The idea for a camp-out started with just one family. But then word traveled through the close-knit Columbia neighborhood and by the night of the event, five families were pitching their tents and settling in for a night of backyard fun.

"It just kept growing and growing," said organizer Shylice Nelson, mother of Chase, 4, and Madison, 1, of Columbia.

The Columbia group was one of thousands across the nation who participated in the fifth annual Great American Backyard Campout sponsored by the National Wildlife Federation Saturday, June 27. The camp-out is part of a campaign to get families and children outside.

"We've realized that we're raising a generation of 'inside' kids with all of their electronics and technology," federation spokeswoman Mary Burnette said.

Burnette said the federation's research has found that if kids have not made a connection with nature by age 11, they probably will not care about protecting the environment or wildlife as adults.

Nelson said the neighborhood group of first-time campers hopes their camp-out will help their children, almost all younger than 8, to appreciate and respect the natural world around them.

"This camp-out is great beca\use it gets the kids interacting with nature in ways that they wouldn't normally," Nelson said.

Flashlight tag, stargazing

The Columbia campers participated in activities suggested by the federation's Web site, like playing flashlight tag, stargazing for constellations and searching for blades of grass longer than the kids' fingers. Nelson added that before each child went to bed, he or she got to pick out a star and make a personal wish on it.

The children gushed about their excitement for the camp-out, endlessly running in circles around the yard as their parents labored to pitch the tents.

"We're going to have s'mores, camp out and do anything we want," Chase said.

The parents arranged the tents to circle a fire pit where they would later be cooking hot dogs, hamburgers and marshmallows for s'mores.

"We're trying to make it like we're at a real camp-out -- we're even going to put our electronics away," Nelson said.

The camp-out was held in the Nelsons' backyard and that of their next-door neighbors, the Williams, both of which back up to woods along Burnt Mountain Path, in Long Reach

According to Burnette, the federation emphasized that parents did not have to take their kids to Yosemite or other great camp sites -- families can camp in their backyard and use the resources they already have, especially in this economy.

"We wanted to try camping in the yard first, then maybe eventually we'll make it to a real campsite," said Keith Williams, of Columbia, father of Mya, 2, who participated in the camp-out.

As the parents brought out folding chairs and began lighting the fire to grill, the young girls vigorously climbed up and down the backyard slide, excited about their time together and not seeming to care whether their sun dresses stayed clean.

"We don't get to play all the time, so this is special," Nona Blakeney, 5, said.

Nelson said the families may consider camping out again.

"I think this will spark a tradition," she said.

Two days after the event, Nelson said it was a success. She said she had prepared a list of organized activities for the kids, fearful they would get bored. But she didn't need it.

"We adults had a great time and the kids had a great time, too," she said.

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