Tuesday, June 23, 2009

Lt. Gov. O'Brien Visits Steamboat Conservation Corps Site to Promote Kids' Outdoor Activity


 
Steamboat Springs – Lt.Gov. Barbara O'Brien today took her Colorado Kids Outdoors tour to Steamboat Springs, visiting a Rocky Mountain Youth Corps site doing trail work and restoration on Snake Island. Rocky Mountain Youth Corps has received Recovery Act funding to help put youth to work and assist local communities.
 
"This is a wonderful demonstration of our national resources connecting young people to the outdoors," said Lt. Gov. O'Brien. "The community, the kids, the environment will all benefit from what happens this summer," she added.
 
Lt. Gov. O'Brien held a forum for stakeholders in Steamboat Springs, the fifth in a series of statewide forums.  She is conducting a Colorado Kids Outdoors tour of the state this summer to find out what communities are doing to reconnect children to the outdoors.
 
"Colorado has a culture of outdoor activity that is important to our lifestyle. We bike, we hike and we go outdoors year round and we need to pass that culture along to the next generation," she added.
 
Nationally, children spend half the time outdoors they did 20 years ago and the childhood obesity rate has doubled. Research studies show that children are connected to electronic devices six and half hours a day. 
 
"We need to understand what works in our communities around Colorado. This is not just about sending our children outside. It's about what makes them healthier, more ready to learn and more connected to their world," said Lt. Gov. O'Brien.