We spoke with our guest, Bethe Almeras of the National Wildlife Federation’s Green Hour. Bethe shared with us the kinds of experiences that helped to shape her own childhood. Bethe Almeras now works with the NWF to encourage families to enjoy the richness of our parks, open spaces and the great outdoors. Thank you, Bethe, for your very thoughtful
and engaging answers to the Fun Playdates.com Interview.
My favorite kinds of games growing up were…
Anything that I could play outside! If there were enough kids around, I loved to play “Kick the Can” and “Hide and Seek” — anything fun and social. But I also was never at a loss to make up my own games. I could spend hours playing in and around the little creek by my house, looking for critters or racing boats made out of leaves and twigs. I liked to build forts and pretend I was shipwrecked on an island or play detective and look for clues to solve some imaginary crime. I could make a crown of daisies with the best of them, although I still have yet to master the fine art of skipping a stone. Please note that I am not ruling out developing this skill — I will never give up!
The most important life lesson I learned from free play was…
I guess self-reliance was the most important thing — that I had everything I needed, no need to add a thing. My imagination was my only limit and, as a child, it seemed my imagination had no limits. I didn’t need things to make me happy. There was no reason to be bored or cranky; I simply needed to make up a game, go dig a hole or make a chalk mural on the driveway. Instant joy. My favorite games never came out of a box. My favorite places were right outside my backdoor. Free play taught me to think, to be creative and to find joy in the everyday.
When I look at how rapidly the 21st Century has changed our lives, the thing I miss most is…
Being disconnected. Don’t get me wrong, technology is great and serves its purpose, but it also tends to make us its slave. How in-touch do we need to be — ALL the time? That sense of quiet — of not always being connected is something I think we all miss, whether we know it or not. Whether it’s time alone, walking through a park or working in your garden, or perhaps visiting a museum or playing a game of pick-up basketball in your neighborhood. Anything that doesn’t require a device — that can allow you to just be. For me, the only thing that gets me connected to me and my world, is taking time to get disconnected.
I hope that makes sense — you’ve got to disconnect to connect. Go outside. Leave your cell phone and PDA behind. Enjoy the breeze on your face, the colors — everything that Mother Nature has to offer. Repeat daily.
My favorite snack as a kid was…
Peanut butter on celery — just hold the raisins, please. We called it Bumps on a Log, but I was a “log-only” kind of girl. To this day, I still love my “logs” and still skip the bumps! I guess some things never change. (My apologies to raisin lovers world-wide.)
My favorite TV show as a kid was…
Wild Kingdom, without a doubt! To see the amazing animals and travel to far-off places had such an impact on me. It was a show that all my brothers enjoyed as well, which is good since we only had one TV in the house. We had no doubt that Jim Fowler had the coolest job ever. I remember playing “Wild Kingdom” with friends in my neighborhood, tracking imaginary animals in the woods at the end of our street, carrying a canteen and taking notes. We were so lucky to have woods and a creek and an open field at the end of our development to play in. Sadly, that land has since been developed, like so many other natural areas many of us remember from childhood. To this day, I am still a sucker for animal shows. Between those and reading Ranger Rick magazine, it’s no wonder I ended up working in environmental education!
My favorite movie as a kid was…
Anything that was about animals — real or cartoon! I loved “Benji,” “The Rescuers” and “Pete’s Dragon.” I also loved “Pippi Longstocking,” even going through a “my socks can’t match” phase to prove it.
On winter days I liked to play…
If we were lucky enough to have snow, then we were out on the sledding hills in town. I got braver as I got older, finally working up the nerve to tackle the BIG ONE. Really, in my family you were nobody until you had tackled that hill. Oh the stories we would tell. Did you SEE her fall off the sled?! Man, he was going SO fast! Childhood glory was cemented the day you finally tackled the big hill.
I also loved to draw and paint. I would often sit in the window overlooking the back porch, sketching trees and birds and other things, both real and imagined. Somehow, the world seemed so easy to capture with my box of 64 crayons.
My opinion of Tech-Play is…
While I understand its appeal to kids and parents alike, I can’t help but think it’s missing the mark. Kids spend enough time on computers and in front of screens at school and doing homework without it being how they spend their free time. In fact, a Kaiser Family Foundation study found that the average American child spends 44 hours per week (more than 6 hours a day!) staring at some kind of electronic screen. You only get one childhood. Shouldn’t it be spent exploring the world hands-on, versus merely watching it, or even worse, engaged in some alternate reality? Can you imagine who you would be, had you not ever caught fire flies, waded in a creek, made mud pies, gone fishing, planted a flower, played a game of kickball or the countless other fun activities that can be found in your backyard and community? Do you really want your kids not to know these simple joys?
By stepping outside — trading screen time for green time — you are opening up your kids to a wonderful world of discovery. Let them relax, take a breath and explore the world around them and remind you about that world, too. When is the last time you felt sand between your toes, watched a butterfly flit to and fro or tried to whistle with a blade of grass? It’s all still there. Nature is still the best teacher and therapist any of us will ever have. Did you know that children who regularly spend unstructured time outside:
· Play more creatively
· Have lower stress levels
· Have more active imaginations
· Become fitter and leaner
· Develop stronger immune systems
· Experience fewer symptoms of ADD and ADHD
· Have greater respect for themselves, for others and for the environment.
Try giving your kids (and you!) a “Green Hour” every day, a time for unstructured play and interaction with the natural world. This can take place in a garden, a backyard, the park down the street or any place that provides safe and accessible green spaces where children can learn and play. To learn more, visit www.greenhour.org
Funplaydates
Make Soap Sachets from gently used Baby Clothes 
As Earth Day approaches, try to remember when you were a kid and what you did to celebrate this global holiday and your place on the planet.
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