Kameriah, 9, timidly backed away from the stall where Chrissy, a horse with a coat that looks like Oreo cookie ice cream. She’d never been close to a horse and wanted no part of Chrissy. “I’m scared,” she said.

‍So the therapeutic horsemanship volunteers went to work. They got Kameriah to walk next to Chrissy -- albeit six feet away -- but watched her retreat once again when they asked if she wanted to brush the horse. Tears welled in Kameriah’s eyes. This was supposed to be her first horse-riding experience. It wasn’t happening.

Then came another suggestion: Would she want to help her friend, Jaliyah, comb her horse, Dillon? “OK,” she said softly. Side-by-side, Jaliyah and Kameriah gently brushed the mane of the horse. Then a volunteer brought in a spunky reinforcement, Willie the Shetland pony, whose smallish, less-intimidating stature was just the right size for Kameriah. She brushed the pony and even braided his mane – big steps for a little girl who just minutes earlier looked ready to leave. She took an even bigger step 15 minutes later – over Chrissy’s back and onto the saddle.

“I did it!” she said.

At 10pm, we were walking back from the bathrooms to the cabin with a group of chatty 12 year old girls when suddenly one stopped in her tracks. She was looking up. She pointed to the sky and said, “Wait- what are those?” 

She was pointing to the dark night sky full of twinkling stars. I told her they were stars and she stared up silently, then said, “Wow. I haven’t really seen them before.”

Communities of color and those with lower incomes are disproportionately disconnected from nature, according to studies. More than 76% of people in low-income communities of color live in nature-deprived places. In these communities, there are fewer safe parks, green spaces or coastlines that are close to home. This lack of local, safe green space, in addition to other barriers, means inequitable access to nature.  

Nature deprivation has many negative effects, especially on children. Children unable to receive nature’s benefits are more likely to develop physical and mental health issues.

Research continues to show that children who spend time outside experience improved health, higher cognitive functioning, better motor coordination, less stress and enhanced social skills. They also perform better academically, are more engaged learners and have fewer attendance problems.

The average American child spends 4-7 minutes a day in unstructured play outdoors and seven hours a day in front of a screen, according to the Child Mind Institute. Studies also show that Americans spend 87% of their time indoors and 6% in an automobile. That means only 7% of our lives are spent outdoors.

So why is this a concern?

We know time spent outdoors brings huge benefits. The research is clear.

The benefits of spending time in nature include:

• Better overall physical and mental health
• Reduced stress and anxiety, even a reduction in ADHD symptoms
• Higher academic achievement, including better test scores and fewer attendance problems
• Increased child development, including better coordination, higher creativity, enhanced problem-solving, higher levels of confidence and increased responsibility
• Increased empathy toward others, animals and nature.

Chris stepped up to take his turn with the bow. He said he’d never done this before but after just a few tries he was hitting the bullseye. We were all surprised at how quickly he was able to hit the target. He turned around to our cheers and said, 
“Now I know I’m good at something. All we do at home is play basketball and the guys make fun of me because I’m bad. Now when they make fun of me, at least I’ll know I was good at something.”