Passport to parks

<p>A new “passport” aimed at getting children outdoors encourages them to scour tide pools for cool-looking sea creatures and rub their hands over the coarse bark of a redwood tree.</p><p>Rather than traveling the globe to fill up a real passport, kids only need to visit parks in Sonoma County. </p><p>With a concerted effort to pry kids away from technology to roam in their natural surroundings, Sonoma County Regional Parks and California State Parks are teaming up to sponsor the new Children’s Outdoor Passport Program, launching in April.</p><p>Two years ago, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and a state-appointed California Roundtable on Recreation, Parks and Tourism unveiled the California Children’s Outdoor Bill of Rights, listing 10 activities for kids to experience before their teenage years. Beyond the proclamation, however, there was no program to get youngsters to actually do them.</p><p>Plenty of children log off of computers, video games and cell phones to play in the great outdoors, but Mary Clemens, a program manager with Sonoma County Regional Parks, says many local kids she’s instructed during field trips have never been to the ocean, camped or tried to catch a fish.</p><p>Numerous studies show if children are involved in nature they do better in school, become healthier and develop an improved self-image and social skills. </p><p>The 2005 book, “Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children From Nature Deficit Disorder” by Richard Louv, drew attention to the important emotional and social development that takes place when children are free to explore the outdoors and has helped fuel efforts to get children more comfortable in nature.</p><p>The new Children’s Outdoor Passport asks them to sample each activity, such as “camp under the stars” and “follow a trail,” and to fill pages proving they visited the parks. The child is given freedom to describe activities with words or art on the passport pages.</p><p>Because park staffing is thin, kids don’t need to make contact with a ranger to fulfill the passport requirements, but park volunteers and staff will be informed about the new program in the event they meet children working on their passports.</p><p>Supervising State Park Ranger Angie Nowicki brainstormed with Clemens to create the passport program.</p><p>“There’s a disconnect, a generational gap. There are parents who took their kids camping and they’re now parents. It can be frightening, but it’s probably the safest recreational thing you can do,” said Nowicki.</p><p>The passport program will establish a presence on MySpace and Facebook pages. Families can also log onto the Sonoma County Regional Parks Web site for passport pages and suggestions for activities in specific parks.</p><p>Once the passport is complete, children can print out a certificate to redeem for a nature-related prize.</p>