May 2021 Newspaper Just Get Outside
Keep it simple this summer. We live in a beautiful place. Get outside - just get outside.
We've all been inside a lot due to COVID restrictions so this summer - just get outside.
Creative play is necessary for child development. I remember digging in the dirt, playing with my brother and his action figures, building miniature houses out of sticks, bark, and acorns, erecting forts made out of blankets, and messing around in the creek to see what I could find.

Get outside - just get outside.

Take some time to "travel" to the many beautiful places in WNC. Lots, and lots, of people travel
from all over the world to visit the Blue Ridge Mountains. Pretend to be a tourist and check out
zip lining. Find a new waterfall each month. Go rafting. Enjoy a picnic. Go fishing. Spend some time on a lake. Take a hike. Get outside - just get outside.

The Children &Nature Network offers data about how nature can improve health and wellbeing:

• Exposure for mothers can promote: Better Fetal Growth and Healthier Birth Weights
• Time spent in bright sunlight can: Reduce Nearsightedness and Increase Vitamin D Levels
•  Access to parks and greenspace can foster: Increased Physical Activity and [offer a] Reduced Risk of Obesity
• Learning in nature can support: Improved Relationship Skills and Reduced Stress, Anger, and Aggression

The summer programming for Jackson County 4-H will focus mostly on getting young people outside this summer. We're offering Just Grow It, a gardening program, that begins May 27 and runs for 9 sessions. We'll meet outdoors at the Caney Fork Community Center once a week on Thursday afternoons. Find more information on our website jackson.ces.ncsu.edu. You can also call 828.586.4009. The 4-H Explorers Club, for 9-16 year old's, will be outside this summer. We will meet twice a month on Wednesday mornings to hike and explore outside. We are back to meeting face to face with specific guidelines for social distancing and encourage you to join us in the new normal - outside.

How can you get yourself, your children or grandchildren, nieces, nephews, cousins, friends, neighbors, church community, and others outside this summer? Just get outside.

Heather Gordon is the Extension Agent for 4-H Youth Development for Jackson County.