Wheaton Park District’s Lincoln Marsh is doing their part to challenge kids and grown-ups alike to take a break from their computer screens, TVs and cell phones and go out in nature to run, jump, play and explore.

For tens of thousands of years, kids went outside and played in nature. In the space of only three decades, our society is reversing this trend. Children’s health experts agree that the lack of unstructured outdoor playtime for children may be linked to childhood obesity, attention deficit disorder and poor social skills. As part of “Leave No Child Inside”, a Chicago Wilderness initiative to reconnect kids and nature, The Lincoln Marsh offers programs that promote nature exploration by children and their families, with the hopes of improving kids’ health and conserving our natural heritage for the future.

The Wheaton Park District offers school age and family programming to share this valuable gift of natural awareness with the community. To learn more about “Leave No Child Inside” and participate in Lincoln Marsh programs, visit www.lincolnmarsh.org.

BREAKING NEWS: The leader behind the whole “Leave No Child Inside” movement, Richard Louv, will be the keynote speaker at the 2008 Soaring To New Heights Conference!