Lake Forest Open Lands hosts “The Play Out”: Encouraging Youth to Spend Time in Nature

Lake Forest Open Lands’ hosted a successful event, “The Play Out” to encourage youth to spend time in nature on April 22, 2011 from 10 am - 1 pm at Mellody Farm Nature Preserve.  Despite wet blustery conditions over 100 participants braved the elements to attend and celebrate outdoor nature play. “The Play Out”, sparked by Chicago Wilderness’ Leave No Child Inside initiative, District 67 Earth Day celebration and the city of Lake Forest’s 150^th anniversary, encouraged families to get outside and enjoy a variety of activities promoting creativity and exploration in nature.

The event offered activities for a variety of ages and interests. The Care of Trees hosted a tree climbing station and a natural obstacle course. DK Organics hosted Mud City where children became mud engineers. Older attendees searched for hidden garden gnomes and built shelters out of natural materials. Other activity stations focused on metamorphosis, pond netting, insects, music, drawing and bird watching. Before leaving, participants planted a native prairie plant in the Earth Day garden and received a complimentary oak tree courtesy of the City of Lake Forest.

An integral part of the event was “The Pledge” – a signed commitment by students to spend 150 minutes outside during Earth Day weekend. Over 100 pledges were received from District 67 and other local schoolchildren including:

Nathan Anderson

Connor Armstrong

Julie Barber

Owen Bauder

Elliot Berry

Ryerson Birkerts

Claire Boyle

Grace Boyle

Hollister Brohan

Emily Chow

J.D. Collins

Heather Conover

Patrick Corrigan

Luke Corsiglia

Peter Corsiglia

Sophie Dave

Quinn DiTomasso

Holly Doyle

Patrick Droege

Peter Elliott

Evelyn Gehrig

Irene Gehrig

Tommy Gibbons

Wyatt Gould

Alex Graves

Emily Hait

Katie Hait

Tommy Hait

Erik Hill

Brandon Hinkle

Taylor Hinkle

Ethan Holmes

Morgan Holmes

Grant Huebner

Govanna Incisa

Ippo Incisa

Vivian Jiao

Clare Kaiser

Jack Kaplan

Ben Keller

Josh Keller

Lauren Keller

Eagan Kennedy

Charles Kuhns

Jack Kuhns

John Kuhns

Ellie Lazzaretto

Jack Lipkowski

Nicholas London

Timothy London

Henry Lunn

Jack Lunn

Ava Manelis

Parker Manelis

Gus Marchese

Luca Marchese

Sydney Martens

Yusra Mekki

Grace Mockus

Madeline Moritz

Jane Mockus

Delaney Newman

Lorenzo Nottoli

Vincent Nottoli

Cathal O’Sullivan

Lorchan O’Sullivan

Donovan Perry

William Pike

Harry Proech

Jennifer Proech

Lily Rappel

Jonathan Richmond

Samantha Richmond

Emily Robinson

Keller Ryan

Ruthanne Sandner

William Sandner

Ian Schuler

Owen Schuler

Erica Sotos

Liam Stewart

James Swartout

Thomas Swartout

Joe Thomas

Truman Thuente

Carley Walker

Carson Ward

Nina Weeks

Ainsley Wiesner

Lindley Wiesner

Jack Wildman

Redding Worth

Alexandra Zarek

Haley Zarek

Jessica Zarek

Lauren Zarek

Keira Zoghlin

Lauren Zoghlin

A growing body of research indicates that time spent outdoors in nature is critical to children’s physical, social and emotional development. Research also shows that unstructured play in nature (child-centered, exploratory, imaginative play) fosters creativity, emotional well-being, independent learning and problem solving. And it lets kids connect with the place in which they live and the larger environment on which we all depend.

Lake Forest Open Lands is grateful to the many volunteers, partners and sponsors who worked on “The Play Out”. Particular thanks goes to District 67 and 115 and The Care of Trees for event sponsorship. Other partners included Whole Foods – Deerfield, DK Organics, LF Bookstore, Lake County Forest Preserve, Music in the Box and Chicago Wilderness.

Lake Forest Open Lands Association’s mission is to conserve our natural environment through land acquisition, habitat restoration, environmental education and conservation advocacy. This non-profit is supported entirely by volunteer contributions, including membership dues and donations. Since its establishment in 1967, Lake Forest Open Lands has acquired, preserved, restored and maintained over 800 acres of local native landscapes including prairies, savannas, woodlands, and wetlands for the benefit and enjoyment of local communities. Our 12 miles of walking trails are open to the public year round. We are proud of our history and in particular our pioneering use of conservation development and financing techniques. Considered a leader among land trusts, Lake Forest Open Lands Association often serves as a resource to other emerging conservation groups in communities nationwide. Lake Forest Open Lands is proud to be the first land trust in Illinois to receive the national seal of accreditation by the Land Trust Alliance.