Nestled on the second story of a church on St. Pete’s 22nd Avenue South, Pathfinder Education has spent 25 years trying to get more of us to go outdoors.
It’s surprising what a little time in the trees can do for people who aren’t accustomed to the natural environment, said the nonprofit’s co-executive director, Sherry Bagley.
“There’s definitely a nature deficit, and there’s a whole school of thought behind that,” she said. “There’s research that kids that don’t connect with nature as adults don’t support things like national parks.”
Pathfinder does a variety of things to coax people out into Florida’s natural environment, where Bagley says they can overcome fears, develop key skills and learn how to live better. Group outings are anywhere from a half-day to five days, and may include lessons about how to do stuff in the wilderness with limited resources — say, start a campfire without matches — or about life in Old Florida.
But tree climbs are the biggie. Harnessed climbs offer a safe way to get some elevation, and the organization also offers an open climb in a tree at its headquarters, which Bagley said is an estimated two centuries old.
“So, in putting a harness on and climbing a tree, you can focus on self-reliance, healthy decision-making, taking risks — safe risks; knowing what kind of risks you can take,” Bagley said. “Fun plays a huge part in it, because while you’re having fun you’re learning. It’s a huge self-confidence builder. It also levels the playing field a lot, especially the tree-climbing thing, when we have groups that are adults and kids combined, and it’s really fun to see the kids be faster and learn quicker than the adults. And so it kind of sheds light on how kids are really [as] self-reliant and really good at things as maybe adults are.”
And getting kids away from their precious screen time to scope out a frog or a caterpillar, or conquer their fear of heights in an area like Lithia, which is wooded but by no means remote? Priceless.
“The kids think they’re so far away from civilization, and they’re not. It feels like it, though, and it feels awesome,” Bagley said. “They get away from technology when they do that. They don’t use their phones. They don’t have TV or computers. And they really just get dirty and sweaty and they have fun.”
This article appears in May 4-11, 2017.