Did you know that July is National Park and Recreation Month?

With my girls it seems like every single day is a day to celebrate the park… since they are two and four years old they need absolutely no encouragement to get outside and enjoy the outdoors.  I on the other hand need a bit of a push since I am now 33 weeks pregnant and it has been SO hot lately, but usually I am just as excited as Alleigh and Kaelyn to get outside.  I am trying to get the girls outside and to the park as often as possible before Willow arrives since life will have to slow down just a tad for a short time.  And as you can see they love all of our local parks and I love that we have so many which means we can get a change of scenery!

The 2012 National Park and Recreation theme is “Get Wild” which encourages families to play outside and enjoy all of the benefits that local parks have to offer… as you can see we are all about that! These benefits include various programs developed to inspire healthy, active lifestyles along with activities geared towards helping kids learn to appreciate nature and the environment in their local communities.

Check out these facts about local parks that you might not know….

There are at least 12,000 publically funded state and local park and recreation services in the United States.

United States urban park trees remove 75,000 tons of air pollutants annually translating to an economic benefit of $500 million each year.

Children that have easy access to a playgrounds are
approximately five times more likely to have a healthy weight than children that do not have easy access to playgrounds.

Studies have shown that parks help boost the economy and contribute to the value of surrounding residential properties.

Plus they help make the local community a safer place to raise a family.

So are you ready to “Get Wild” this July?  If so make sure to visit the National Recreation and Parks Association website where you can find a calendar of local events happening across the country, the official toolkit (to help promote “Get Wild”), and an opportunity to take the “Get Wild” pledge! 

Oh and there is also a Get Wild Geocaching Contest – now this is something my sister and I would love to do together.  If you haven’t ever been Geocaching it is a real-world, outdoor treasure hunting game using GPS-enabled devices and is a great way to get out and explore your local park and recreation areas in your community.  For this contest you geocache like normal and then share your geocaching photos with the National Recreation and Parks Association on Facebook. You’ll then be automatically entered in the NRPA’s GET WILD Geocaching Contest to win one of 5 Magellan GC eXplorist GPS Devices (see Facebook page for full contest rules)!

Will you be joining us and getting wild this July?  What do you plan to do with your family to enjoy the local parks in your area?  I know my girls and I will be climbing all over the playgrounds, hiking in the woods, swimming in the wading pools, and geocaching… that is until Willow makes her appearance!

I wrote this review while participating in a blog tour by Mom Central Consulting on behalf of National Recreation and Park Association and received a promotional item to thank me for taking the time to participate.