Children & Nature network

By Jonathan Rollins
Counseling Today
October 03, 2009

The connection between nature and mental health is the focus of a lengthy article in the October issue of Counseling Today, the journal of the American Counseling Association. Citing the many benefits of nature experiences, the article advises youth counselors in particular to incorporate nature into their therapy. [+]

• [>] Read the article.

By Jennifer T. Long
CovNews.com
November 18, 2009

Friends of Newton Parks in Newton County, Georgia, has organized a special evening event at a local park to raise awareness of the No Child Left Inside movement. Twilights at Chimney Park on December 6 will feature light displays, music, storytelling, a puppet show, and refreshments. [+]

• [>] Read the article.

By Jeff McIntire-Strasburg
SUNfiltered
November 11, 2009

Writing in the Sundance Channel's daily culture blog, Jeff McIntire-Strasburg calls attention to four initiatives that use environmental education as an integral part of their efforts to prevent at-risk youth from "falling into lives of crime, addiction, and poverty." The Maryland Civic Justice Corps and Bay Area Wilderness Training are among the programs that McIntire-Strasburg highlights. [+]

• [>] Read the blog entry.

By Cindy Stephen
Calgary Herald
November 10, 2009

Nestor Kelba, who organizes overnight outdoor education trips for Calgary schools, believes that students learn more than just an appreciation for nature from their camping experience. They develop a "feeling" for the outdoors, he says, an emotional connection that can't be manufactured in class. [+]

• [>] Read the article.

By Glenn Tanner
Paris (Tennessee) Post-Intelligencer
November 06, 2009

At a ceremony dedicating the site of the new Tennessee National Wildlife Refuge headquarters and visitor center, the new director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Sam Hamilton, stressed the impact the center will have on young people. Noting that America now has a generation that has been raised indoors, Hamilton said the refuge project is important "so that children will be able to get out there and be involved in the outdoor experience." [+]

• [>] Read the article.

By Shauna Stephenson
Wyoming Tribune Eagle
November 02, 2009

Students from every school district in Wyoming met recently to discuss the growing disconnect between kids and nature. Data from the conference is now being compiled into a report and eventually a resource guide that will be used across the state. [+]

• [>] Read the article.

By Jonathan Pitts
Baltimore Sun
November 01, 2009

Bronwyn Mitchell, executive director of the Maryland Association for Environmental and Outdoor Education, discusses the state of environmental education today in a lengthy interview with the Baltimore Sun. "As a culture, we're almost completely disconnected from nature," Mitchell says. "And it's unhealthy." [+]

• [>] Read the interview.

By the National Park Trust

NPT has launched an initiative called 'Where's Buddy Bison Been?™' which encourages children and their families to get outside and share their American Park Experience. [+]

• [>] visit the Web site
• [>] explore Buddy's google map
• [>] follow Buddy on Twitter

Maryland Department of Natural Resources
October 26, 2009

Governor Martin O’Malley of Maryland recently released the state's Children in Nature Action Plan for 2010, which outlines measures the state is currently undertaking to advance environmental literacy and a connection with nature among Maryland’s young people. In April 2008 the governor established the Partnership for Children in Nature, and the 2010 action plan incorporates recommendations from this partnership. [+]

• [>] View the action plan.
• [>] Update: Read the Maryland Children's Outdoor Bill of Rights

Sierra Club
October 28, 2009

The goal of the Sierra Club's Building Bridges to the Outdoors project is to give every child in America an outdoor experience. A monthly newsletter describing the project's efforts to connect young people with the outdoors is now available online. [+]

• [>] Read the newsletter.

By Jenny Brudin
Morning Edition
October 30, 2009

With state's facing severe budget shortfalls, many are reducing their funding for parks and after-school programs. Unfortunately, the cuts come at a time when demand for these services is increasing. A report on NPR's Morning Edition examines the situation in Utah. [+]

• [>] Listen to the report.

Cherokeean Herald
October 28, 2009

The Texas Association for Environmental Education has named the Texas Wildlife Association's Conservation Legacy program as the winner of its 2009 Outstanding Environmental Achievement Award for an organization making an impact on environmental education in Texas. In the 2008-09 school year, Conservation Legacy programs reached 43,236 students and teachers in districts across Texas. [+]

• [>] Read the article.

By Kurt Repanshek
National Parks Traveler
October 24, 2009

A new video produced by the Rocky Mountain Nature Association is part of a $10 million campaign to create a next-generation endowment that will fund in perpetuity education programs in the park. Narrated by Bill Kurtis, the video introduces viewers to the park and raises an important question: Who will care for Rocky Mountain National Park, and the other parks, after the Baby Boomers fade away? [+]

• [>] Watch the video.

TogetherGreen
October 07, 2009

TogetherGreen, a five-year alliance between Audubon and Toyota, recently awarded a total of $1.1 million in TogetherGreen Innovation Grants to facilitate people-powered conservation action across the country. A number of nature-based education efforts are among the recipients of this year's grants, including Audubon New York, which will partner with the Nature Conservancy, the Prospect Park Alliance, and the Brooklyn Academy of Science and the Environment High School to offer internships and nature-based experiences for inner-city teens. [+]

• [>] Read the press release.

University of Virginia
October 22, 2009

University of Virginia planning professor Timothy Beatley collaborated with filmmaker Chuck Davis to write and direct The Nature of Cities, a one-hour exploration of nature found, and designed, within cities. The documentary includes commentary by author Richard Louv and Stephen Kellert, a professor of social ecology at Yale University who advocates connecting people with nature through design. [+]

• [>] Read the article.

By Javier C. Hernandez
New York Times
October 20, 2009

New York State’s English and math exams include several questions every year about livestock, crops, and the other staples of the rural experience that can flummox city children. In response, some of the state's urban schools now haul their students to farms, hoping to expose students to the rural life and lift their test scores. [+]

• [>] Read the article.

By Kurt Repanshek
National Parks Traveler
October 18, 2009

Journalist Kurt Repanshek finds a measure of hope in the latest Outdoor Recreation Participation Report from the Outdoor Foundation. The report, Repanshek writes, indicates that simply taking youngsters on a hike or a camping trip might be enough for them to develop a lifetime love for the outdoors. [+]

• [>] Read the article.

BBC News
October 15, 2009

There is more evidence that living near a green space has health benefits, the BBC reports. Researchers from Amsterdam studying the health records of 350,000 people found that those living near green areas were 21 percent less likely to suffer from depression. The researchers also showed that this relation was strongest for children. [+]

• [>] Read the article.

By Emma Brown
Washington Post
October 15, 2009

A reporter from the Washington Post accompanied more than 200 seventh-graders from Langston Hughes Middle School as they explored the outdoors as part of the second annual No Child Left Inside Day. "Getting young people excited about the planet, that's our only hope," remarked Daren Carlisle, one of the biologists participating in the event. [+]

• [>] Read the article.

YouTube
October 12, 2009

Simple Living with Wanda Urbanska, seen on PBS stations across the country, devotes an entire episode to the subject of nature-deficit disorder. The program features interviews with authors Richard Louv, Joseph Cornell, and the late Thomas Berry, plus a visit to a farm where both children and educators can learn about nature.
[+]

• [>] Watch the episode.

Earth Science Week
October 08, 2009

The American Geological Institute is encouraging educators across the country to lead their students outdoors and explore earth science firsthand. To increase participation in its second annual No Child Left Inside Day, the AGI has published an extensive teacher's resource online. [+]

• [>] View the teacher's guide.

By Scott Richardson
Pantagraph
October 09, 2009

Marc Miller, the director of the Illinois Department of Natural Resources, is asking the state's outdoor enthusiasts to complete an online survey. Among his primary goals for the survey is finding ways to get more young people involved in outdoor recreation. "Without them, our future could be imperiled," said Miller. [+]

• [>] Read the article.

By Roberta Kwok
Journal Watch Online
October 07, 2009

The decline in popularity of hiking and backpacking could spell trouble for future conservation efforts. A new study finds that the more time people spend engaged in hiking and backpacking, the more money organizations like the Sierra Club can expect to receive 11 to 12 years later. Visits to more easily accessible public lands and parks, by contrast, translate into lower levels of future financial support. [+]

• [>] Read the article.

Hartford Courant
October 04, 2009

An editorial in the Hartford Courant declares that the time has come for insurance companies and policy makers to provide sustainable funding for long-term pediatric obesity programs. The prevalence of obesity has more than doubled for young children and tripled for those between 12 and 19 years old in the past three decades. [+]

• [>] Read the editorial.

By Tiffany S.
Serve.gov
October 05, 2009

A recent post on the Stories of Service blog of Serve.gov, the White House's online resource for finding local volunteer opportunities, highlights the efforts of C&NN's Natural Leaders Network to connect youth with nature. Volunteers from the Natural Leaders Network planted trees at a Colorado campground as part of the first official September 11 Day of Service and Remembrance. [+]

• [>] Read the post.

Natural Leader Tamara Poles and Virginia Museum of Natural History are Putting People Back in Touch with Nature

Nearly 13,000 people have taken part in 247 programs of the Community Nature Initiative. [+]

• [>] Read the article

TRACK Trails Offer Nationwide Weapon Against Nature-Deficit Disorder

New interpretive trail system for kids comes to U.S. national parks. [+]

• [>] Read the article

Applications Open for 2012 TogetherGreen Fellowships and Innovation Grants

Audubon & Toyota seek to fund promising conservation leaders and community-based projects. [+]

“No Child Left Ashore” Movement Makes Waves

SF Bay Area's Pegasus Project gets students out on the water, where transformations occur. [+]

• [>] Read the article

Play England Calls for Support to Help Kids Play Outside

Research shows that 21% of children play outdoors daily, compared to 71% during their parents'… [+]

• [>] Read the article

A Healing Place for Children

C&NN Founding Chair Richard Louv consulting on new children's treatment center in MN, which is… [+]

• [>] Read the article

National Kids to Parks Day Set for May 19

Nationwide day of outdoor play organized by National Park Trust. Classroom contest ends March 1. [+]

• [>] Read the article

Chevy Chase, MD, Preschool Encourages Learning Outside the Box

Preschoolers spend at least half a day outside in woods, in all seasons. [+]

• [>] Read the article

Study: Preschoolers Need to Get a Move On

Most pre-school children spend hours doing sedentary activities instead of playing outside, research has shown. [+]

• [>] Read the article
• [>] Read more about the AAP study