Tuesday, March 24, 2009
Bringing nature to the city is the concept of Wonderful Outdoor World or WOW, a national program designed to give urban children the chance to cook on a camp stove, sleep under the stars, and learn about the environment—all in their own neighborhood parks.
In addition to the national environmental and outdoor education components of the program, special outdoor classroom sessions have been designed by local, regional, and state agencies to present information on wildlife, wilderness, and other natural resources unique to Arizona. Participants also learn about environmental and outdoor ethics.
The WOW program was conceived when a network of public and private partners began recognizing a trend: fewer families are spending free time on family camp-outs—the traditional means by which most children are introduced to the environment and lifelong outdoor activities. WOW was developed as a cost-effective means of bringing camping experiences into the city. Their motto: "If you can't take kids to the outdoors, bring the outdoors to the kids." WOW was successfully piloted by the City of Los Angeles in 1995.
Building on California's success, leaders from Arizona's federal, state, and local agencies, private organizations, and businesses expanded the program to Arizona. The Bureau of Land Management is one of the national partners.
Denise Meridith, State Director for the BLM in Arizona, calls herself a founding mother of WOW. "Kids today don't get to see fisheries biologists and wildlife biologists on television sitcoms," Meridith said at the first campout in Phoenix. "But here they are going to meet them in person. Hopefully, it will make a big difference in what career opportunities they take, just as it did in my life."
WOW doesn't end with a single experience. Plans call for campers to take part next year in WOW II where they will be able to practice their new skills in more traditional settings managed by the BLM, Park Service, Forest Service, and state and county parks. But for now, camping in the city parks appears to be more than enough to make Arizona's WOW campers happy.
Posted by Futurecamping