ASHEBORO -- The North Carolina Zoo was the site of a conference, Thursday, aimed at promoting outdoor play and reconnecting the state's children with nature.

Organizers say the gathering came on the heels of recent studies showing the benefits of the outdoors to children, especially those dealing with depression, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder and obesity.

Kids, the outdoors, and nature seem like the perfect match, but conference organizers say America's children spend less time outdoors these days.

They brought together teachers, health professionals and people from private industry and government; people they believe can help reverse the trend in North Carolina.

"The results from this will be children who are healthier, children who can learn better and children who have a much [greater] sense of belonging in the world," said Kathy Bull of the N.C. Zoological Society.

Bull and others stopped short of saying a child's disconnection from the outdoors guarantees depression, obesity and developmental disorders, but they believe immersing a child in nature has clear physical, mental and emotional benefits, particularly among children with Attention Deficit Disorder.

"They're finding that when they allow them to go out in green space and they have contact with nature and they play, that those symptoms are greatly reduced," said Avery Cleary of Hooked On Nature.

Many children spend hours with their video game systems, on the computer or watching television, which some experts say interrupt a child's connection with nature.

"The imagination is tied to the senses and the computer is really not a high-resolution environment. The [outdoors are]," said Elizabeth Goodenough of the University of Michigan

Cleary said electronic games, computers and television are not the biggest reasons so many children spend so much of their free time indoors.

"It's mainly parental fear and it's a whole host of fears, from 'stranger danger' to kids getting hurt to insect bites, animal bites, and just kind of general fear of the unknown," said Cleary.

And whether the fear is based on perception or reality, they say it will take a commitment across communities to draw more children to the outdoors.

"We need a massive involvement of communities to revitalize neighborhoods around children's access to nature and play," said Goodenough.

Some of the conference's other participants included The Sierra Club, the National Wildlife Federation and the NC State Natural Learning Institute.