So Much News, So Little Open Space
Bill Vanderberg, recipient of CBS Early Show's Early Angel Award, with natural leaders.
The children and nature movement has miles to go before it sleeps (if it ever does), but we’re seeing so much progress that it’s difficult to keep up with the news. Look for C&NN’s next email newsletter for a more extensive report, but here are some recent highlights.
Eco Clubs and Early Angels: A few minutes ago, I received this email from Martin LeBlanc, C&NN board member and vice president: ” This morning the CBS Early Show awarded Bill Vanderberg, the Sierra Club’s Building Bridges to the Outdoors’ lead volunteer as well as a member of CNN’s Advisory Board an Early Angel Award for his work with the Crenshaw Eco Club a Sierra Club grantee since 2003.
“Bill is a true leader who is inspirational and touches students lives on a daily basis. He is a mentor to me and his leadership is phenomenal. It is a moving piece and Bill’s ability to get 300 young people into a gym in South Central LA at 4 in the morning for a live shot is truly remarkable.”
Through nature, Bill Vanderberg, Dean of Students at Crenshaw High, consistently reaches young people who, in many other schools, are economically and academically marginalized.
The latest project for Vanderberg and the Eco Club: Revival of the Crenshaw Community Garden in Southwest Los Angeles, a 2.5 acre site that sits on the campus of Crenshaw High, about which the Los Angeles Times reports: ” In the 1990s, Crenshaw Community Garden was such a phenomenon that it spawned a company called Food from the ‘Hood, garnered a write-up in The New York Times, and was paid a visit by England’s Prince Charles.” In recent years the garden has been neglected. Bill is working to revitalize the garden, with the help of L.A. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa.
Imagine an Eco Club and a Bill Vanderberg in every high school in America. Please join us in congratulating Bill.” And see the CBS video.
Health Care Costs, CEO’s, Obama, Children and Nature: An interesting set of words to appear in the same sentence, isn’t it? First, the First Lady plants a vegetable garden, then we learned that the Department of Interior is creating a ” 21st Century Youth Conservation Corps” in part to connect young people with nature.”
And now we read this good column in the business section of the May 17 issue of The Seattle Times, about REI Chief Executive Sally Jewell’s White House visit last week. There, she and a handful of other CEOs discussed the future of business and health care costs. Amy Martinez reports: ” Speaking to reporters, Obama saluted REI for providing health insurance to part-time as well as full-time employees, saying the Kent-based retailer can afford to do that because of innovative programs meant to make its work force healthier….
Before leaving the White House, Jewell gave Obama two ‘Passport to Adventure’ envelopes, one each for his daughters, Malia and Sasha.
Martinez continues: “Aimed at kids 5 to 12 years old, the packages include an adventure journal, information about local hiking and bike trails, games, outdoor tips and stickers. REI created the Passport program several years ago in hopes of stimulating childhood interest in the outdoors, despite their generation’s fascination with such indoor pursuits as computers and video games. Jewell also gave Obama a copy of the book ‘Last Child in the Woods’ …. “He said, ‘I’ve heard of this book. This is good. Thank you.’”
Hear the echo? Thanks, Sally!
By the way, I should point out the bipartisan support for the children and nature movement. In addition to support from important figures in the Obama administration, some leaders in the prior administration were extremely helpful, including former Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne.
Biophilia Rising: We’re seeing progress on the built-environment front, as well. Among the pioneers: North Carolina State University’s Robin Moore, a leader in the international effort to create natural play spaces; Oberlin’s David Orr, who links ecological literacy and the design of schools (both physically and academically); the University of Colorado’s Louise Chawla, an international proponent of better urban environments for children; the University of Virginia’s Tim Beatley, whose upcoming film ” The Nature of Cities” will be as illuminating as his books; UC Berkeley’s Clare Cooper Marcus, a major figure in the understanding of the psychological and sociological aspects of architecture and urban open space; and many others.
I started quoting Clare Cooper Marcus and Robin Moore in the 1970s. Still do. Many of the people cited here are members of C&NN’s advisory board.
Internationally, Yale’s Stephen Kellert, a member of our board of directors, has helped galvanize the whole notion of biophilic design — which incorporates nature into urban design and
architecture, not just to save energy, but to produce human energy. A few years ago, he sponsored a conference on biophilic design, inviting the folks above and many others in the field (I was lucky
enough to go). One result of that conference is the new book, ” Biophilic Design: The Theory, Science and Practice of Bringing Buildings to Life,” with contributions from many of the attendants.
Last week, Kellert learned that “Biophilic Design” received the 2008 American Publishers Award for Professional and Scholarly Excellence (the PROSE award) in the Architecture and Urban Planning category.
Near Nature, High Office, Saving Parks: Recently, Parks & Recreation magazine asked me to write a report on the movement’s progress. So, in the current issue, I report (among other news) the following item:
” In January 30, 2009, Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn, at his first press conference as governor, vowed to do something about the gap between today’s children and the natural world. His predecessor, Gov. Rod Blagojevich, had closed seven parks in a budget-cutting move.) ‘I recently read a book,; Quinn said. ” It talked about nature-deficit disorder where we should leave no child inside.” …he followed through on his pledge two months later.”
On March 5, Gov. Quinn reopened seven state parks, arguing again that Illinois children deserved every chance to connect with nature.
I surmise that Quinn didn’t just take this action because he read a book. The decision, which also reflected a calculation that nature staycations could help the state’s economy, coincided with ongoing efforts by the Illinois Department of Natural Resources and by the state’s Leave No Child Inside initiative, launched in 2007 by Chicago Wilderness, a coalition of more than 240 public and private organizations.
Last year, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the No Child Left Inside Act, designed to support environmental education. Currently, the Senate is considering the legislation, sponsored by the No Child Left Inside Coalition of more than 1,140 other organizations. With the emergence of such legislation, and — even more importantly — the rise of over 50 other regional and state campaigns to connect children and families to nature, politicians are learning that there’s a large constituency forming out there — one that transcends traditional political divisions. Read the full update on the movement, in Parks & Recreation magazine.
And join the movement by clicking here!
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Richard Louv is chairman of the Children and Nature Network. He is the author of “Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children from Nature-Deficit Disorder.”
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