ODC Network didn’t set out to build an answer to the screen. Not even close. 

In 2000, the year we began, nearly 50 percent of U.S. households still didn’t have internet access. A majority of college students didn’t have a laptop at school with them until a few years later. The iPhone didn’t debut until we were about 7 years into our mission. And it wasn’t until 2013 that a majority of U.S. adults had a smartphone. 

26 years ago, we were simply following our instincts about what’s best for kids, families, our broader community, and the ecosystem we all live in. We were quietly building expertise, unaware of how much it would be needed in this exact moment.

Right now in America, children average only 4-7 minutes a day in unstructured outdoor play, while spending 6 hours or more on screens. American adults spend upwards of 90 percent of their lives indoors—and I don’t think we need to report to you how much of that time is looking at your phone. 

For the better part of a year, we’ve been hammering those statistics at every turn. Every time we share them, they quiet the room. And they should. We’ve read them thousands of times and they still shock us. Because I think we knew, as a community, that our reliance on screens was out of balance. But I don’t think we knew exactly what that lack of balance was costing us—and costing our kids. 

This was the catalyst for my 2026 talk at TEDx Macatawa. Because the more we dug into the rise in screen time and the decline of spending time outdoors, we found that the effects of both phenomena are deeply intertwined. Our phones increase stress; nature lowers it. Screens keep us from each other; being outside brings us together. Constant distraction degrades our attention to what’s important; understanding our ecosystem laser focuses us. 

For more than a quarter century, we’ve been laying the groundwork to solve these problems. We’ve expanded from operation of our single flagship site to providing six area preserves—all free to visit, dawn until dusk, every single day of the year. We operate five nature-based early childhood centers and partner with 35+ K-12 schools, getting kids outside to explore, take risks, and learn the way they’re supposed to. Last year alone, our team managed more than 2,500 acres of natural areas, restoring habitat and improving water quality throughout the region. This work amounts to a staggering 1.5M+ community connections to nature. 

Call it luck. Call it intuition. We’re definitely not backing down now. 

The way forward is clear. The future lives outdoors.