Guest columnist Mary Macias is the CEO and co-founder of Footpath Foundation, which works to give kids greater access to the outdoors. Footpath will celebrate its 10-year anniversary on Oct. 23 with a birthday party called Adventure Under the Stars. Visit www.footpathfoundation.org for details.
The sounds of birds and gravel crunching under my feet are replaced by screams of happiness and splashing water as I approach the lake.
Few of our Footpath Foundation kids know how to swim, but they all want to play in the water or try kayaking or canoeing.
The lake is where you see differing levels of fear and anxiety mixed with excitement. My own daughters call it “nervcitement.”
It is that feeling in your stomach when you’re both anxious and excited — and it usually comes before trying something new.
It’s quickly replaced with smiles, feelings of accomplishment and pride.
In order to summon those feelings, we must first make sure our youth can safely take part in water-based activities.
Every kid is carefully fitted for a life jacket. And then off they go.
The life jacket is more than a safety device.
Whether they are swimming in a lake for the first time, jumping off a dock, standing up on a paddleboard or canoeing with a friend, kids feel braver and more confident when wearing one – and that confidence is something all youth need.
Why is gaining self-confidence so important, especially to kids and tweens?
It helps them to gain independence, to build resilience and to improve their overall mental health. These skills are essential for them to become healthy and thriving adults.
Kids develop these essential skills when having new outdoor experiences. That’s the unwavering truth we see as we celebrate 10 years of Footpath programming in Northeast Ohio.
Year after year, the kids’ responses to our surveys vary only slightly, with common themes prevailing.
We ask: “How do you feel after spending time outside?” No matter what year it is, they use the same words: “Happy.” “Calm.” “Free.”
We ask them, “What did you learn?” They say: “I can do hard things.” “Don’t give up.” “I like nature more than my phone.”
Outdoors, kids prove to themselves that they can do things that feel scary.
I was hiking with a group once and I was the “caboose,” which means I stayed at the back to make sure nobody got separated.
A 10-year-old boy stopped so fast that I almost ran into him.
I asked him, “Whoa, what’s wrong?”
He said, “Nothing, it just feels so weird under my feet.” He was feeling dirt instead of concrete. Walking on a natural trail was a whole new experience for him.
I appreciate all those who, over the past decade, have given Footpath Foundation a life jacket — one that has provided kids with the opportunity to be outside, to try new things and to thrive.
These are things that change young lives.
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