August 12th, 2010

No Child Left Inside!

By Colleen Kelly

The Obama Administration is putting forward a great effort to improve the health of our nation by getting us outside. Children today spend half as much time outdoors as their parents did, helping to push our country deeper into an epidemic of childhood obesity. Through the First Lady’s “Let’s Move” campaign and President Obama’s “America’s Great Outdoors” campaign, the administration is attempting to reconnect Americans, including our children, to the outdoors.

In 1908 President Theodor Roosevelt stated: “The conservation of our resources is the fundamental question before this nation.” A century later and many Americans have lost touch with the national parks and historical places where our national identity has formed, and have forgotten how to enjoy our available outdoor spaces.

Last Friday morning, August 6th, the SDialogue team was happy to attend the “America’s Great Outdoors” listening event at Marist College in Poughkeepsie. The event was the sixteenth stop on a national tour that intends to promote community-level efforts for protecting environmental resources and reconnecting people with the outdoors. There was a wonderful turn out and some very impressive guests and speakers. Some of whom included music legend Pete Seeger; Representatives Maurice Hinchey, John Hall, Paul Tonko; Judith Enck (EPA), David Hayes (US Dept. of Interior), Thomas Vilsack (Dept. of Agriculture), and Eric Ooms (Dairy Farmer and VP of NY Farm Bureau). The main themes that were heard throughout the event were promoting land protection, revitalizing rural economies, promoting a new generation of farmers, keeping state parks open for the public to use, and the problem of inadequate funding available to address these concerns.

After the event, the SDialogue team enjoyed our weekly staff meeting at the ‘Walkway over the Hudson’ and discussed how the three main organizations that promote the revitalization of the Hudson River – Clearwater, River Keeper, and Scenic Hudson – could join forces to make an even greater difference to our wonderful Hudson Valley region.

Watch this video for a little bit of SDialogue’s experience at the ‘Great Outdoors’ event and on the Walkway over the Hudson:

Want to learn more about President Obama’s Great Outdoor’s initiative?

Visit http://www.doi.gov/americasgreatoutdoors/ and check out http://www.totalwebcasting.com/live/marist/ago/ to watch a video of the event at Marist College.