The National Wildlife Federation is ramping up its Certified Wildlife Habitat program. Thousands of home and school gardeners already participate in the program, which allows families, students and others an opportunity for deeper enjoyment of nearby nature, as well as the education and satisfaction that comes from knowing that their spaces are helping local wildlife [...]
Despite a recent Kaiser Family Foundation study revealing that the average young person spends nearly eight hours a day with electronic media, attendance at traditional summer camp is up. U.S. camp attendance has grown by an average of one to three percent per year over the past several years. Parents report absorbing the message that [...]
Two members of C&NN’s Natural Leaders Network have been featured in important upcoming books.
Juan Martinez, Natural Leader Coordinator, is featured in the book, Hispanics Living Green, by Sharon T. Freeman. A Congressional Reception to celebrate the book will be held March 17.
Juan is also speaking at the Smart Start/Early Childhood Best Practices Conference in San Jose March 20.
Katia Rossi, one of the Core Leaders of the Natural Leaders Network, is profiled in the upcoming Girls Gone Green by Lynn Hirshfield.
Many states around the U.S. are working to get children into nature. Maryland’s Governor recently announced that state’s Children in Nature Action Plan for 2010. California passed a Children’s Outdoor Bill of Rights, which includes 10 easy and fun things the state recommends children experience from age 4-14.
There’s more good news. In Colorado, “Colorado Kids Outdoors Program†legislation is making its way through the statehouse. The Kansas Coalition for Children in Nature was formed to work with state agencies to create opporturnities for children to experience nature. Connecticut’s Commissioner of the Department of Environmental Protection vowed to maintain a commitment to state parks and to the state’s existing “No Child Left Inside” initiative.
C&NN recently launched its Natural Teachers Network, and the discussion group quickly gained many enthusiastic teachers, parents and others who use the natural world as a teaching tool. The group has recently discussed ideas for winter nature activities and for using the Iditarod sled race as an inspiration to get people outdoors. Meet some of the members of our Natural Teachers Network:
John Theilbahr serves on C&NN’s Strategic Alliance Development Team and Grassroots Leadership Team and has been very involved with the NTN. John brings a great deal of expertise from the worlds of education, environment, finance, and parenting. He lives in Pullman, WA.
Juliet Robertson is an Outdoor Learning Consultant and Trainer with CreativeSTAR Learning Company in Aberdeen, Scotland. A former school principal, she has also done a great deal of outdoor and environmental work. Juliet has traveled to many parts of the world as a Winston Churchill Traveling Fellow.
It’s time for a National Conference on Children, Nature and the Law, organized by the legal profession with a little help from insurance companies, educators, health care folks, policy-makers, C&NN and others. This conference is a fiction, so far. But somebody needs to step to the plate.
Those of us who care about the future of our children and the human relationship with the natural world should applaud First Lady Michelle Obama’s call for a ” Let’s Move” campaign to reverse the trend toward child obesity. We particularly like her statement that when she was young, ” we spent hours running around outside, we couldn’t go inside until dinner.”
In the past, the national conversation about child obesity has seldom mentioned getting outside in nature as part of the solution. We’re hoping that changes, and as the ” Let’s Move” campaign evolves, it will give far greater attention to children’s independent play, particularly in natural surroundings.
Young People to Celebrate Nature on Get Outside Day!
Hundreds of young people around the U.S. are preparing for Get Outside Day! 2010. On April 3rd and throughout the week, these Natural Leaders will engage in a variety of events to have fun, get out in nature, and encourage others to put down their electronic media and do the same. C&NN’s Natural Leaders Network [...]