Hiking

Marin Mommies is pleased to present another great guest article, this time by Ally Kushin, Camp Director for Coastal Camp at Headlands Institute. She discusses the increasing problem of nature deficit disorder and highlights local opportunities to connect children to the natural world. Ally has worked in the field of environmental education for the past 9 years as a naturalist, park ranger, and camp director.

In 2005 the book Last Child in the Woods by Richard Louv popularized the term “nature deficit disorder.” In it, he refers to the trend of children spending less time outdoors, resulting in a wide range of behavioral, social, and medical problems. Louv claims that causes for the phenomenon include parental fears, restricted access to natural areas, and the “lure of the screen,” referring to increasing electronic media consumption.

Children who spend more time in nature are known to develop increased concentration, memory, and self discipline. The latest research has established amazing connections between the amount of time spent in nature to everything from better grades to increased immunity to germs to stronger bones. read more »

One of the benefits of living in Northern California is that you can go on a hike or other outdoor activity pretty much any time you want to, even in the dead of winter. In fact, winter is really one of the nicest times to be outdoors, with crisp, clean air, bright green grass, fewer crowds and tourists, and even the first of the wildflowers showing up. This is all provided it's not raining, of course. One of our favorite outdoors spots, and a great place to take a hike with the family, is Jack London State Historic Park, located in the small Sonoma Valley town of Glen Ellen, about a 45-minute drive north from Marin.

As the name implies, the park is made up largely of land that was at one time the Beauty Ranch owned by renowned writer, social reformer, and rabble-rouse Jack London (1876–1916), author of classic tales like The Sea Wolf, The Call of the Wild, and White Fang. Nestled at the foot of Sonoma Mountain, the park is full of stunning scenery, historic buildings, and short easy hikes that are perfect for families. There are of course longer treks available for those who don't have two little kids in tow.

Hiking with small children is a great way to get them into the outdoors and introduce them to nature, but it can be a bit of a challenge. Small legs seem to tire out faster than larger ones, and when they outgrow both the stroller and the backpack it's best to seek out some shorter hikes that the whole family can enjoy with a minumum of whining and complaining. One of our favorite easy family hikes can be found at Rush Creek Open Space Preserve, on the northern end of Novato.

Late December always heralds the start of whale-watching season off the Northern California coast. Reports have come in of the first California Gray Whales (eschrichtius robustus) passing by Point Reyes, so it's a great time to head out to the coast and check out the whales' annual southern migration. We still continue our tradition of never actually spotting one (although everyone around us seems to be seeing them), but that won't stop us from dusting off the binoculars and giving it another shot. Every year, California Gray Whales migrate from their feeding grounds in the waters off Alaska to their breeding grounds in the warmer waters near Baja California. This southern migration takes place from late December through February, with the peak in about mid January. The return trip back up north happens from March through May, with the peak watching time in mid March; late April and early May are great times to see mother whales swimming with their calves.

About the end of July you start to see people stopped by the side of the road, poking around in the bushes. No, they're not doing anything strange or unseemly; they're picking wild blackberries! Late summer is definitely blackberry season in Northern California. And what's best is that these sweet little fruits can be had for free just about anywhere, if you're willing to risk stained clothing from all that blackberry juice, as well as the occasional wound from the blackberry's thorns.

There is a native variety of wild blackberry, the California or Pacific blackberry (rubus ursinus), but that's relatively hard to find these days, being supplanted by a non-native species, the domesticated Himalayan or Armenian blackberry (rubus armeniacus). This variety, fast-growing, invasive, and considered a pest by many, was introduced as a commercial cultivar in California in the late 19th century, but like so many non-native species prevalent in the state today, it got loose and spread all over the place. An easy way to tell the difference is to look on the underside of the leaves. The California variety is green, whereas the Himalayan is white.

Last year we wrote about the proposal to help alleviate California's budget problems by closing 48 of our priceless state parks. This year, things are worse, and our state legislators have returned with another proposal, this time to shut down 200—80%—of our state parks! This is an incredibly short-sighted, harmful, and embarrassing proposal that ultimately will only serve to hurt the state of California, its citizens, and visitors.

According to the California State Parks Foundtion, the money from the state General Fund received by the state parks accounts for less than 1/10 of one percent of the entire state budget. In 2008 alone, there were over 80,000,000 visitors to the California State Parks, and numbers for 2009 were projected to be even higher. In fact, the parks are a valuable source of income for the state: for every dollar that funds the state parks, $2.35 is returned to California's General Fund by economic activity within surrounding communities. This decision could actually cost the state hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue.

I know it sounds a little strange, but a great hike that's perfect for kids can be found on the grounds of the Las Gallinas Valley Sanitary District in northern San Rafael. It's a complex of trails and fire roads near the district's treatment plants off of Smith Ranch Road, near McInnis Park. The trails are wide and flat, and are excellent for use with off-road capable strollers and bikes. The paths wind atop levees through the wetlands bordering San Pablo Bay. A wide variety of birds make their homes out here; we've seen white pelicans, geese, mallards, cormorants, turkey vultures, several kinds of egrets, red-wing blackbirds, and others. It's kind of a "who's who" of local avian wildlife, so make sure you bring your binoculars.
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When you're sick of shopping... When you can't stand another Christmas song piped in on the sound system... When you can't bear one more cheesy holiday special on ABC Family Channel's seemingly endless parade of TV movies... Maybe it's time to forget about the Christmas rush, bundle up, hit the trail, and take the family outdoors for a holiday hike.

Fortunately for us, we live in California, and winter is almost like our spring: no snow, no ice, and bright green grass springing up everywhere. It's really one of the most beautiful times to head outdoors and take a hike and be thankful that you didn't listen to your older brother and move out to Chicago, where as I write this it's a balmy 8ºF.