The Casual Outdoorist » A blog for all things outdoors

Building a Cooler Cart – Part 3

December 17, 2020January 5, 2021
by The Casual Outdoorist

Welcome to Part 3! We’re almost ready to relax in the backyard, enjoying an ice cold beverage. First, I’ll show you how to finish building a cooler cart to keep them at that icy refreshing temperature. In Part 1, I modified the structure of a free grill cart to better fit the (also free) cooler. Part 2 showed how to panel the sides and back and install a drain. Now we’ll complete the paneling, make the lid, and add some interior storage and some finishing touches.

In case you missed it:
Building a Cooler Cart – Part 1
Building a Cooler Cart – Part 2

Step 1 – Finish the front paneling

The front was slightly more complicated because I wanted to add a hatch for some interior storage. The cart is much longer than the cooler and it would be a shame for that extra space to go to waste. First, I added a vertical support in line with the end of the cooler using some of the wood that we removed in part 1.

To frame out the cooler, I added a 2×4 between this vertical support and the rear paneling. This will also give it support for the top panels over the storage compartment. Be sure that the vertical support and this 2×4 are level with the rest of the cart.

Tabletop support — Support for the tabletop

Next I measured and cut the top two panels of the cooler section. I installed the top panel, attaching it with nails using my Ridgid 18V brad nailer. I had seen an idea that I wanted to try, installing strong magnets in the wood below the bottle opener to catch bottlecaps as they fall. In my case, this did not work because the magnets I had on hand were not strong enough. However, if you’d like to try it, you can find some strong neodymium (rare earth) magnets and install them like I did below.

I drilled holes slightly larger than the magnets and glued them in with Gorilla Glue in a grid pattern so I would have a larger area to catch the bottlecaps.

Next, I cut and installed the remaining paneling. Again, like in part 2, I had to rip the width of the bottom board on the table saw to fit flush with the bottom of the legs. I cut two small pieces to cover the frame to the right of the storage compartment door.

Front paneling finished — Front paneling is finished!

Step 2 – Making the top

Next, I cut the boards for the top. I wanted at least a 1″ overhang on all sides. Fortunately, it worked out well that the cooler was about three boards deep, so I didn’t have to rip the width of any boards. Cutting all of the boards oversized by a few inches allowed me to test fit them around the cooler and measure the overhang on the front and back. I cut the sides to match that overhang. I went ahead and nailed down the front board so I could flush the others against it.

Next, I traced the pattern below on the next board, so it would fit closer to the cooler’s outside corner. I used an appropriately-sized roll of tape to trace the curve.

I cut this with the jigsaw and test-fit it against the cooler. In retrospect, this could have been trimmed a little closer to the cooler so there would be less of a gap. To be fair, though, the front of the cooler had a slight curve rather than being straight. I trimmed the other end of the board to give the proper overhang and installed the board.

Cut around the corner — This cut could be closer.

The center board only needed to be cut to length for the overhang. I repeated the process to trim and install the other center boards, and then attached the rear board. The tabletop is now complete!

Step 3 – Storage compartment door

With the top in place, the storage compartment opening could be measured for the door. It was about 8 1/4″ wide and two boards tall. To allow space for the door to open and close, I decided to leave an 1/8″ gap all around.

Measuring the door frame — Measuring the storage door frame.

I cut two scrap boards to 8″ long and cut 1/8″ off the width of each with the table saw. I used a scrap piece of 1×4 to join the two boards to make the door, nailing them together with the brad nailer. We will install the door later, along with the hardware.

Step 4 – The cooler lid

The cooler lid would be a framed box that would be hinged, allowing it to fit flush over the cooler itself. With the lid in place, I measured the height of the lid, plus the thickness of a scrap 1×4. This gives us the height of the sides of the lid box at 2 1/2″.

Measuring height of the lid — Measuring for the height of the side pieces

I cut pieces of 1×4 to the length and width of the cooler lid, then ripped them to 2 1/2″ wide on the table saw. The front and back pieces are longer so they will overlap the side pieces (see the pic below). I also cut two more pieces to fit across the top of the lid, which will provide support to attach the lid to the box. These are lined up with the cup holders in the lid. I test fit all of the pieces before assembling.

Since it would be subject to more movement than the rest of the cart, I glued the boards with water-resistant Gorilla wood glue before nailing them together with brads.

Gluing the framing — Glue reinforces the lid framing

More wood glue reinforced the 1×6 boards that made up the top of the lid box. I continued the boards across to cover the box.

Lid box top paneling — Paneling the top of the box

With the box complete, I turned it over with the lid still inside. Where the cup holders are, inside there was a small dimple, giving me a placement for the screws to attach the lid to the box. I used 3″ screws with a washer to prevent them from pulling through the plastic.

In the picture below, you can see where the screws line up with the frame pieces in the box. The lid box is now complete and ready to be attached.

Step 5 – Hardware and finishing touches

Before installing the hardware, I gave all of the edges a light sanding to take off any splinters or rough spots. I painted all of the hardware with gloss black spray paint.

With the lid in place to ensure it fits snugly on the cooler, I attached the hinges to the rear of the lid box, then to the tabletop.

I found this set of two paper towel holders on Amazon. The rustic black pipe look complements the bare wood of the paneling well. I installed one on each side of the cart.

Pro-tip: These towel holder screw into the flange clockwise (righty-tighty), so install them with the flange to the left. This way, any weight on the towel arm will only tighten it rather than loosen it.

I installed storage door hinges and handle, and mounted it in the door frame. Make sure it doesn’t bind on any edges. I also added a magnetic catch inside to hold the door closed (not shown). The lid box got its own handle, and I attached a bottle opener. If you use the magnet trick to catch the bottlecaps, make sure to place the opener just above them.

Remaining hardware installed — The remaining hardware is installed

Building a cooler cart is a simple and rewarding project!

It provides a useful and stylish way to store those cold drinks on a hot summer day. You can also show off your skills by building a cooler cart. Ours proudly stands near the grill on our deck, ready to serve up icy refreshment!

Cooler cart complete — In its place of honor

Backyard Oasis

Building a Cooler Cart – Part 2

December 17, 2020January 5, 2021
by The Casual Outdoorist

Picture this: you’re relaxing in your backyard, enjoying some time with family and friends. It’s hot out, and your mouth starts to get a bit dry – parched, even. You reach for an ice cold beverage from your very own cooler cart… <SLURP> Ahhh… refreshing. Your friends are impressed and you tell them all about building a cooler cart.

In part 1 of this project, I showed how to take a broken grill cart and fix it up to give us the structure for our cooler cart. I also showed some design considerations that would come in handy for the later steps. In this post, we’ll look at the built-in cooler drainage and start paneling the sides and back of the cart.

In case you missed it:
Building a Cooler Cart – Part 1

Step 1 – Start paneling

So somehow I missed taking a photo of this step. Using treated 1x6s, I cut them to the length of each side and attached them with a brad nailer. (Side note, I love my Ridgid 18V brad nailer! No more dealing with compressors and air hoses!) I added boards until I was close to the bottom edge. Because of the swivel casters, I would not be able to go past the edge of the legs, so I ripped the last board to the proper width on the table saw. I did the same for both sides, and the first two boards of the back, so there was a small gap between the board and the shelf.

Sides done and the top boards of the back

A gap for the drain pipe — I left a gap for our drain pipe.

Step 2 – Create the drain

Test-fitting some scrap pipes, I found that 1/2″ schedule 40 PVC fit snugly over the cooler drain. I assembled the parts below. A 90° elbow turns the pipe to drain out the back, and the valve allows it to be opened and closed. I didn’t glue the fittings in case anything needs to be replaced later.

I test-fit the drain assembly to ensure it would fit in the space and clear through the gap between the board and shelf.

Step 3 – Notch and continue paneling

With the drain in place, I measured the board above to mark where to notch out the board below. In this case, I could notch out a 1″ square between 13-14″ from the edge of the board.

I cut the next board to length and marked where I would need to notch out, then cut it with the jigsaw.

I temporarily removed the drain so I could attach the next board. The picture below shows the drain reinstalled, to ensure it fits properly. The drain pipe extends about an inch past the back panel.

With the drain notch in the proper place, I again removed the drain to finish paneling the back. Again, I needed to rip the bottom board to the proper width to match both sides.

Step 4 – Securing the drain

I didn’t do this step until much later in the project, but I would advise doing it at this step instead. To secure the drain pipe to prevent any stress when opening or closing the valve, I added a support block underneath and secured it with a pipe strap. I test-fit the block’s position under the pipe, and added the strap so it will be clear of the valve handle. Before installing, I ran some Gorilla Glue around the inside of the drain pipe and fitted it onto the cooler drain, then strapped it down snugly.

Finally with the drain in place and secured, I added a little more Gorilla Glue around the joint between the cooler drain and the pipe. You could also use silicone sealer. This will not be holding a lot of pressure, so it just needs to protect against any major leaks.

With the drain in place, we are ready next time to complete the siding, top, and cooler lid. We’ll look at adding some interior storage and a few nice hardware accessories.

Building a Cooler Cart – Part 3

Backyard Oasis

Building a Cooler Cart – Part 1

December 17, 2020December 17, 2020
by The Casual Outdoorist

The backyard is a wonderful place to hang out with friends, host parties, and just plain relax. And you’ve gotta stay hydrated, right? What better way to store your tall frosty beverages than in a stylish and functional cooler cart? We’ll be talking about building a cooler cart for your own backyard sanctuary. In addition to hiding the cooler, this design also includes:

a small counter space (for tea pitchers, etc.)
built-in drainage for the cooler
an extra storage compartment
holders for paper towels. Because… kids.

The idea for this project came from two items that I found for free on craigslist. The first was a cooler with broken hinges, which was perfect because we won’t be using them anyway. The second was a broken homemade grill cart. The previous owner said they made it to fit a Big Green Egg or similar grill. It had good bones and could just use some tightening to be structurally sound.

Because I used a pre-existing cart, I won’t be providing exact measurements for this project. Rather, I will be focusing more on the process and considerations that went into its design. If you plan to build the cart yourself, I would suggest reading through these steps in Part 1 before you start to build. The pictures and some of the ideas may save you some headaches later on.

Step 1 – Prep the cart

This part isn’t really necessary if you’re building your cart from scratch, but I removed all of the parts that made up the top of the cart, since we will be replacing that anyway. I set aside some of the larger pieces to be used later.

Unneeded parts removed — The top, front and back boards removed

After removing the front and back skirt boards, I noticed that the side boards stuck out a little past the cart’s legs. I marked where the edges should be, removed the boards, and cut them to size. Safety tip: If you have screws sticking out like the picture below, make sure to remove them before cutting the board!

Side board to trim — The board is marked to cut to the width of the cart sides. Watch out for those screws!

After cutting, before I reinstalled the boards, I drilled a large, shallow hole so the head of the carriage bolts would be inset below the surface of the board. This is so we can install the siding boards over it later.

Trimmed and reinstalled — Much better! Note the inset carriage bolts.

Step 2 – Determine the shelf height

We want the cooler box to sit flush with the top of the cart counter. I placed the cooler – without the lid – on the shelf and a scrap piece of 1-by lumber on top of the side, to represent the thickness of the counter. The cooler was exactly one inch higher than the top edge of the scrap, so the shelf would need to be lowered by that much.

Testing the shelf height — Checking the cooler height

I removed the shelf from the sides and drilled new mounting holes one inch lower (on center), in both sides. Again, I drilled out a shallow hole so the bolts will be slightly inset.

Lowered shelf holes — Side panel with the new holes to lower the shelf

After reattaching the shelf, the cooler was flush with the scrap piece.

Lowered shelf - the cooler is flush — Mission accomplished!

Step 3 – Prep for siding

The siding needs a flat surface to attach to, so I added a couple of 1x6s to pad out the legs to be flush with the horizontal boards. If building your cart from scratch, you will want to take this into account.

Next steps…

That’s it for the structure of the cooler cart! Hopefully this should give you an idea of what you’ll need to start the build. Two main points to keep in mind: install the shelf so the cooler will be flush with the top counter, and make sure the sides are nice and flat to attach the siding. If you have any questions, feel free to ask in the comments!

Join me in the next parts where we’ll finish building a cooler cart by adding the drainage, siding and hardware.

Building a Cooler Cart – Part 2

Building a Cooler Cart – Part 3

Conservation

Visiting the NC Zoo in a Pandemic

September 3, 2020October 16, 2020
by The Casual Outdoorist

We love the North Carolina Zoo in Asheboro! It’s a great place to encourage a love of the outdoors in kids. Unfortunately, like many other places, the Zoo has been closed for the past few months due to the COVID-19 pandemic. As of June 15, the Zoo reopened to the public during Phase 2 of the NC governor’s Safer at Home plan, with many safety precautions in place. We visited on August 11, and I wanted to share our experience to help others with visiting the NC Zoo in a pandemic.

Planning in a Pandemic

There are a lot of changes to be aware of before you plan your trip. I hope to help you decide if it’s the right time for your family.

You must reserve tickets for a specific date and entry time.

The park is at a limited capacity per day. When you book your tickets online or on the phone, you must choose a specific date and entry time. Also, you must arrive within up to 30 minutes after your time. The staggered entry times help reduce crowds at the front gate. For us, Asheboro is about a 3-hour drive, so plan your arrival time carefully. Tickets are not available for walk-up purchase. Regardless of your entry time, you can stay in the zoo until closing time.

Arctic Fox — Don’t oversleep and miss your entry time!

Yes, face masks are required for all members of your group over age 11.

You are visiting the NC Zoo in a pandemic, after all! However, it’s okay to remove them when outside and you’re able to distance yourself at least six feet from other visitors not in your group. We just pulled them down for some breathing room while there weren’t other visitors around us on the trails between exhibits.

Reciprocal memberships are not currently accepted for admission.

As members of the NC Aquarium, we can usually get into the NC Zoo for free. However, during this initial reopening stage, they are not accepting any admission discount except for the NC Zoo membership. We decided to pay the regular admission price because the education, research and conservation programs that the zoo supports are causes that we believe in.

One thing to note, in the gift shop, I asked about their discount for NC Aquarium members and the cashier honored it. I don’t know if this is policy or if we got a cashier that was especially dedicated to customer service.

Not all exhibits are open at this time.

Some areas are impractical to maintain the limited capacity and social distancing required by law, so these exhibits and activities are temporarily closed. While we understood this ahead of time, it was still disappointing, because it includes some of our favorite areas. Generally, this includes all indoor habitats and dining areas, high-touch outdoor areas such as playgrounds, and most of their separately-ticketed activities. For a complete list, see the NC Zoo’s Visit page.

Bird in aviary — The Aviary is one of the exhibits that is currently closed.

Entry is only at the North American entrance.

The NC Zoo consists of a North American side and an African side, each with their own entrance. In the middle is Junction Plaza, which acts as a transition between the two areas. To control visitor flow, they have temporarily closed the African entrance, and all visitors enter at North America. However, you are still able to view all open exhibits on both sides. The usual tram service is currently limited to only one-way from Junction Plaza to the North American entrance.

Our Experience

So, what was it like, visiting the NC Zoo in a pandemic?

Ticketing and Entry

The online ticket purchasing process was clear and smooth. I selected a date and entry time, entered how many tickets per adult and children, and paid with my card. We received the tickets as a pdf attachment with a receipt via email. Unfortunately, Hurricane Isaias interfered with our scheduled visit. However, I called the zoo ticketing office a few days before and they were very helpful in moving our tickets’ date and time to a week later. The ticket staff member instructed to delete the email with our old tickets and sent a new one with the updated entry date/time.

We arrived shortly after the start of our entry time slot of 9:30am. A (socially distanced) crowd waited for the 10am time slot to open, but we were able to walk right to the front of a separate line, show our tickets, and enter the park.

Zoo Exhibits

Much like in many stores lately, they have defined a specific walking path through the park, with directional arrows to reduce crowding. In the North America section, this path generally follows the usual route through the habitats and leads you to Junction Plaza. From there, the African side makes one big loop. There are a few detours from the usual path, but unless you’ve visited the zoo before, you may not even notice. Once we got back to Junction Plaza, we were able to take the tram back to the North American station.

If you have visited the NC Zoo before, one thing you’ll have noticed is the variety of bronze statues and other nature-related artwork. These usually make for great photo-ops of the kids riding on a bison or hugging a chimpanzee. However, for that very reason, all of the statues have been covered with plastic sheeting or surrounded by plastic fencing. (Even the tiny bronze snake hanging off the guard rail outside the path to the chimp habitat!)

Restaurants and Shops

When stopping for lunch, your only seating option is outside. They have arranged all of the tables to maintain a safe distance from each other. We got pizza from one of the restaurants at Junction Plaza. The ordering line was inside the building, with social distancing markings on the floor. I have to say, the pizza was expensive (about $4/slice) and not very good, but about what I’ve come to expect from restaurants at zoos, theme parks, etc.

When we returned to the North America entrance, the kids wanted to visit the gift shop (big surprise!). A staff member at the door kept track of how many people were in the store at a given time. She allowed more visitors in as others exited. Within the store, there were distancing markings at the check-out lines and plexiglass barriers in front of the cash registers.

Overall Opinion

It was somewhat disappointing that we couldn’t see everything that the NC Zoo normally offers, particularly the indoor exhibits, but I would still say it was worth the trip. The zoo staff have a good system to allow visitors to experience as much as possible while maintaining safe distancing. At some exhibits, there was occasional minor crowding, but generally this was due to other visitors not respecting personal space. Once or twice, I had to move away when others came uncomfortably close. However, at no point did I feel unsafe for myself or my family.

So, should you and your family visit while the pandemic restrictions are in place? You should carefully weigh the following two considerations:

Am I or anyone in my family at high risk for COVID-19 infection? Like any other tourist attraction, the NC Zoo brings in people from all over, and this may increase the chances of exposure.
Is it worth paying the full price of admission if several of the exhibits are currently closed? Also, are you willing to pay the full price if you could otherwise get a discount or free admission using a reciprocal membership, such as the NC Aquariums?

So that’s our experience with visiting the NC Zoo during a pandemic. Have you visited the NC Zoo during this crazy time? I’d love to hear your experience in the comments!

Outdoor Activities

5 Ways to Instill a Love of the Outdoors in Children

July 8, 2020October 16, 2020
by The Casual Outdoorist

Ah, kids. Who doesn’t enjoy watching them run and play in the park, shout excitedly while pointing at a favorite animal at the zoo, climb that tall tree with the spindly branches in the backyard (wait, don’t do that. Your mom will kill me.). It doesn’t matter whether you’re a parent, the “cool” aunt/uncle, a teacher, or a volunteer with a community organization. The outdoors calls to us, and we love watching the next generation following in our footsteps. We want to instill a love of the outdoors in our children.

So how, in a world of video games and social media, do we teach children the joy of unplugging and getting outside? The draw of these digital dopamine dispensers is extremely powerful, especially for those exposed to them from an early age. Having grown up in the age of Atari, I get it, and I’m not opposed to recreational gaming. (For those not born in the 80’s, this was back when video game controllers had only one joystick and one button.) These days, it’s becoming increasingly important to counter the time spent in front of a screen with time spent in nature, as a way of providing balance in kids’ lives. So how can we instill a love of the outdoors in children? Here are some ideas:

Start Early and Often

As with all things, we learn best when we start from an early age. Babies and toddlers are adorable little sponges who soak up everything that they’re exposed to. Sure, they may not have a full understanding of what they’re looking at, but on some level, connections are being made in their brain that will be reinforced later. Our daughter, Nature Girl, loves to be outside and see all of the animals and plants in our yard, and we make it a priority to point out any new creatures that we find.

One day, following a hard rain, I found a crawfish walking across our driveway, apparently having made its way from a nearby pond. I captured it in a tub with some water so Nature Girl and Soccer Boy could see it. Later, we took it down to the pond and I explained that we were taking the crawfish to its home. As we released it into the water, Nature Girl said “bye shish!” Years from now, she may not remember releasing “shish” into the pond, but this occasion formed the basis for a lifelong relationship with nature.

Another key part of the learning process is repetition. Not every learning experience will be a life-changing event, so it’s important to keep hitting the smaller lessons in a variety of ways. This will build up and reinforce the foundation that we want to create. Some attempts may be hit or miss, so the more ways the lesson can be presented, the better our chance of success.

Engage their Senses

By changing up our approach to teaching our children about the outdoors, we can find which works best for them. This is also a great way to connect with our kids and learn what makes them tick! Some are great book learners, while others are more visual or experiential. Studies have shown that the more senses you can involve in a lesson, the better you will retain it. This is great for us because the outdoors are full of sensory information! In a single teachable moment around a campfire, kids can experience the following:

The orange flickering light from the fire, casting shadows on the bright colors of your tent, against the backdrop of brown, grey and green forest.
The crackling and popping of the firewood, and the sizzle of roasted hot dogs and flaming marshmallows (you might want to blow that one out.)
The smokey smell from the campfire, along with the cooking food.
The cool chill of the night air against your back and the heat of the fire warming your feet and hands.
The taste of campfire-cooked hot dogs and charred marshmallows. (Next time you’ll blow it out sooner. Told you.)

Together, all of these combine into a very vivid, very real experience, much more than could be had from sitting in front of a screen. And this is only a small instant from that camping trip.

Invest in Experiences

This is probably one of the best ways to instill a love of the outdoors in children. The Bible says, “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” (Matthew 6:21, NIV). It is true that we put our money into the things that are important to us. To encourage our children to love the outdoors, this means investing in outdoor experiences or the gear to go with them. North Carolina has a set of amazing aquariums and we purchased the family membership to the North Carolina Aquarium Society. This membership allows us free admission to any of the NC aquariums and the NC Zoo, along with other discounts and benefits. It’s a win-win, because we are also supporting a cause that we believe in – education and conservation.

Of course, this will depend on what your family is into. Our son loves to play soccer, so the school team and rec league are other things that we make a priority. If you have young children who haven’t yet found their passion, try a few different things, while keeping them focused on the outdoors.

If they’re not settled on a specific activity, you can probably keep the cost low for now. Try a sport for a single season (or just a few games if you can). Rent some kayaks for a few hours. Buy (or borrow!) only some basic camping gear to start with. You can always get more and/or better equipment later, if their interest really takes off. Pro Tip: Memberships, trips, outdoor gear, etc. also make for great gift suggestions to tell the grandparents or other relatives for birthdays or holidays!

Slow it Down

The other day, I was playing in the inflatable pool with Nature Girl, splashing and enjoying the cool water. After a while, she tired of the slide and lay with her arms on the side of the pool, watching the bees buzzing among the clover flowers. “Hey bee!… Hey bee!” she said, greeting each one that she saw. Some might react, “oh, she’s bored. Time to move on to the next toy or activity.” and would have missed out on an important opportunity.

In her own two-year-old way, Nature Girl had become a little scientist, observing the world around her and trying to connect with it. She may not have known the type of bee, but by slowing down, she was able to see it in a level of detail more than just the cartoon pictures in toddler books. She may not have known the name of the flower, but she could observe the bees’ behavior as they visited each flower, crawling over it before flying off to the next one. Observation leads to understanding, and her “hey bee!” was an attempt to connect. The bees may not have reacted to it, but it opens the way for future interactions, such as planting other flowers that they like, or building a bee hotel.

Watching my daughter, I also found myself relaxing and reflecting on what she might be learning and experiencing for the first time. Had I pushed her on to another activity, we both would have missed out on an opportunity to learn and appreciate a small part of creation.

Embrace the “Good,” the “Bad,” and the “Ugly”

Overcome with thirst, the zebra dips down for a drink at the water’s edge, unaware of the danger that lurks below. In an explosive lunge, the crocodile bursts forth, barely missing its prey. Slowly, it sinks back below the surface to wait for another victim.
(Read this in David Attenborough’s voice.)

From an early age, we are conditioned to see some animals as “good” and some as “bad.” We’re usually pretty pro-mammal, and especially the cute and cuddly ones. However, it’s critical to teach that these other creatures also have an important place in the world. Ecology doesn’t see “good” or “bad.” Some snakes, for example, keep the rodent population under control. Vultures (which fall solidly into the “ugly” category) perform an essential clean-up service.

We’re talking about teaching respect for all living things. True, from a safety standpoint, that respect may also include some healthy caution. Some animals are dangerous after all. I wouldn’t want my toddler to pick up a snake, but it would be wonderful for her to observe it from a safe distance. The more complex education will come later, such as identifying the type of snake, venomous or not, etc.

Banded water snake — A banded water snake

To instill a love of the outdoors in children involves their understanding. Education is an important part of preventing this bias against “bad” or “ugly” creatures. Why does the vulture look the way it does? What do snakes to to help our environment? Again, you can include as many senses as you can. Why do flowers smell sweet? Why does that mushroom stink? There is a purpose for all of these things, and learning about them will open a broader world for your child.

Instill a Love of the Outdoors in Children

By using these techniques, we can teach our children a love and respect for the outdoors. Start them out early and often, using a variety of different activities and senses. Invest in memberships, equipment and activities that encourage kids to enjoy their time outside. Every now and then, allow them to slow down and take time to really notice the world around them. And don’t forget, even if a creature isn’t cute and cuddly, it still plays an important role in the environment. These lessons support a lifestyle that loves being outside.