Community Corner
Time for a Campout!
Join the Great American Backyard Campout tonight for family fun in the great outdoors.
Ever feel like you have to literally push your kids out the door to get them to play outside?
Grab the whole family this weekend and participate in tonight's seventh annual Great American Backyard Campout. This National Wildlife Federation’s fundraising event encourages parents and kids alike to trade screen time for green time by spending a night under the stars.
In the last two decades, childhood has literally moved indoors with kids spending more than seven hours per day in front of electronic media, according to the National Wildlife Federation.
The average American child now spends just four to seven minutes outside in unstructured play each day.
“We need to give back to our children what they don’t even know they’ve lost—a connection to the natural world,” Mary Burnette, a spokesperson for the National Wildlife Federation, said.
While the Great American Backyard Campout may be tonight, you can participate any time. The event is a fundraiser, and the NWF suggests a team donation of $100, but you can donate any amount you can afford. The main goal of the event: Make nature a part of your family’s life.
When you register your campout on National Wildlife Federation’s website, you get helpful information to make your camping experience a fun one, including recipes, nocturnal wildlife guides, campfire songs and games, nature activities and more.
And if you are camping this weekend, you will need the gear. Top of the list: marshmallows (on sale at for $1), a tent (a four-person Coleman tent on sale at for $67.99) and of course, hot dogs for the bonfire (Ball Park Beef Franks, $1.99 at ).
If you do have a bonfire, use a fire pit or outdoor furnace for safety.
For more information and to register your campout, visit the Great American Backyard Campout website.
