el far to immerse kids in nature’s wonders. We have wild lands and scenic spectacles on our very doorstep in Boulder County. Take a walk along the Boulder Creek Path, check out the prairie dog colony at Dry Creek Open Space, hike to the summit of Sugarloaf Mountain for a 360-degree view, stroll amid wildflowers to Lake Isabelle in the Indian Peaks Wilderness. We are fortunate to have so much beautiful outdoor space within walking and biking distance—help your kids take advantage of it! While you’re at it, do take the time to check out the Children and Nature Network at www.childrenandnature. org for more ideas on how you can join the growing trend to reconnect our kids with the natural world that sustains us all in so many ways. Leif Redal, M.D., is a boardcertified family physician with Northwest Family Medicine in Superior, dedicated to personalized, preventive health care for the entire family. For more discussion of current issues in family health, visit Dr. Redal’s blog on his medical practice website at www.nwfm. net
Active Boulder Kids Early Childhood Education Center
Licensed full and part day and drop-in preschool programs offered for ages 2 ½-6. Play-based, creative curriculum, learning centers, and outdoor play. Creative fun programs, small classroom sizes, caring teachers. Active play, exploration, and learning.
303-324-8228 www.activeboulderkids.com 5001 Pennsylvania Avenue
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because they are missing out on the exposure to the natural world enjoyed by past generations. Dr. William Bird, health adviser to Natural England, (advisor to England on the natural environment), has compiled evidence that people are healthier and better adjusted if they get out into the countryside, parks or gardens. Bird says studies show that people deprived of contact with nature are at greater risk of depression and anxiety, and stress levels fall within minutes of seeing green spaces. It thus becomes all the more important to make sure that our rare family downtime—especially our summer vacation—is spent in natural settings. An active family nature vacation (ideally without the distractions of mobile electronica) can reconnect parents and children, soothe frayed nerves and help everyone relax. When we escape to nature, we slow down and enjoy each other’s company more, just like we did when our family camped and hiked in the Cascade Mountains when I was a kid. I’ve watched the enchantment on my kids’ faces when they come face-to-face with wildlife. They don’t seem to miss their iPods or texting their friends when there is so much to distract them in the form of rushing streams, rock piles, meadows full of wildflowers and hawks wheeling overhead. From the grandest vista, like the yawning chasm of the Grand Canyon or the backbone of the Grand Tetons rising from the Snake River Valley, to the small phenomena that elude a rushed eye, like lime-green lichen on talus, the natural world offers beauty, learning and a sense of awe too often missing in our frenetic 21stcentury lives. You don’t have to trav-
BOULDER County Kids
www.bouldercountykids.com Summer 2011 • Page 21