The Young Hikers Program is an initiative by Hike Ontario, the only provincial non-profit organization dedicated to preserving, protecting and promoting the hiking trails and footpaths of Ontario.
The Young Hikers Program was created to foster an appreciation of Ontario's hiking and walking opportunities amongst young Ontarians and to inspire young people to take action in the protection, preservation and growth of Ontario's footpaths.
The Young Hikers Program website provides activities for youth leaders and curriculum-focused lessons for K-12 educators, as well as links to resources for parents, with one goal in mind: to get youth outside and onto the beautiful trails of Ontario.
Hike Ontario is dedicated to cultivating the healthy hikers and leaders of tomorrow, today.
How does being outside help young people stay healthy?
In 2005, author Richard Louv introduced the term “nature deficit disorder” in his book Last Child in the Woods, to describe the human costs of alienation from nature.
Since 2005, the number of studies of the impact of nature experience on human development has grown from a handful to nearly one thousand. This expanding body of scientific evidence suggests that nature-deficit disorder contributes to a diminished use of the senses, attention difficulties, conditions of obesity, and higher rates of emotional and physical illnesses. Research also suggests that the nature-deficit weakens ecological literacy and stewardship of the natural world. These problems are linked more broadly to what health care experts call the “epidemic of inactivity,” and to a devaluing of independent play. — Richard Louv, “What is Nature-Deficit Disorder?”