Green Time, Not Screen Time: Nature Field Trips To Inspire The Next Generation

According to the National Wildlife Federation, the average American child spends as little as 30 minutes per day engaging in unstructured outdoor play, and up to seven hours per day on a screen. Some studies suggest that children may be spending as little as four to seven minutes per day outside. Here at Jefferson County Greenways (JCG), we like to promote green time, not screen time - and one of the best ways that we do that is through our outdoor education field trips, where students experience hands-on learning in nature.

Creating Wonder, One Field Trip At A Time

So far in 2026, JCG is proud to have brought almost 1,500 students and 29 field trips into our parks for a fun, positive experience in nature. These students have enjoyed guided hikes, discovering bugs under logs, dip netting in the creek, removing invasive plants, exploring Birmingham’s mining history, meeting live snakes, hawks, and turtles, and more. As one of the naturalists who leads these field trips, one of the best parts of my day is watching a child’s eyes fill with wonder when they discover the beauty of nature - watching a click beetle jump, discovering a caterpillar on a flower, or catching a crawfish in the creek.

We have had some wonderful moments already this year. Tuscaloosa Christian School was the first school to meet our new Wildlife Ambassador, Kittyhawk, a Red-Tailed Hawk, Buteo jamaicensis. For the first time since I have been leading programs at Turkey Creek Nature Preserve, students from Vestavia Hills Elementary West found every single bioindicator in Turkey Creek that is sensitive to pollution, proving that Turkey Creek is very healthy. Edgewood Elementary students got to meet a wild slider (Trachemys scripta) while in the creek, and this June kids from HABD Collegeville Community caught a giant smooth turtle leech (Placobdella parasitica)! Every JCG Field Trip is a chance to connect with nature, discover something new and unexpected, and create lasting memories.

Welcoming New Schools

While we continue to strengthen our partnerships with schools and educators that we've known for years, we're also excited to spark relationships with new school systems. This year, we were fortunate enough to introduce students from Mountain Brook City Schools and Vestavia Hills City Schools to Turkey Creek Nature Preserve through our school field trips. Here's what teachers from these schools had to say about their experience:

“The information throughout the program was exceptional: the history of Turkey Creek, the information on species found there, the game to help link the information, the hike (where time was given to answer questions), and most excitingly, the time spent in the creek and also with the microscope afterwards.”
- Third Grade Teacher from Brookwood Forest Elementary

“The students LOVED being in the creek and looking for organisms. I think it was a unique experience that not all students would necessarily get to experience!”
- Third Grade Teacher from Vestavia Hills Elementary West

Student on a Jefferson County Greenways' Field Trip

Growing New Naturalists

One of the ways that we gauge how students are feeling about their field trip experience is by listening to them talk to each other during the program. Here are some of our favorite student quotes:

“I found this acorn that's sprouting! On our play date on Friday, let's go to the park and plant it!"

“My shoes are full of mud and I love it!”

“I don’t want to get back on the bus!”

I love our parks, but I won’t be here forever to help protect them. My goal is to inspire the next generation of naturalists, so one day I can be proud to watch one of them take my job and continue the cycle of sparking a love for nature in those who come after them. Our programs team often reflects on a famous quote from Richard Louv, author of "The Last Child in The Woods": “We cannot protect something we do not love, we cannot love what we do not know, and we cannot know what we do not see. Or hear. Or sense.”

Emily Hutto, JCG Naturalist and Wildlife Care Specialist with Kittyhawk, a red-tailed hawk (Buteo jamaicensis) and Wildlife Ambassador at Ruffner Mountain Nature Center

Each of our greenspaces was saved and preserved because there were people who cared about them and believed that their story, legacy, and biodiversity were valuable. If we do not bring the children into our preserves, then they will not grow up believing that our wild places are worth protecting. If our future generations don’t believe that greenspaces are important, then there will be no one after us to protect our preserves from development and destruction.

Whenever I hear the students speaking positively about being in nature, it gives me hope that one day, I will see them again - but this time, as an environmental colleague, ready to make an impact in the world of conservation.

Book an Outdoor Field Trip and Experience the Wonder of Nature for Yourself!

If you would like to learn more about our field trips, including self-guided field trip opportunities, and book one for yourself, you can visit our Field Trips page.
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We’d love to see you and your future naturalists on the trails and in the creek!

Emily Hutto
Lead Naturalist and Wildlife Care Specialist
Jefferson County Greenways

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