The Great Outdoors Pursuit

By Jeanine Silversmith

In an effort to spend as much time outside this summer as is humanly possible, I’ve registered my family as a team in the Rhode Island Great Outdoors Pursuit, a free twelve-week contest that will have us decoding clues, discovering state parks throughout Rhode Island, and participating in fun activities and challenges–all for a chance to win prizes!

In combination with the 100 Year Anniversary of RI State Parks, this year’s RI Great Outdoors Pursuit challenge includes six guided family events and five self-guided events at state park and beach locations and runs from the last Sunday in May through the end of August. Where, you might ask? Well, that’s the fun of it. Although we know that on May 31, we’ll be enjoying a variety of activities like hiking, fishing, or participating in a scavenger hunt at Lincoln Woods State Park, we’ll have to look for clues to help us figure out which park to visit next. And the more parks we visit, the more credits we’ll receive, which increasing our odds of winning a cool prize at the grand finale event on August 23.

To play, all you need is a minimum two-member team (including one adult and one child under 18) and the desire to have a great time, all while discovering the beauty and activities in Rhode Island’s state parks and natural areas.

Don’t miss the fun! To learn more, visit the website.

Jeanine Silversmith is a self-described tree hugging, science and math geek whose love of nature, coupled with her absolute certainty that people, especially children, are happier, healthier, and wiser when they regularly spend time in nature, led her to establish Rhode Island Families in Nature.  She loves to run, garden, bake, hike, and go camping, especially when accompanied by her husband, Ian, her 3½-year-old daughter, Sierra, and her 1-year-old son, Devin.  They live in Warwick.