“A movement moves.” — Rev. Gerald L. Durley All of us involved with the Children & Nature Network recognize the challenges ahead, the miles to go, the promises and deadlines to keep. But for the children and nature movement, 2011 has been a banner year. Here are a few of the achievements accomplished during the [...]
During the first week of November, members of the American Society of Landscape Architects and their colleagues from around the country – over 5,000 strong – met at the San Diego Convention Center. Saving the world was somewhere on the agenda. Could they be the group with the most influence on human habitat in the future, [...]
“Nature is not a place to visit, it is home.” —Gary Snyder. A few months ago, at the Minnesota Arboretum, several hundred people from a variety of sectors – tourism, housing development, health care, education, and others – came together for a conference focused in part on the Nature Principle. I was especially intrigued by [...]
In 2009, Janet Ady of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service stood before a crowd of grassroots leaders gathered by the Children & Nature Network. She held up an outsized pharmacy bottle. Within the bottle was a physician’s prescription – one that would be as appropriate for adults as it would be for children. The [...]
“Connected and honored, natural teachers could inspire other teachers; they could become a galvanizing force within their schools. In the process, they would contribute to their own psychological, physical, and spiritual health.” — The Nature Principle Not long ago, I was speaking with a middle school principal in Austin who was sympathetic to the cause, but [...]
Our Family just returned from an amazing trip to Europe. The trip marked our daughter Amelie’s fifth and sixth countries visited (Italy and France) before her first 15 months on planet earth. We know she may not be happy about that when she hits the adolescent years and we may not be able to take [...]
Last week, First Lady Michelle Obama hosted the White House Childhood Obesity Summit as part of her work with the newly formed Childhood Obesity Task Force and its accompanying Let’s Move campaign. The Summit was attended by Secretary of Education Arne Duncan, Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar, Surgeon General Regina Benjamin, and Martin LeBlanc, [...]
The Ecology of Hope
I was raised in the deserts and high country of the American Southwest. An only child, I spent hours and hours on my own, or with friends, including my cousins, exploring arroyos, climbing trees, and experiencing the sense of being at home that comes from being connected to the place where you live. Some of [...]