Spring is in the air. If you haven’t gotten outdoors already, are you at least thinking about it? Getting a little exercise, starting your yard work, or releasing the pressure valve on your kids’ cabin fever? This spring, the New Jersey Audubon Society (NJAS) is making it easier than ever to enjoy the great outdoors.
Why not “Try Nature” at one of their nature centers? The premise of “Try Nature” is that if you get a taste of it you will like it.
Our society, as a whole, is much less in tune with the land, its seasonal changes, and the wild creatures that share our space, according to Tom Gilmore, president of NJAS. When people connect with nature, it opens new doors to discovery and appreciation. Understanding what’s out there makes us more likely to want to protect it claims Gilmore.
Of course, if you’re not a veteran of the great outdoors, getting started may be intimidating. And that’s the best part of Try Nature. Each Audubon center offers all kinds of springtime activities to get you started – things like birding and botany for adults, and nature detective programs for kids and families- or just plain walking their trails.
New Jersey Audubon has a long history of engaging environmental education; in fact they are the oldest conservation organization in New Jersey. The Try Nature campaign is a risk-free way to tap into their expertise. Log onto to the Web site at www.njaudubon.org/Centers/TryNature. html to find a link to a coupon, your “Ticket to Discovery,” for a free nature program valued at up to $20.
New Jersey Audubon has 10 staffed nature centers throughout New Jersey, from the Weis Ecology Center near the New York State border in Passaic County, to the Plainsboro Preserve in central New Jersey to the Cape May Bird Observatory at the state’s southern tip. There is probably one near you and admission is free!
These nature centers offer visitors all kinds of native New Jersey habitats, like northern New Jersey woodlands, Pine Barrens forests, coastal beaches, dunes, and salt marshes and programs and events geared for all ages, from preschool to adult.
With social and lifestyle trends leaving kids with less time to explore the wonders of the natural world outside their doors, the Try Nature campaign is badly needed. A growing body of research shows that a lack of unstructured outdoor play is a contributing factor in many childhood health issues, such as obesity, allergies, aggression and even attention deficit disorders. If you doubt the research, by all means Try Nature with your friends and family, and see if you don’t feel better immediately!
Check the Web site www.njaudubon.org or call (908) 204-8998 for information on Try Nature and the nature center near you.
Michele S. Byers
Executive director New Jersey Conservation Foundation
Far Hills