A growing body of research from the scientific community demonstrates the many benefits of spending time in nature, including meaningful improvements on mental and physical health. But when the weather becomes dauntingly cold, it’s easy to get in a rut of staying indoors. Sometimes all you need is a little inspiration to be remembered what peace, gratitude and pure joy can be experienced by spending some time outside. Check out these publications for the motivation you need to get your family into the great outdoors this spring!
Connecting People to Their Public Lands 2017 provides an overview of accomplishments by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) in the areas of education, volunteers, and youth involvement. The report outlines BLM’s programs that provide opportunities for Americans to connect with their public lands and waters to pursue healthy, active lifestyles. Read about the initiatives, including a series of BLM’s Junior Ranger Program, Every Kid in a Park, Hands on the Land, and others, and all their wonderful benefits, in this report. Included in the report are inspirational accounts of visitors, volunteers, and students who have cleaned up trash in rivers, tasted wild raspberries, smelled Labrador leaves, and hiked over rocks and falls. You’ll be fascinated to learn about the great work this agency is doing, from educating underrepresented youth on environmental education to creating plans for more recreational trails to hosting wildland firefighting training courses for military veterans.
Published by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the 2016 National Survey of Fishing, Hunting, and Wildlife-Associated Recreation provides a detailed snapshot of our nation’s passion for wildlife and nature. According to Gregory Sheehan of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the report “serves as a road map” to guide the agency’s efforts to “reach more Americans and provide them with opportunities to hunt, fish, and otherwise enjoy America’s wildlife and wild places.” The results are astonishing. In 2016, more than 103 million Americans (that’s 40% of the U.S. population 16 years and older) participated in some sort of fishing, hunting, or other wildlife-associated recreation such as birdwatching or outdoor photography.
With all their youthful energy, little ones need to get outside and run around. One of the newest Junior Ranger Activity Booklets, Wilderness Explorer, provides the opportunity for them to do just that. The booklet starts the rangers off by having them pack essentials they want to bring on their adventure. It then takes them through Wilderness Areas in the United States. It teaches them how to Leave No Trace on their public lands by picking up litter, recycling and reusing. The booklet instructs Little Junior Rangers to think like a scientist and create a hypothesis around something they observe in nature.
Death Valley National Park Ranger Adventure (produced by the U.S. National Park Service {NPS}) offers several activities and educational information for children on a trip to Death Valley National Park in California. With this booklet, children will explore some of the darkest skies in the United States at Death Valley, learn about Death Valley’s changing landscape, and even learn the story of Death Valley Scotty who became famous for telling tall tales about finding gold and building a castle in the desert. Teachers and school librarians may also enjoy these fun-filled lessons to share with their classroom students as part of a learning adventure.
Members of the Coronado Expedition walked nearly 4,000 miles throughout the two-year journey. Now it’s your family’s turn to follow in Coronado’s footsteps with the Coronado National Memorial Junior Ranger Guide. Take a trip to Coronado National Memorial in Sierra Vista, Arizona and bring this handy adventure guide along. Here, you might see 55 different kinds of mammals from baby bats to big black bears. Even explore Coronado Cave and be on the lookout for stalactites, stalagmites, and columns. This booklet encourages kids to do something we all should do more often: sit and be. It instructs kids to take a bit of time to rest, listen, smell and watch. That’s one the adults might want to get in on as well!
Finally, a visit to Bandelier National Monument in New Mexico with Bandelier National Monument Junior/Deputy Ranger Booklet in tow is bound to be a trip you won’t forget. Junior Rangers will find a Ponderosa Pine, interview a Park Ranger, and identify alien plants, making for a trip they’ll tell all their friends about when they return home.
The season of frolicking under wandering clouds, tending to blossoming buds, and when lucky, stumbling across beautiful birds’ nests is finally here. Spring is easily one of the best seasons to spend time outside. So whether you plan a structured trip to explore wildlife and various landscapes, or just explore the beauty in your own backyard, we hope you enjoy your time in nature this season.
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- Click here to purchase Connecting People to Their Public Lands 2017
- Click here to purchase 2016 National Survey of Fishing, Hunting and Wildlife Associated Recreation
- Click here to purchase Wilderness Explorer
- Click here to purchase Death Valley National Park Junior Ranger Adventure
- Click here to purchase Coronado National Memorial Junior Ranger Guide
- Click here to purchase Bandelier National Monument Junior/Deputy Ranger Booklet for All Ages
- Click here to check out our Travel, Tourism and Recreation resources
Visit our Retail Store: To buy or order a copy of any print editions from this collection at GPO’s retail bookstore at 710 North Capitol Street NW, Washington, DC 20401, open Monday–Friday, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., except Federal holidays, Call (202) 512-0132 for information or to arrange in-store pick-up(s).
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Visit a Federal depository library: Search for U.S. Government publications in a nearby Federal depository library. You can find the records for most titles in GPO’s Catalog of U.S. Government Publications.
Find more than a million official Federal Government publications from all three branches at www.govinfo.gov.
About the author: Blogger contributor Cat Goergen is the PR Specialist in GPO’s Public Relations office.
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Trudy Hawkins
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Thanks for sharing this valuable content, really appreciate your work.
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