Setting up camp: This weekend, hundreds of groups across the country will pitch tents, make s’mores and get away from gadgets for one night

Setting up camp
This weekend, hundreds of groups across the country will pitch tents, make s’mores and get away from gadgets for one night
Thursday, June 24, 2010 02:53 AM
By Jim Weiker
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH
Sydney Tyler plays on a tree swing after putting up a tent in her grandparents’ backyard with her mother, Marla.
Will Figg | DISPATCH
Sydney Tyler plays on a tree swing after putting up a tent in her grandparents’ backyard with her mother, Marla.
Sydney Tyler and her mother practice for the Great American Backyard Campout, scheduled for Saturday nationwide.
Will Figg | DISPATCH
Sydney Tyler and her mother practice for the Great American Backyard Campout, scheduled for Saturday nationwide.
The Great American Backyard Campout, sponsored by the National Wildlife Federation, will take place Saturday. For more information or to register, visit “Get Outside” at www.nwf.org.

Connie Stover’s children love to camp out: sleeping outdoors, gathering around the fire and telling stories in the tent.Beyond all the nature stuff, though, camping holds a few added attractions.

“I really like staying up late,” said 9-year-old Emily. “And I love to cook s’mores.”

Whatever the lure, Mom welcomes it.

Stover vividly remembers camping as a child, and she wants her five children to have similar experiences.

“It’s inexpensive, it’s outdoors, it’s nature, it’s family time together, and it’s good memories,” said the 41-year-old Grove City resident.

The National Wildlife Federation wants others to understand firsthand what Stover enjoys several times a year: On Saturday, the nonprofit conservation group will sponsor the sixth annual Great American Backyard Campout, designed to draw Americans out of the house and into nature, even if nature consists of a manicured lawn next to a patio.

“This is all part of our campaign called ‘Be Out There’ – to make sure kids get outdoor time,” said Karoline Hurd, a senior events manager with the federation.

Last year, Hurd said, the event attracted about 90,000 participants nationwide.

This year, organizers asked participating groups – instead of individuals – to register with the federation, making it difficult to gauge whether the event has grown. As of Monday, about 500 teams had signed up, Hurd said, with 21 from Ohio including groups from Columbus, Bexley and Gahanna.

Camping can be especially valuable today as an antidote to the myriad electronic distractions facing young people, said Jonathan Bonness, director of camping with the Simon Kenton Council of the Boy Scouts of America.

“It’s a good alternative – to force youth to be outdoors where they can learn about daddy longlegs and bugs and weather, to experience a

rainstorm outside and to play in the mud and go creeking,” Bonness said.

Children might complain about forgoing PlayStations, iPods or laptops when they leave the house, he said, but they forget about such things when they arrive at a campsite.

“Most of them, they’re not bored, and they don’t miss their electronic gadgets.”

Stover bans such toys during her family’s camping trips.

“I don’t let them take any of that electronic stuff with them when we go,” she said. “We’re not going to be bug-eyed with games. That’s not why we’re there. We’re there to make friends, build a fire, enjoy the great outdoors.

“Sometimes they grumble about that, but, once they get there, they have a great time.”

The Stover children don’t disagree.

“Sometimes I go camping, and it would be nice to have my iPod,” said Nathan, 15. “But when you start thinking about it, it’s nice to go somewhere and not see kids texting all the time.”

At 7, Sydney Tyler isn’t fix-ated on iPods or video games, but her mother still considers camping a way to remind her daughter about the world beyond electronics.

“We live in a community that’s pretty well-off, and the kids have a lot of the fancy stuff,” said Marla Tyler of Bexley.

“To take off for a night of camping is just a good opportunity to get back to nature.”

Tyler enlisted two other families to visit Lake Hope State Park near Athens for the Great American Backyard Campout, which she saw promoted on the American Girl doll website.

“My daughter and I camp out in the backyard sometimes, and I thought this would be a good opportunity to get out to the park and do it,” said Tyler, who enjoyed camping when she was young.

Rachell and Cliff Bernhardt used to camp a lot before their daughter, Stella, was born more than two years ago.

Now eager to resume camping, the Northwest Side couple figured that the national campout would be an ideal opportunity to see whether their toddler is ready.

The Bernhardts plan to make a family event out of the night, with three nieces and a nephew in two tents in their backyard.

“We hope to start camping again,” Mrs. Bernhardt said. “Even if you don’t go far, it’s different from being home.”

Despite the many distractions, Bonness said, youngsters aren’t necessarily the ones who resist the outdoors.

“It can be pouring down rain, and the kids love it,” he said. “The parents will be the ones complaining.”

jweiker@dispatch.com