Local News
Event
(Memphis) Daily News – October 17, 2008
Memphis Groups Focus on Getting Kids Outside
By Rosalind Guy
The Conservation Through Art initiative in Memphis is hosting the series of events October 19-25 that share the mission of getting more kids outside to experience nature. A family day with fishing, art activities, outdoor conservation and recreation games, and duck-calling lessons is part of the festivities, and Richard Louv will be in Memphis to deliver the keynote address. Conservation Through Art was started three years ago by ArtsMemphis and Ducks Unlimited.
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Built Environment
San Francisco Chronicle – October 09, 2008
New Museum Exhibit Encourages Free Play
By Paul Kilduff
A new interactive installation at the Bay Area Discovery Museum is designed to make children think differently about how they use their free time. The museum’s director hopes kids will come away motivated to choose leisure-time physical activities that are self-directed—that is, not done with parents and coaches scrutinizing their every move. “Everything we do here is child-centered play. No one’s telling them what to do, how to do it.”
Access | Education
KQED Radio – November 20, 2007
KQED Radio Features a Local Cure for Nature-Deficit Disorder
By Gabriella Quiros
A new program in San Francisco is introducing the city’s low-income youth to the pleasures of camping outdoors—without leaving the city itself. Developed by a collection of nonprofits, Camping at the Presidio aims to overcome the barriers that traditionally keep urban youth from visiting national parks: costs and a lack of exposure to camping. Eligible groups sleep overnight in a grove of eucalyptus trees, right within the city limits.
Quest is a TV, radio, Web, and education series by KQED that explores science, the environment, and nature in Northern California.
Campaign/Initiative
Standing-Room-Only Spells Success
By Mary Roscoe
How did a team of six spread the word to draw a standing-room-only crowd of 800+ to the launch of their local Leave No Child Inside initiative? What can we borrow from their success as we reach out and engage our community on this issue?
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Built Environment
(Cleveland) Plain Dealer – June 05, 2008
Ohio Arboretum Offers Wild Child Wonders
By Roxanne Washington
Holden Arboretum near Cleveland has created a special Wild Child Wonders program to inspire children to play in nature. The summer program, which traces its roots to Last Child in the Woods, features a series of Wonder Stations, including Forest Wonders, where kids can navigate a tree obstacle course and build a shelter with sticks, and Meadow Wonders, adventures that kids can transfer to their own backyards.
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Event
Marketwire – May 16, 2008
BioBlitz Takes Aim at Los Angeles Children
The National Park Service and the National Geographic Society are joining forces to host the Santa Monica Mountains BioBlitz the last weekend in May. Part scientific endeavor, part festival, and part outdoor classroom, the BioBlitz will draw together scientists, naturalists, community leaders, and more than 1,400 Los Angeles schoolchildren for a 24-hour race to discover and record as many plant and animal species as possible. [+]
Health
The Daily Green – February 08, 2008
Good Government Helps Create Nation’s “Fittest City”
By Dan Shapley
When Men’s Fitness magazine named Colorado Springs “the fittest city in the country,” some attributed the designation, at least in part, to a key open-spaces tax and years of savvy planning. In the words of one observer, “Setting development rules, or setting aside cash, to make walkable communities keeps people on their feet (if there’s a sidewalk to the corner store or the elementary school, you’re more apt to use it).”
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Campaign/Initiative
Connecticut Hunting Today – January 07, 2008
Winter Festival Showcases Cold-Weather Fun for Families
In an effort to keep children connected to nature even during the coldest months, the Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection is hosting its second annual Winter Festival to showcase outdoor activities for the whole family. The event, scheduled for February 2, will feature hiking, snowshoeing, bird-watching, and other activities. [+]
Education | Campaign/Initiative
Boston Globe – December 31, 2007
Boston Globe Focuses on Children and Nature Movement
By Peter Dizikes
A recent front-page article in the Boston Globe provides an overview of the children and nature movement at the local and national levels. Entitled “Nature Nurtures Learning,” the article examines the efforts of one Boston elementary school to integrate nature studies into its curriculum, and quotes a noted pediatrician, the biologist E.O. Wilson, author Richard Louv, and others on the benefits of such a curriculum.
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Access
Sacramento Bee – January 02, 2008
Citizens Organize State-Funded Nature Walks in Sacramento
By Blair Anthony Robertson
A former city dump, now a regional park, has become the site of nature walks for Sacramento schoolchildren. The field trips, funded in part by a California state grant, are the brainchild of area residents who believe that children today need more contact with nature.
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C&NN has designated April "Children & Nature Awareness Month." As part of this effort, we invited network members (like you) to list their April programs and share their strategies for building public awareness. Find out what's happening in your community on the C&NN Movement Map.
As part of our ongoing efforts to build the movement, the Children & Nature Network has published two new resources for leaders, organizers, and participants at the local, national, and international levels:
An annotated bibliography of 20 premier studies focusing on the children and nature connection.
