Generation Wild's new campaign to reconnect kids with nature by increasing the amount of time they spend outside in unstructured play, 99 Days Outdoors: A Wilder Summer, kicks off Sunday, May 30th! The campaign aims to inspire parents across Colorado to get their kids outdoors this summer by providing accessible, achievable ideas for spending time outside. Generation Wild’s popular part goat, part yeti, all friend mascot, Wilder, will return for an epic 99-day adventure across the state making appearances in Colorado communities and showcasing different ways to spend time outdoors.

“Kids are spending less time outdoors – and more time on screens and in structured activities – than ever before, and Generation Wild is on a mission to change that,” said GOCO Executive Director Jackie Miller. “Parents are busy! The goal for this year’s campaign is to provide 99 days of ideas that help them find inspiration for unstructured outdoor play so their kids can get outside every single day and have a blast doing it.”

Generation Wild will share daily inspiration with parents and a ton of ideas that will help kids and their families have “A Wilder Summer.” Examples of activities stem from the 100 Things To Do Before You’re 12 list and include:

• Build a fort  
• See what’s hiding under a rock
• Tightrope walk on a log
• Find shapes in the clouds

• June 4: Get Outdoors Day (Colorado Springs)
  
  
• June 21: Generation Wild Day (Grand Junction) - To encourage kids to get outdoors, Wilder has set up a scavenger hunt and has hidden 32 golden water bottles across every region of Colorado. Beginning on Monday, June 20, Generation Wild will be posting clues on social media for the scavenger hunt that begins on June 21. Messaging inside the bottle will reveal the prize won. Prizes include stickers, pencils, CPW park passes, zoo tickets and more. To help track winners, each water bottle will include an Apple Air Tag that can be disconnected and discarded after it is found. Winners are encouraged to post a photo with the prize to Facebook or Instagram @GenerationWildColorado and to be entered to win a grand prize.
  
  
• July 30: World Record Hopscotch Event (Denver/Aurora)
• Generation Wild will attempt to beat the record for the world’s largest hopscotch, which currently stands at 4.2 miles. With the help of the community, Generation Wild will seek to create the longest contiguous hopscotch as well as the most people hopscotching at one time along Denver’s High Line Canal. 

Families are encouraged to follow along on social media to see what Wilder is up to as he explores destinations that are off the beaten path and shares treasures from every corner of the state. 

“99 Days Outdoors will take families through every nook and cranny of Colorado,” said Miller. “From rural to urban, we’re highlighting unique aspects of Colorado that will inspire ideas for getting outdoors anywhere and everywhere.”

Generation Wild was created by Great Outdoors Colorado (GOCO) to reconnect kids with nature by increasing the amount of time they spend outside in unstructured play – the kind of play that used to be way more common. The program is an integrated, statewide effort supported by a statewide network of non-profit, public, and private partner organizations. In 12 Colorado communities, diverse, locally based Generation Wild coalitions are creating equitable access to the outdoors with new places to play, outdoor programs, and pathways to leadership opportunities and jobs in the outdoors.

For more information, follow Generation Wild on Facebook and Instagram. #GenerationWild #99DaysOutdoors 

ABOUT GREAT OUTDOORS COLORADO 

Great Outdoors Colorado (GOCO) invests a portion of Colorado Lottery proceeds to help preserve and enhance the state’s parks, trails, wildlife, rivers, and open spaces. GOCO’s independent board awards competitive grants to local governments and land trusts and makes investments through Colorado Parks and Wildlife. Created when voters approved a Constitutional Amendment in 1992, GOCO has since funded more than 5,500 projects in urban and rural areas in all 64 counties without any tax dollar support. Visit GOCO.org for more information.