Education News
Local
New York Times – November 29, 2009
New York Times Draws Attention to Forest Kindergarten
By Liz Leyden
Schools around the country have been planting gardens and planning ever more elaborate field trips in hopes of reconnecting children with nature. The forest kindergarten at the Waldorf School of Saratoga Springs is one of a handful in the United States that are taking that concept to another level: its 23 pupils spend three hours each day outside regardless of the weather.
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Local
Hurlburt Field – November 19, 2009
Outdoor Classroom Sets New Standard for Military
By Joe McFadden
The outdoor classroom of Florida's Hurlburt Field Youth Center recently became the first certified Nature Explore classroom in the Air Force. The Nature Explore Classroom Certification Program is a national initiative that recognizes schools and other organizations that have made a commitment to providing outdoor classrooms and comprehensive programming to help children use the natural world as an integral part of learning.
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Research & Studies
City of Cambridge – November 24, 2009
Cambridge Task Force Releases Playground Report
The City of Cambridge Healthy Parks and Playgrounds Task Force has released its findings in the form of a 30-page report. The task force was created to explore the role of parks and playgrounds in the health, learning, and overall development of children, and the ways in which they support strong families and communities. It was charged with creating recommendations for new and innovative approaches to the design and operation of future public parks and playgrounds. [+]
State | Campaign/Initiative
EastBayRI.com – November 25, 2009
Rhode Island Audubon Receives Federal Grant for Education
By Michael Yoder
U.S. Senator Jack Reed recently visited the Audubon Society of Rhode Island’s Environmental Education Center in Bristol to award a $143,000 federal grant to the society to provide instructional opportunities for students with limited economic resources. The money will be used in the Audubon’s Environmental Education for Urban Schools Initiative to bring 4,500 students yearly from schools throughout the state.
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National | Campaign/Initiative
National Parks Traveler – October 24, 2009
Rocky Mountain Video Asks, Who Will Care for Parks Tomorrow?
By Kurt Repanshek
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?
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National | Campaign/Initiative
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service – August 27, 2009
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Launches Video Game for Kids
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has launched a new online video game that aims to encourage kids to go outside and learn about the environment. Designed for children ages 8 to 11, Neighborhood Explorers features information on planting gardens, backyard birding, urban wildlife, endangered species, and conservation. It also rewards kids for documenting environmental projects and local wildlife in their area. [+]
Commentary | Health | Media & Culture
CBS News – August 06, 2009
CBS Puts Spotlight on Nature-Deficit Disorder
Watch CBS Videos Online
Jonathan Dorn, editor-in-chief of Backpacker magazine, made a recent appearance on The Early Show to discusses the best places in the country for raising an outdoor kid. In doing so, Dorn provided a succinct definition of nature-deficit disorder and offered advice on how city dwellers can help their children connect with nature.
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National | Health | Resource
Children, Youth and Environments Center for Research and Design – July 28, 2009
Fact Sheet Summarizes Benefits of Gardening for Children
Third- to fifth-grade students who participated in a one-year gardening program showed a significant increase in self-understanding and the ability to work in groups compared to nonparticipating students. That’s one of the many findings summarized in a new fact sheet on the benefits of gardening for children published by the Children, Youth and Environments Center for Research and Design at the University of Colorado at Denver. [+]
National
Targeting “tweens,” the U.S. Forest Service and Ad Council launch national campaign
The campaign primarily aims to reach "tweens" (children ages 8-12) and their parents. The goal is to encourage children to get outside and experience nature first-hand, instilling a life-long love for nature by fostering a connection with urban and national forests. [+]
International
Sunday Times (London) – April 26, 2009
Outdoor Preschools Gain Notice in UK
By Lucy Denyer
The Sunday Times of London recently reported on the Farley Outdoor Learning nursery in Wiltshire, one of a handful of preschools springing up in the UK that emphasize getting children outdoors. The report describes parents who send their children to the school as part of a “global movement of people who are starting to realize that keeping children cooped up indoors all day simply isn’t healthy.”
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Feature
New York Times – July 23, 2010
A Summer School That Might Have Pleased Paul Bunyan
By Lisa W. Foderaro
Paul Smith’s College, in NY's Adirondack Mountains, offers a summer college-credit program in traditional lumberjack skills and sports.
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National
Lincoln Journal Star – June 19, 2010
Connect with Nature the Local Way
Nature Explore outdoor classrooms, now in 16 states, help connect children to natural world. [+]
Local | Campaign/Initiative
Kalamazoo Gazette – May 28, 2010
Michigan Initiative Praised as Model for Other Communities
By Margaret DeRitter
A local initiative in Michigan to get children out in nature is going so well that it could be a model for communities across the country. That was the assessment of the Children & Nature Network's Cheryl Charles on a recent visit to Kalamazoo, where representatives of the Kalamazoo Nature Center are working closely with community leaders to develop a strategic action plan to improve the connections of people with nature and to positively affect the health of children.
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Local
Seattle Times – April 20, 2010
Outdoor Preschool Takes Root on Vashon Island
By Susan Gilmore
The weather on Vashon Island, located in the chilly waters near Seattle, is anything but mild. Yet in the two years that Cedarsong Nature Preschool has been in operation children have only once gone indoors for class.
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International | Event
Children & Nature Awareness Month Segment on KARE 11
In recognition of Children & Nature Awareness Month, developmental psychologist Dr. Marti Erickson, host of Good Enough Moms? and one of the founders of the Children & Nature Network appeared on KARE 11 Sunrise to discuss the importance of getting our children off the couch and out the door. [+]
Commentary | Research & Studies | Health
New York Times – March 26, 2010
New York Times: Recess and the Culture of Childhood
By David Elkind
In an op-ed piece for the New York Times, David Elkind, a professor emeritus of child development at Tufts University, discusses the ways in which “the culture of childhood” is disappearing. The elimination of recess and its opportunities for free-form play will only hasten this disappearance, Elkind says, despite evidence showing that children who are physically fit tend to score higher on tests of reading, math, and science.
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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:
