I always anticipate the change of the seasons - that in between time that signals movement and change -- and the transition from summer to autumn is a particularly exciting time of year. Not yet cold enough to want to stay indoors, and no longer too hot to want to stay out of the sun! The air is crisp and the colors vivid; I just want to be outside for the mere joy of being outside!

Through our work with urban schools, where so many kids have no access to wilderness, we have seen how important it is to bring children outside and into the woods -- to surround them with the sights, sounds and smells of nature -- as a tangible way to promote environmental literacy. Through direct contact with soil, trees, bugs and every part of the local ecosystem, children begin to learn of the incredibly diverse and complex web of life to which we are all connected.

Next week we are participating in the national "Take a Child Outside Week." We invite you to bring a child or youth to the Wakefield estate and explore the outdoors for the mere joy of being outdoors...