nature love

Encourage Fun and Activity with the CLIF Kid Annual Backyard Game of the Year Contest

We’re big fans of CLIF Kids here at Growing a Green Family. Not only does this company promote healthy snacking and organic food, but each year they encourage outdoor play and activity with many outdoor initiatives, including their amazing Backyard Games Contest. Backyard Games is entering its 3rd year and there’s some new cool stuff to [...]

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Is it more important to limit sunscreen or increase outdoor time?

My sunscreen rational this year is that the safest sunscreens cost too much, as in wildly unrealistically too much for most families, so there’s a need to compromise. Thus, I posted some sunscreen choices that aren’t top of the line safe but that families can afford. Not everyone thought this was a good plan: On Facebook someone [...]

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Quick Green Tip: Find a Walk-friendly Community

If you’re moving sometime soon and have some choice about where, why not locate a walk-friendly community? A community that’s walk-friendly has plenty of perks, such as… You can walk more and drive less. You can stay fit by walking more often. You can run daily errands without a car. You’ll be happier. You can [...]

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Get back to nature but leave no trace you were there

It’s an awesome healthy goal to get outside more often, but you also need to consider the impact humans can have on nature. It’s not always a positive impact. Your goal should be to leave nature as much like you found it as humanly possible, and the Leave No Trace Center for Outdoor Ethics can [...]

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More kids stuck indoors than ever before – CLIF Kid’s Backyard Game Contest can help

A new Kelton Research survey reveals some utterly depressing (but not terribly surprising) news – kids today are stuck indoors most of the time and often it’s by choice. The new The Clif Kid Outdoor Play Survey highlights how we REALLY need to act now in order to prevent a generation of screen-bound, inactive, unhealthy [...]

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Jane Goodall Discusses Unique Facts About Disneynature’s Chimpanzee

This year, on April 20th, Disneynature’s newest movie adventure, Chimpanzee popped into theaters. The film introduces families to little Oscar, a young chimpanzee who is left to fend for himself when his family is attacked until Oscar receives some amazing help from a new buddy. If you’re interested in learning more about this movie head over to [...]

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How to cut screen time and get your kids outside

I recently wrote, 50 things I did outside as a kid that didn’t kill me, a post that got me thinking about how come I did all this cool stuff outside, but kids today don’t. I think it’s due to two major issues – screens and parent comfort with the outside world. Kids are glued, [...]

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Is it safe to let your kids play outside alone?

As I noted in that 50 things I did outside as a kid that didn’t kill me post, plenty of parents today are too scared to allow their kids any freedom when it comes to outside play. In fact, the Kids Fighting Chance website notes that a recent study of parents’ worries by pediatricians at the Mayo Clinic in [...]

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50 things I did outside as a kid that didn’t kill me

Kids are pretty darn sheltered these days. On Facebook I once posed the question to some parents, “At what age is it safe to let kids play alone outside?” The answers I got freaked me out. Parents posted stuff like, “14, 18 years of age” or “Never.” Very few parents said they allowed their kids [...]

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The Lorax Movie Coming Soon!

In case you missed the news, The Lorax Movie is on the way! Due to hit theaters March 02, 2012, the film features the voices of Danny DeVito, Ed Helms, Zac Efron, Betty White, Rob Riggle and Taylor Swift. Check out the awesome trailer below. Universal Pictures and Illumination Entertainment have turned the much-loved Dr. [...]