More than 300 children attended the event on the Capitol lawn.

Ray Rustem, assistant to the director of marketing outreach at the Michigan DNR and the co-chairman of the Michigan No Child Left Inside Coalition, said this is the first year for the event and they were expecting around 1,300 people.

He said the event is for people interested in getting children more involved with nature.

“Kids are spending five and a half hours a day with electronics,” Rustem said. “And really young kids spend less than thirty minute outside a day.”

Heavner, a 66-year-old businessman, said he didn’t go on vacation to New York to see the sights and sounds of the city, but to go hiking in the Adirondack Mountains.

“We camped out in a tent and slept on the ground,” he said. “I fell in love with the outdoors at three and a half (years old).”

Heavner Canoe & Kayak Rental is located in Milford, Mich., and Heavner said people looking for adventure could spend a week on the Huron River kayaking, but there is no river on the front lawn of the Capitol for children to kayak on.

Still, he brought kayaks and canoes so children could go on a make-believe ride down a river led by a guide on the lawn.

“They don’t have a river, but they do have their imagination,” he said.

Heavner said he came to the event to spread the word about the benefits of being outside.

“People that have early experiences outside use all their senses more,” he said. “Being outdoors is the only place they all intertwine.”

Ann Conklin, chief operating officer of The Michigan Recreation and Park Association, said many of the groups there were part of summer camps in the area.

She also said that it was no problem getting the Capitol to agree to have the event on their front lawn.

“All we had to do was ask,” Conklin said. “They were very helpful.”

Rustem said there are health benefits to being outside, like a reduction in stress and attention deficit disorder symptoms.

“Being outside helps create happier, healthier and smarter kids,” he said.