National News
Media & Culture
National Wildlife Federation
Great American Backyard Campout Set for June 28
With high gas prices keeping families closer to home this summer, it seems likely that fewer children will be chasing fireflies and sleeping under the stars. That fact alone gives the National Wildlife Federation’s fourth annual Great American Backyard Campout added relevance. 
The event, in which more than 40,000 people participated last year, is scheduled for June 28.
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Access
PRWeb – June 11, 2008
New Car-Sharing Program Helps Youth Reach Nature
Bay Area Wilderness Training and City CarShare are making it easier and more affordable for youth educators to take groups of kids on outdoor excursions. BAWT recently purchased two all-wheel-drive minivans, each capable of carrying up to seven people, for the City CarShare fleet. The hope is that making these “BAWTmobiles” available for short-term use will help youth educators avoid the legal, administrative, and financial hurdles that often prevent field trips.
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Built Environment
Packet Online – June 04, 2008
Tree Houses Designed to Inspire Kids
By Ilene Dube
Pennsylvania’s Tyler Arboretum is exhibiting tree houses created by Delaware Valley artists, architects, and students in the hopes of strengthening the relationship between children and nature. According to the arboretum’s director of public programs, “Today, fewer kids have a connection to nature—they’re not getting outside for unstructured play, and they’re not experiencing nature on the soccer field—and tree houses are a way to get them excited.”
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Education
New York Times – May 12, 2008
Why Are Schools Designed Like Prisons?
By Allison Arieff
In an opinion piece for the New York Times website, writer and editor Allison Arieff laments the way that school design tends to inhibit outdoor activity as children get older. “What if we looked beyond the notion of schools as institutions,” she writes, “and thought about them more as laboratories for creativity, exploration, and innovation?”
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Access | Campaign/Initiative
Sierra announces $23 million in support for Military Family Outdoor (MFO) Initiative
The Military Family Outdoor (MFO) Initiative, a joint project of the Sierra Club and The Sierra Club Foundation, today announced a three-year grant of up to $23 million, provided by generous donors to support three organizations that provide returning veterans and their families with healing, life-affirming outdoor experiences in the natural world.
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Health | Resource
ScienceDaily – May 05, 2008
Why Do Child-Care Centers Keep Kids Inside?
A new study of outdoor play at child-care centers has identified some surprising reasons for keeping children inside, among them teachers’ reluctance to bundle and unbundle children on cold days, and parents who don’t want their children getting injured or dirty. The researchers, citing the benefits of outdoor activity, hope their findings help reduce the barriers currently preventing more children from playing outside. [+]
Media & Culture | Campaign/Initiative
National Wildlife Federation – March 14, 2008
National Wildlife Week’s 70th Anniversary
The National Wildlife Federation’s longest-running education program celebrates its 70th anniversary April 19-27. National Wildlife Week provides an opportunity for people of all ages to explore the outdoors by joining in the Nature Quest Wildlife Watch, an effort that involves searching for and identifying local plants and animals, then sharing news of those discoveries with others across the country. [+]
Media & Culture
U.S. News & World Report – February 13, 2008
U.S. News & World Report Features Children & Nature
By Adam Voiland
In response to the recent Nature Conservancy report on the decline in outdoor recreation over the past few decades, U.S. News & World Report asked Richard Louv to discuss the reasons behind this trend and why reversing it is important. Also discussed in the interview are the benefits to children of spending time outdoors and how parents in urban areas can help their children connect with nature.
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Media & Culture | Resource
Scientific American News – February 05, 2008
Scientific American: Are We Afraid of the Outdoors?
By David Biello
A new report on outdoor recreation trends is sending shock waves through the environmental community. The report, funded by the Nature Conservancy and just published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, traces a steady decline over the past two decades in visits to national and state parks, in the number of people camping, and in the issuance of hunting and fishing licenses. Similar data on park visits in Japan and Spain suggest that this is an international problem.
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Leadership
National Audubon Society – January 24, 2008
Richard Louv Awarded Audubon Medal
The National Audubon Society has named Richard Louv recipient of the 50th Audubon Medal. “Louv’s success in building public awareness and action to address nature-deficit disorder represents a vital contribution to both the future of our environment and the health of our children,” said Audubon President John Flicker. Past recipients include former President Jimmy Carter, author Rachel Carson, and biologist E.O. Wilson. [+]
Campaign/Initiative
Mail Tribune (of Southern Oregon) – January 02, 2008
BLM Tells People to Take It Outside
By Paul Fattig
A new initiative by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management aims to improve the physical and mental health of children by educating them about the environment and actually getting them outdoors. “Take It Outside: Connect with Your Public Lands” is a nationwide effort with activities organized at the local level. In southern Oregon, the Bureau is already working with area parks, universities, and youth groups, among others, to coordinate events.
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Resource
Land&People Magazine – December 01, 2007
Trust for Public Land Spreads the Word
By William Poole
The Trust for Public Land is adding its voice to the children and nature movement. The fall/winter issue of Land&People, the Trust’s national magazine, features a lengthy interview with Richard Louv. In it Louv explains how the Trust can support children’s use of natural areas and how doing so can help groom a new generation of conservationists.
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Health
Children & Nature get front page coverage in USA Weekend Magazine.
Mother Nature: Raising healthier kids. Getting your kids back in touch with the great outdoors can improve their health and well-being. Recess, soccer practice, the neighborhood playground -- all are great avenues for getting our kids up and out. But when it comes to their mental as well as physical well-being, children need something else, something elemental: They need nature. [+]
Education | Legislation/Policy
The San Francisco Examiner – July 17, 2007
U.S. Rep. John Sarbanes proposes bill to integrate environmental education into NCLB
By Carolyn Peirce
Building Bridges to the Outdoors will be holding its second year of weeklong Environmental Leadership trainings this week in conjunction with the Sierra Student Coalition (SSC). The leadership training program introduces, inspires and educates youth, especially under-represented minorities, about the significant and contemporary environmental issues facing their local communities.
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Access | Campaign/Initiative
the Atlanta Journal Constitution – April 27, 2007
Sierra Club a camp booster: Donation to aid children in military families
By Gerry Smith
The Sierra Club announced it will donate more than $1 million to send military children to Operation Purple camps across the country. For one week this summer, children will kayak along the Broad River, learn the history of the Cherokee Indians and roast marshmallows with other children who know what it feels like to have a parent in the military.
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Campaign/Initiative
National Wildlife Federation – August 25, 2008
New NWF Program Encourages Families to Make Tracks
The National Wildlife Federation has created a program that encourages families to discover and reconnect with nature with the first annual Make Tracks Family Trail Weekend. Scheduled for the three-day weekend that starts October 11, the program is part of the federation’s Green Hour campaign, which urges parents to give their kids a daily dose of nature. [+]
Media & Culture
NBC – July 16, 2008
Richard Louv, Nature Clubs on Today Show
NBC’s top-rated Today Show featured a report July 16 on nature-deficit disorder and one Virginia parent’s efforts to help other families connect with nature. Host Ann Curry then conducted an in-studio interview with Richard Louv, who summarized the benefits that nature can have on children and the Children & Nature Network’s ongoing work to help people form local nature clubs.
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Leadership
the National Wildlife Federation – May 30, 2008
New Report Aims to Save Kids from Indoor Summer
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The National Wildlife Federation recently released a report, "Connecting Today's Kids with Nature: A Policy Action Plan," which is especially timely as summer approaches. Most adult Americans associate summer vacation with the phrase "Go Outside and Play," but today's kids rarely hear those four little words. Recent research indicates that many children are actually gaining weight during the summer, a time that used to be characterized by vigorous outdoor activity. This guide outlines policy solutions for parents and policymakers, including connecting kids to nature through environmental education, advocating for better community design for natural play areas, and encouraging parents and kids to engage in a daily Green Hour.
Education | Campaign/Initiative
Washington Post – April 17, 2008
Washington Post: Inside the Capitol, the Great Outdoors
By Moira E. McLaughlin
When a group of fifth-graders showed up to tour the Capitol recently with an alligator, two leopard cubs, and assorted other animals in tow, even the Washington Post took notice. The students were at the Capitol to show support for the No Child Left Inside Act, which would fund environmental education programs if passed.
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Campaign/Initiative
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service – March 14, 2008
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Launches New Initiative
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has launched a new initiative to help connect children and adults with nature. Using the slogan “Let’s Go Outside!” the service will be targeting urban dwellers and nontraditional conservation audiences in particular, encouraging them to explore the National Wildlife Refuge System and other natural resources.
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Media & Culture
The Beacon (Wilkes University) – February 24, 2008
Trail Guides for the iPod Generation
By Nick Podolak
A biology professor at Wilkes University in Pennsylvania has teamed with students to create high-tech trail guides to local sites for people unaccustomed to exploring nature. The guides, which can be downloaded from the Web and played on an iPod, are an attempt to combat nature-deficit disorder.
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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.
