"Get Wild" this National Park and Recreation Month and Get Active

English: Official Logo of NRPA[1]. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

July is National Park and Recreation Month. The theme for 2012 is to “Get Wild”, which encourages families to play outside and enjoy all of the benefits that local parks have to offer. The goal for this summer is to get healthy and stay active with activities geared towards helping kids learn to appreciate nature and the environment in their local communities. I want to hear how you plan to get wild this National Park and Recreation Month!

When it’s not smokin’ hot outside, my kids love to go to the park. They are a fan of most parks, but their absolute favorite park is the one they call “the dragon park”. We have a park in town that has a dragon that sprays water from it’s mouth, and up out of the ground. When it’s warm outside, it is the perfect way to cool off, and get some exercise. The kids race around from water spout to water spout, with lots of squeals. I never have to do any convincing when I ask the kids if they want to go to the dragon park. I don’t typically have a difficult time getting the kids to play outside, but we have our occasional moments where the TV and video games prevail. I have found that if I am willing to play outside with the kids, then that really helps to get them outdoors.

One of the most popular things for us to do in the summer is to swim at my parent’s house. My kids beg to go swim, almost on a daily basis. Many of our summer plans revolve around that pool. I think it is great exercise, as well as a fantastic way to cool off here in Northern California. When we want to “up” our game a little, we check out the Gauche Aquatic Park, which our city offers. Not only is there a large community pool, but there is a large water slide, which the kids love! There is also a kiddie splash area, where the water is shallow and there are many water sprayers to get everyone plenty wet.

With the “Get Wild” campaign, local parks help take a stand against the increasing obesity epidemic by encouraging kids to play outside and participate in recreation activities. I think this is fantastic because childhood obesity is really getting out of control. What better way to get your kids active, than to get out and get active with them. This will help us adults get a little more active too! It’s a win-win!

Studies have shown that parks help boost the economy and contribute to the value of surrounding residential properties. In addition, they help make the local community a safer place to raise a family.

Check out the NRPA website where you can find a calendar of local events happening across the country, the official toolkit, the opportunity to take the Get Wild pledge, and information on the Get Wild Geocaching Contest. This is great for those of you who enjoy geocaching. If you are new to geocaching, then be sure to look for the instructions on the website. When you share your geocaching photos on Facebook, you will automatically be entered to win one of 5 Magellan GC eXplorist GPS Devices in NRPA’s Get Wild Geocaching Contest!

“I wrote this review while participating in a blog tour by Mom Central Consulting on behalf of National Recreation and Park Association and received a promotional item to thank me for taking the time to participate.”