Take It Outside is BLM’s flagship youth engagement program. It
was established to help ensure that young people from all
backgrounds have access to outdoor recreational opportunities on
public lands while fostering future generations of public land
stewards. Stressing health, family, fun, and stewardship, Take
It Outside provides opportunities for young people to engage in
outdoor recreation, non-formal education, and volunteer
projects. Take It Outside was prompted by a growing national
concern that children are spending significantly less time
outdoors than previous generations; becoming more disconnected
from nature; and increasingly showing the symptoms of an
epidemic in childhood obesity. These issues were articulated in
Richard Louv’s 2005 book “Last Child in the Woods.” - The
average American child can recognize 1,000 corporate logos but
can't identify 10 plants or animals native to his or her own
region. - Unstructured outdoor activity is down by half from the
previous generation. - Children in the US