Into the Wild

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Growing up in the Rio Grande Valley in the 1980s, I had plenty of opportunities to explore. I was what’s now called a “free-range kid,” left to roam the outdoors as I pleased. Some days we didn’t come home until the streetlights came on. During weekends, summers, and breaks from school, my friends and I walked to local parks alone and spent our days pretending we were superheroes fighting off imaginary supervillains.

The Texas Children in Nature Network (TCiNN) is a nonprofit that seeks to ensure equitable access and connection to nature for the state’s children. It is comprised of more than 700 organizations across Texas that work on outreach and engagement. Along with offering technical assistance and educational resources, they host a three-day annual summit and virtual field trips to different sites around Texas.

“Research is showing the mental health, physical health, and social and emotional benefits that come with kids spending time outdoors,” says Sarah Coles, TCiNN’s executive director. “We are seeing increasing amounts of time that kids are spending indoors and behind screens, which affects their development. One of the best ways to combat that is by both playing and learning outdoors.”

Though my own kids enjoy being outside once they’re there, sometimes getting them out the door becomes more work than play. But on a Saturday in November, I convince them to join me on a trip to the Santa Ana National Wildlife Refuge— 2,088 acres of protected land in the Rio Grande Valley. Established in 1943, it’s an internationally known destination that draws birdwatchers from all over the world.

Like many of Texas’ parks and wildlife centers, the refuge prioritizes youth outreach, providing classes in which kids who’ve never spent significant time outdoors can explore the trails. The refuge also hosts bird walks and an hour-and-a-half interpretive tour along a 7-mile loop that tells the story of the refuge and its plants and wildlife. Kids are equipped with a junior ranger book with corresponding activities based on their age. When they’re done, they receive a little wooden nature badge.

“It’s rewarding to see the wonder in children’s eyes once they hit the trails,” says Christine Donald, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife outdoor recreation planner and site manager at the refuge. “We want to make sure the next generation connects to nature. Because who is going to save places like Santa Ana for the next generation?”

The Austin nonprofit Explore Austin is another model organization for these programs. It pairs sixth graders who apply and qualify with a volunteer mentor for six years. The mentor follows an outdoors-based curriculum to help students learn new skills and gain confidence. James Faerber, former program director for Explore Austin, is now the owner and executive director of Outpost Wilderness Adventure. The latter is a program that runs camps and expeditions in Texas and Colorado for people of different ages. His advice for parents trying to get their kids outdoors is to start small, explore their children’s interests, and get involved with groups in their community.

“Just simple things like swimming or going for a walk will work,” Faerber says. “I think most people, kids especially, do actually like spending time outside. They may just not realize that they do. They may not have had the right introduction to it.”

While there is hope for children and families in both rural and urban areas looking to migrate back outdoors, the challenges can be numerous, Coles says. Some common obstacles include lack of free time, access to nature, and financial resources. Working parents might not have the bandwidth to take their kids on wilderness adventures, and many outdoor activities can be daunting and costly. “There are ways of experiencing nature that don’t have to be on a grand scale like going to the Grand Canyon or Big Bend,” says Alice Jansen, TCiNN’s education events coordinator. “You can put a butterfly-friendly plant in your yard or go on a walk in the neighborhood.”

In urban areas, proximity to natural spaces and reliable transportation are often the biggest barriers to getting kids outdoors. TCiNN promotes the 10-Minute Walk, an initiative created by the nonprofit Trust for Public Land, which aims to protect land and create parks for future generations. Cities across the U.S. have pledged to create a park within a 10-minute walk of every resident by either 2030 or 2050. Texas cities that have signed on include Austin, Killeen, San Antonio, Houston, College Station, League City, and Dallas-Fort Worth.

“Another barrier is discomfort,” Coles says. “Families are wary of personal safety.” Factors like heat, mosquitoes, snakes, strangers, or potential emergencies can intimidate people and keep them from going outside or letting their children explore on their own.

In our house, we know some of those fears well. My family and I have spent the last eight years living on a 37-acre ranch in La Feria, a small town in the Rio Grande Valley. The most prominent vegetation in these borderlands is cacti, mesquite, and huisache trees. The wildlife mostly consists of snakes, scorpions, hornets, spiders, bobcats, and coyotes. It seems like almost everything in the RGV is sharp, thorny, and out to get you. After living a few years in Florida and Oregon, Julie and I decided to move the kids back to my home state. Our ranch allows them a number of options for outdoor activities—they can explore the field; ride the tire swing or jump on the trampoline; walk along a levee; and fish in the Arroyo Colorado, which marks the border of our property.

“It’s peaceful,” Elijah says. “I like it here.” Still, we have invested in a copious supply of Band-Aids, bug spray, disinfectants, antibiotics, and anti-itch creams.

Cole says it’s important for parents to model what outdoor time looks like for their children. Julie and I know Miqueas likes nature walks, Vivian prefers riding her bike, and Elijah enjoys longboarding on smooth pavement. We usually agree to do one child’s favorite activity one afternoon and save the others for subsequent weekends. Though it takes coordination and effort, it’s worth it for my kids’ well-being.

In 2016, the Texas Department of State Health Services launched an initiative called Outdoor Learning Environment (OLE!) Texas. The strategy helps early childcare and education programs find resources to build nature-based outdoor spaces for kids to play in. According to DSHS, over 30% of Texas children between 2 and 4 are overweight or obese. OLE! Texas aims to promote physical activity and reduce children’s chances of obesity early on. Numerous studies have proven other benefits of time spent outside on both mental and physical health. It also reduces stress, which aids in lowering blood pressure, heart rate, and cortisol—the hormone released when we experience the fight-or-flight response.

“Spending time in nature helps young people be more focused and engaged in the classroom,” Jansen says. “It teaches them to become stewards of the environment, which is especially important today because of climate change.”

At the Santa Ana Wildlife Refuge, I meet Vanessa Lopez Molina, a mother who has just finished a hike with her son. She tells me she and her husband, Joseph, consider themselves outdoorsy people and want to instill the same values in their son. She mentions time outside has provided benefits beyond physical activity. “It’s helped him with his writing skills, too,” she says. “He’s much more descriptive and asks probing questions.”

As we hit the trails, my daughter takes the map and I appoint her our navigator. We go up an access road and find the trailhead. The deeper we walk into the trees, the quieter it gets. We can feel the air change as we enter the subtropical woodland where the trees provide more shade and Spanish moss grows in long, lacy tendrils. It’s beautiful. But this isn’t what astounds me the most. It’s the look on my children’s faces. I can see them processing:

“Look at how big these trees are,” Elijah says. “How old do you think they are?”

“What’s that stuff growing all over the trees?” Vivian asks.

“That’s Spanish moss,” I tell her. “The same stuff your great-grandmother used to decorate the Nativity scene with at Christmas.”

We stop at Pintail Lakes and admire the ducks. I point out that Mexico is just beyond the trees. Their eyes widen, and I know they will remember this day. “Mexico is really just over there?” Miqueas says. “It’s almost like I’m in the past.”

I want to ask him what he means, but I decide to let him continue exploring ahead of us. He doesn’t know it, but I think that by referencing the past, he’s touching on something larger—a time generations ago when people spent much more time in nature. I am hoping the miles we have hiked today will beget more miles and lead to a wilder future, one where they feel the exhilarating freedom of roaming the outdoors.—Additional reporting by Mary Huber