The whole point of the conservation movement is to keep our nation’s wild places and animals around long enough for our children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren to enjoy them. Then, in turn, those generations would hopefully have the same plans for their own wild places, animals, and offspring. But what good is all that effort if the generations we’re working so hard to raise don’t want to get outside in the first place?
This is a conundrum a lot of outdoor-loving parents face as they embark on raising happy, healthy children. That’s why MeatEater is excited to share Steven Rinella’s latest book, “Outdoor Kids in an Inside World: Getting Your Family Out of the House and Radically Engaged with Nature,” now available for pre-order.
“Nature can teach us–and more importantly, our kids—how to go through this existence with a sense of awe and purpose,” Steve wrote in the prologue. “This book will show you how to learn.”
Rinella covers everything from the science behind the outdoors improving mental health to the best ways to get kids excited about the world around them.
“Outdoor Kids in an Inside World” pays special attention to how gardening, foraging, camping, fishing, and hunting help children develop important characteristics like work ethic, patience, nurturing, and resilience. The emphasis on outdoor time isn’t limited to people living in rural places, either. Rinella’s advice applies to family life everywhere, including urban centers and suburban expanses.
He also discusses the trials and tribulations he’s faced during his own journey as a parent in the digital age, where video games and TV programs often compete with fresh air and dirt. These modern habits are a major departure from Rinella’s childhood, memories of which he recalls throughout the book.
“Outdoor Kids in an Inside World” will be published on May 3, 2022, and can be purchased wherever books are sold.
