Although there has been a ground swell of interest in getting children “back to the woods” over the past decade, there remains much to be done. The electronic age is still expanding at full throttle, and as it does the interest in outdoor recreation continues to decline.

Despite public awareness of the importance of nature, the disconnect continues to expand. Outdoor leaders need to quickly move toward action on every level: family, school, business, health and industry, as well as civic and governmental entities. There is a real need to motivate children, parents and educators to do more outdoors. Outdoor education appears to be an ancient notion, in a world where technology is king.

The more high-tech and detached our lives become from the outside world, the more nature we will need. Living in the rustic comfort of one of the most of natural settings in the country it is easy to overlook that fact.

Although it is a human right to have a meaningful connection to nature, we often have a tendency to take it for granted. However, with that right comes responsibilities.

Few would question the notion that humans live in a hard-wired world. Despite these realities researchers have discovered that regardless of the culture, humans tend to gravitate toward images of nature. Despite the rapid growth of technology, it is impossible to escape our natural affiliations.

Studies indicate humans suffer when they are withdrawn from nature. Australian professor Glenn Albrecht, director of the Institute of Sustainability and Technology Policy at Murdoch University coined the term “solastalgia,” in an effort to define “the pain that is experienced when there is recognition that the place where one resides and that one loves is under immediate assault.”

We know that nature restores our senses, but researchers at the University of Michigan have now demonstrated that after just an hour interacting with nature, memory performance and attention spans can be improved by 20 percent. Studies indicate that in workplaces that are designed with nature in mind, employees are more productive and take less sick time.

Nature can reduce depression and improve psychological well-being. Researchers in Sweden have found that joggers who exercise in a natural green setting feel more restored and less anxious, angry or depressed than people who burn the same amount of calories jogging in a built urban setting.

Of course, we’ve long accepted the fact that the natural environment serves to bond families and friends. It is a natural compulsion that harkens back to the earliest days of human existence, when we were forced to band together for safety and security against the forces of nature.

In addition to the efforts of organizations such as the Child and Nature Network, there are a variety of public entities that are now moving forward with initiatives that are intended to foster a natural connection. In Albany, kids can now use a library card to check out a fishing rod, so they can sit by the Hudson River to try their luck.

Elsewhere in the country, a legislator in Wisconsin recently presented a proposed bill that would allow hunters to wear blaze pink hunting gear rather than the traditional orange. In Wisconsin, females currently outnumber men three to one among new hunters. They will now have an opportunity to hunt in both comfort and style.

“I wanted to explore the possibility of allowing blaze pink hunting clothing as a way to recognize and encourage the increasing number of women who are hunting in Wisconsin,” Rep. Nick Milroy explained. “Other states are expected to fall in line, as female hunters now account for a majority of newcomers to the sport. The times are changing rapidly.”

The National Sporting Goods Association reports the number of female hunters has increased by a whopping 50 percent in recent years, to more than 2.75 million participants. Female bowhunters have likewise increased by 500,000 while female target shooters also increased by nearly 500,000.

For those who missed the very limited coverage of shooting sports at the Rio Olympic Games, US Olympian Kim Rhodes won the bronze medal in women’s skeet shooting in a lengthy shoot off. It was her sixth consecutive medal in six consecutive Olympic competitions, dating back to the games in Atlanta. Unfortunately, the event received very little coverage on network television.

Maybe the press would have taken notice of her amazing accomplishments if she had been Ryan Lochte’s bodyguard.