Did you know that even just a view of the outdoors has tremendous benefits for our bodies, brains, and hearts? Getting outside will look a little different this year, and Screen-Free Saturdays are the perfect opportunity to explore new outdoor adventures. Join us as we unplug to get outside this week!

Also, a quick update: this will be our last full weekly Screen-Free Saturdays e-mail! To help reduce the digital noise, we’ll be sending emails just once or twice a month. For inspiration in the meantime, we’ll keep sharing ideas on our Facebook page, creating resources, and answering your questions. We hope Screen-Free Saturdays become a weekly tradition for you and your family! 

Now, get outside! 😉

55 Nature-Related, Screen-Free Activities

Public health regulations are all over the map right now when it comes to access to public parks, deep trail hiking recommendations, and even walking around the neighborhood — but kids need to be outside! To help, we compiled a list of 55 Nature-Related Screen-Free Activities for quarantine and beyond.

– Go for a stroll.
– Lay in the grass.
– Find a tree to read under.
– Jump in a puddle.
– Venture down a street you’ve never gone down.
– Discover a rooftop garden nearby.
– Plant seeds and help them grow.
– Bring a basket on your walk. Collect beautiful things from nature.
– Pull weeds from the sidewalk/yard/garden.
– Wash the car, bike, or a neighbor’s car.
– Find a building with plants growing on it.
– Go for a rock hunt. Compare sizes, colors, weights, & shapes.
– See how many different colors you can find on a walk/out the window.

For more on accessing nature while physical distancing, we like what our friends at Sierra Club have to offer: “You can reap many of the benefits of nature without traveling, and the best way to observe public health guidelines right now is to stay home, visit the local parks and trails in your community (if they are still open), and bring nature inside.”

Kids to Parks Day

Our Screen-Free Week endorsers at the National Parks Trust celebrated Kids to Parks (now Parks to Kids) Day on May 16, and have tons of great resources! Their fun BINGO activity and ways to connect to nature on a small scale work great whether you’re in the forest or looking out your apartment window. View all of their resources here.

Finding Nature

Screen-Free Week Endorsers Children & Nature Network have launched an exciting new project! FindingNature.org is dedicated to helping kids and families stay connected to the outdoors during the pandemic. Check out their resources, which are focused on equitable access to nature, here!

Community Connections

Now more than ever, we need to practice using imaginative hope to think seriously about how to create a healthier, nature-rich, more equitable civilization in the years to come.
Rich Louv, Author and Co-founder of the Children & Nature Network

One thing that we’ve learned from the pandemic is that nature access looks very different depending on where you live and how many resources you have. Around the U.S., safe outdoor spaces are often inaccessible to communities of color, people with disabilities, LGBTQ+ people and other marginalized groups. Enter UnlikelyHikers podcast: a community of outdoors enthusiasts who are committed to breaking down barriers for getting outside!

 Make sure to stay connected with all of our Screen-Free Saturdays ideas, resources, and fun by taking the pledge: