Why Josh Duhamel Takes Son Axl Back to North Dakota a 'Couple Times a Year': I Want Him to Be 'Excited' About the Outdoors

"He's just like me – he loves to be out there, he loves to get outside," Josh Duhamel tells PEOPLE

LIKE FATHER, LIKE SON
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As a child, Josh Duhamel was “like Huck Finn,” and now, he’s making sure his own son and other kids have the same appreciation for the outdoors.

The actor is partnering with Claritin to promote the company’s new Be An Outsider campaign, which aims to inspire kids and adults to get active and embrace nature – something that North Dakota native Duhamel says he knows a lot about.

“Wherever I’m living, whether I’m home or on the road, I need to be someplace that has easy access to the outdoors,” he tells PEOPLE, adding that his 3-year-old son Axl with wife Fergie has inherited his adventurous side.

He shares, “We have this great spot behind our house with all these trails, so he’ll go exploring and gathering things – whether it’s flowers or rocks. He really has a fascination with sticks. He’s just like me – he loves to be out there, he loves to get outside.”

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Though he’s hit it big in Hollywood, Duhamel still likes to return to his roots – with Axl in tow.

“I take him back a couple times a year, we are going back actually twice this summer,” reveals Duhamel, adding, “For me, it’s important to get my son interested in that kind of stuff and excited about the adventures of the great outdoors as much as possible.”

And Duhamel, too, couldn’t get enough of adventure as a kid.

“In the summer and in the spring, you pretty much are outside from sunup to sundown,” he tells PEOPLE of his midwest childhood. “Me and my buddies, we’d be out exploring though the woods or catching frogs or fishing … it wasn’t a conscious thing, I just wanted to be out there.”

In conjunction with the push for more time spent in the sun, Claritin has pledged to donate up to $500,000 to the Boys and Girls Clubs of America, and also to help refurbish outdoor spaces used by clubs across the country.

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Social media users can get in on the action by posting a photo of their favorite outdoor movement using the hashtags “#beanoutsider” and “#claritin.”

For more information, visit claritin.com/beanoutsider.

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