On May 11, the Outdoor School For All Minnesota coalition introduced the Minnesota Outdoor School For All bill in the Minnesota state legislature. Coauthored by Rep. Kristi Pursell, a former Wolf Ridge Graduate Naturalist, the bill proposed funding for a three-day, two-night “immersive nature experience” for fourth through eighth grade Minnesota students who attend a public, private, or tribal school.
Wolf Ridge Environmental Learning Center is one of the partner organizations of the Outdoor School For All Minnesota coalition. For over fifty years, Wolf Ridge has provided fun and educational experiences for children from all over Minnesota, and Wolf Ridge Executive Director Peter Smerud detailed why the Outdoor School for All bill is important.
“All of our local area schools bring children for outdoor learning experiences that truly change their lives. Yet, with several options throughout the state for learning experiences like this, currently only 30% of Minnesota children get this opportunity. When most of us reflect on our fondest times of childhood, routinely it is memories in the outdoors that flood into our brain. Today, we all see it… childhood has moved indoors, leaving kids disconnected from the natural world. We are losing hunters, anglers, outdoor enthusiasts, and, overall…our outdoor heritage. In the Northland we are fortunate compared to suburbs and other developed areas where increasingly our populations are urbanized. We along the North Shore have access that most do not.”
Smerud quotes a study that shows the average American child spends seven hours a day on entertainment media, such as TVs, computers, video games, phones, and other devices. This is out of balance with the miniscule time on average children spend outdoors each day: only seven minutes, Smerud says. “Today’s children don’t know a life without ubiquitous internet, smartphones, video games, social media, and never-ending choices of streaming movies, games, and music. Yet, at Wolf Ridge again and again we host children who have never been in a forest, followed a set of animal tracks, or experienced darkness with a sky full of stars. What will the childhood memories be of our future generations?” Smerud wonders.
“It’s clear from the past legislative session that this is not a partisan issue,” Smerud says. “While the chief author of the first bill was introduced by [DFL] Representative Pursell of Northfield, bills were introduced in the House and the Senate, and by both Republicans and Democrats.” These bills will be heard in the 2024 legislative session. Smerud concludes, “Getting our kids outside, building a deeper connection to the outdoors and each other, is something we all need.” If schools are interested in connecting with Wolf Ridge to set up a learning experience for their students, they are invited to visit https://wolf-ridge.org/ to learn more.
