues, through a variety of programs. Volunteer youth crews from New York City high schools, the Vermont Youth Conservation Corps and the National Civilian Community Corps are volunteering at nature preserves around Vermont this month, getting hands-on experience with nature and improving trails for future visitors. Throughout August volunteers of all age can enjoy a fun day on the water, pulling water chestnut with Conservancy staff, and on August 25th families are invited to join an Open House at North Pawlet Hills Natural Area to hike the newly improved summit trail.

The Nature Conservancy is a leading conservation organization working around the world to protect ecologically important lands and waters for nature and people. To date, the Conservancy and its more than one million members have been responsible for the protection of more than 15 million acres in the United States and have helped preserve more than 102 million acres in Latin America, the Caribbean, Asia and the Pacific. Visit The Nature Conservancy on the Web at www.nature.org.