The Great Outdoors

School is out and the official start of summer is just around the corner. The beauties and wonders of the earth offer many opportunities for families and individuals to get up, get out, and get moving, and the month of June is jam-packed with all sorts of out-doorsy celebrations to enjoy. Here is a look at the various outdoor observances held in June: Great Outdoors Month President Barack Obama has proclaimed June as Great Outdoors Month. Great Outdoors Month was created as a time to focus on protecting our outdoor environment through various efforts such as conservation, as well as a time to get out and celebrate all that the great outdoors has to offer. In the proclamation, President Obama said, "Our public lands and other open areas provide myriad opportunities for families and friends to explore, play, and grow together -- from hiking and wildlife watching to canoeing, hunting, and fishing, and playing in a neighborhood park. These activities can help our kids stay healthy, active, and energized, while reconnecting with their natural heritage." It is President Obama's hope that we, as Americans, will resolve to protect our great outdoors, as we discover their wonders and share them with loved ones. June is Perennial Gardening Month Perennials are plants that continue growing each year until they reach maturity. June is the month to tour perennial plant gardens and to tend to the perennial plants growing in your own garden. If you do not yet have a perennial garden, June would be a good time to research what plants would be good in your area and then create a plan for your perennial garden space. National Camping Month Sponsored by The North Face, National Camping Month was created to "inspire and encourage individuals, and their family and friends to embrace the outdoors in the simplest form -- sleeping beneath the open skies". NeverStopExploring.com offers tips on how to get outside this June. National Rivers Month Each June, American Rivers sponsors National River Cleanup, a time when thousands of volunteers clean up rivers and waterways across America.

• Sports America Kids Month
• National Fishing and Boating Week
• National Sun Safety Week
• 4-National Trails Day
• 6-National Gardening Exercise Day
• 8-World Ocean Day

11- National Get Outdoors Day National Get Outdoors Day, or GO Day, is a toddler of a holiday, just celebrating it's fourth year. Each June since 2008, sponsors of Go Day have teamed up with federal agencies, nonprofit organizations, and the recreation industry to organize events featuring traditional and non-traditional types of outdoor activities at sites across the country to encourage healthy, active outdoor fun for American families. The primary focus is to reach first-time visitors to public lands and to reconnect our youth to the great outdoors. The official GO Day song for 2011 is "Let's Go Outside" performed Joe Reilly.

• 11-The Wicket World of Croquet Day
• 15-Fly a Kite Day
• 15-Global Wind Day
• 18-Go Fishing Day
• 18-International Picnic Day

20-Ride to Work Motorcycle Day Ride to Work Motorcycle Day will be celebrated on June 20th this year. The following video was made by Arizona Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, for a previous year. 21-Go Skateboarding Day Go Skateboarding Day was begun in June of 2003 and was founded by the International Association of  Skateboard Companies.  It was created as a day for skateboarders from all around the globe to "celebrate the pure exhilaration, creativity, and spirit of one of the most influential activities in the world by blowing off all other obligations to go skateboarding".  Some skateboarding communities hold fundraisers, contests, protests and demos on this day. Their on-going mission statement is: "Have Fun, Go Skateboarding". 25- Great American Backyard Campout The Great American Backyard Campout is an event brought to us by The National Wildlife Federation. The idea behind the Campout is for families or neighborhoods to register with The National Wildlife Federation to hold a neighborhood Backyard Campout "party" of sorts. This is a fundraiser in which the NWF uses 80 percent of the funds to support programs that address the problems of America's indoor childhood and the health risks associated with them.