Re: “Lack of outdoor adventure will hurt parks and trails” (TNT, 2-14) and “Nature giving way to virtual reality” (TNT, 2-5).

Both articles highlight the growing issue of the attachment our nation’s youth have to the ever-growing world of media and technology. As this technology develops further, this problem of “videophilia” will only become larger, and the social ramifications will be felt more heavily – from the physical state of our youth to the demand for access to our national parks.

One solution to this concern is developing access to open space and natural environment for our youth to interact with, and fostering a stronger connection between the land and the people that live there. House Bill 2844, the Evergreen Cities bill, that is in the Legislature this session is one way to help achieve this goal.

Aiming to protect and restore urban forests, the bill would ensure that our communities have more trees, provide an outdoor environment for our youth, and promote consciousness of landscape, pushing open spaces, such as our national parks, back into the foresight of the public. The Evergreen Cities campaign is an important step toward diminishing the “nature deficit disorder” that is sweeping our nation.