State News
Campaign/Initiative
Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources – July 16, 2008
Pennsylvania’s Outdoor Task Force Submits Report
The Pennsylvania task force created last year to find ways for reconnecting people with nature has submitted to the governor a report outlining its recommendations. The report proposes more than 40 action items, the most notable of which is the establishment of a Governor’s Commission on People and Outdoor Connections. [+]
Campaign/Initiative
(Huntington) Herald-Dispatch – June 01, 2008
Another Statewide Effort to Reconnect Kids with Nature
Ohio joins the ranks of states trying to reconnect children with nature. As part of its summer Explore the Outdoors challenge, the Ohio Department of Natural Resources recently distributed nearly 800,000 activity guides to public school students. The activities described in the guides include fishing and hiking, and students who complete eight or more of these activities before September 1 are eligible for prizes. [+]
Campaign/Initiative
News 14 Carolina – March 06, 2008
North Carolina Zoo Conference Urges Kids to Get Outside
By Ed Scannell
In March 2008, North Carolina Zoo was the site of a conference aimed at promoting outdoor play and reconnecting the state's children with nature. Organizers 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.
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Campaign/Initiative
(San Luis Obispo) Tribune – March 30, 2008
Putting California’s Outdoor Bill of Rights into Action
By Bob Cuddy
A year after California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger signed the Children’s Outdoor Bill of Rights, various public and private agencies find themselves trying to incorporate the bill’s principles into their programs for young people. In San Luis Obispo, local park directors and others have been meeting in an effort to ensure that, as the bill states, each child between four and fourteen has an opportunity to explore nature and camp under the stars.
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Campaign/Initiative
Voices – March 29, 2008
Connecticut’s Great Park Pursuit Returns
The Great Park Pursuit, a central element of Connecticut’s No Child Left Inside initiative returns this spring for its third season. The contest takes Connecticut families to seven different state parks and forests over the course of two months, and at each location teams take part in activities such as hiking and fishing. Participating families then become eligible for prizes of outdoor equipment donated by local retailers.
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Event
(Minneapolis) Star Tribune – March 27, 2008
Minnesota Arboretum Hosts Children and Nature Conference
By Heron Marquez Estrada
Spurred by Richard Louv’s Last Child in the Woods, the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum is hosting a one-day conference the first week in April designed to provide participants with ways to increase children’s exposure to nature on a daily basis. Entitled Nature, Children, and Families: A Necessary Connection, the conference is expected to attract more than 200 professionals from around the state.
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Resource
Texas Parks & Wildlife – February 29, 2008
A Texas-Sized Effort to Promote Outdoor Play
By Dyanne Fry Cortez, Wendee Holtcamp, and Bernadette Noll
The March issue of Texas Parks & Wildlife magazine offers a helping hand to anyone interested in connecting children with nature. The cover story—“50 Ways to Get Kids Hooked on the Outdoors”—features suggestions for everything from building butterfly gardens to staging nature treasure hunts. The article also explains some of the benefits experiencing nature can have on childhood development.
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Access
The Pioneer Press – February 17, 2008
Ice Fishing Weekend Hooks Young Minnesotans
By Chris Niskanen
State and local officials in Minnesota are trying to determine how best to respond to a series of studies showing that an increasing number of the state’s young people have little or no interest in the outdoors. The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources has taken the lead in trying to reverse this trend. Among its efforts are new mentoring and access programs to recruit young anglers and hunters, including the Take-A-Kid Ice Fishing Weekend in February.
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Campaign/Initiative
South Dakota Game, Fish & Parks
South Dakota Launches No Child Left Inside Campaign
South Dakota’s Game, Fish & Parks division is encouraging children to spend more time outside exploring the natural world through its No Child Left Inside program. The program’s website offers a list of ideas for seasonal outdoor activities, links to other nature resources, and information for groups interested in helping connect children with nature on applying for small No Child Left Inside grants. [+]
Campaign/Initiative
Washington State Parks – January 01, 2008
$1.5 Million Available for Outdoor Youth Programs in Washington
The Washington State Parks and Recreation Commission is encouraging public and private groups dedicated to connecting children with nature to apply for $1.5 million in grants. Participation in the program and support for it are critical to ensure future funds. The deadline for applications is February 27. [+]
Media & Culture | Resource
Rochester Democrat and Chronicle – December 19, 2007
New York Launches Outdoor Magazine for Kids
By Dan Osburn
Fourth-graders in New York State are the target of a new campaign to connect children with nature. As part of the state’s No Child Left Inside program, a magazine has been created that will eventually be distributed free to all of fourth-graders in public schools across the state. The premier issue, published this month, features an article on being a winter wildlife detective and a guide to animal tracks.
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SECTIONS | Event
The Union Leader - New Hampshire – November 09, 2007
New Hampshire takes a leading role in the nationwide effort to reconnect children with nature
By Rob Burbank
The national Children and Nature Network, the Sierra Club and the New Hampshire Children in Nature Initiative brought Richard Louv to New Hampshire on Tuesday, Nov. 27, for the New Hampshire Leave No Child Inside Forum. “New Hampshire is taking a leading role in this nationwide effort to make a difference in the lives of children, families and communities by reconnecting them with nature. From my own work with child health issues, I know how important it is for families to get outside, get moving and learn about the natural world, to lay a foundation for healthy, active lives.” stated New Hampshire First Lady, Dr. Susan Lynch, Honorary Chairperson for the forum.
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Campaign/Initiative
Competitor Magazine – July 06, 2007
Children’s Outdoor Bill of Rights Supported by Governator
This past week (Friday, July 6), Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger signed a proclamation supporting the California Children's Outdoor Bill of Rights which includes ten easy and fun things that every child should have the opportunity to experience between the ages of four and 14, including to: discover California's past, splash in the water, play in a safe place, camp under the stars, explore nature, learn to swim, play on a team, follow a trail, catch a fish and celebrate their heritage.
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Built Environment | Education
(Greensboro) News & Record – August 23, 2008
North Carolina Zoo to Build Outdoor Classroom
By Jeri Rowe
The North Carolina Zoo will soon begin raising $2.8 million to help create a four-acre classroom for kids, complete with caves, gardens, and a stream. And in another example of North Carolinian efforts to reconnect kids with nature, every family with a child attending Greensboro Montessori School is being given a copy of Last Child in the Woods.
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Education
Sacramento Bee – May 28, 2008
Virtual Field Trips Take Hold in California
By Laurel Rosenhall
In California schools, the traditional field trip to a state park or other destination so that children can learn firsthand about the natural world is being replaced by the virtual field trip, which uses videoconferencing to beam nature lessons into the classroom. These virtual experiences, supporters say, are better than the alternative: no field trips at all.
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Campaign/Initiative
North Carolina Governor proclaims April Children and Nature Awareness Month.
The North Carolina Zoo and the North Carolina Zoological Society and members of the NC children and nature coalition announced that Governor Mike Easely has proclaimed April Children and Nature Awareness Month.
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Resource
Chicago Sun-Times – March 30, 2008
Chicago Sun-Times: The Importance of Nature Relief
By Andrew Herrmann
The Midwest offers ample opportunities for combating nature-deficit disorder, writes Andrew Hermmann of the Chicago Sun-Times. Referencing Richard Louv and the recent Nature Conservancy study of outdoor recreation trends, Hermmann suggests camping as one of the best ways to connect with the outdoors.
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Campaign/Initiative
KCCI 8 – April 02, 2008
Iowa County Officials Warn of Nature-Deficit Disorder
Concerned with the increasing number of hours that children spend indoors watching TV and playing video games, officials with Iowa’s Polk County Health Department and Polk County Conservation Board have started asking parents to help prevent nature-deficit disorder. To aid the effort, the Conservation Board has developed a number of programs that introduce children to nature and put the information online for easy access by parents. [+]
Event
Denver Post – April 01, 2008
Colorado Earth Day Forum to Focus on Kids and Nature
By Charlie Meyers
In anticipation of the Colorado Earth Day Forum, entitled “Connecting Kids to Nature,” Denver Post columnist Charlie Meyers encourages parents to read Richard Louv’s Last Child in the Woods. Our growing disconnect from nature, Meyers writes, is “a separation that robs us both of physical exertion and a certain spiritual link that sweeps cobwebs from our souls.” The forum will be held April 22 at the Denver office of the EPA.
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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.
