Welcome to the worldwide movement to re-connect children with nature, inspired in part by Richard Louv’s book Last Child in the Woods; Saving Our Children from Nature-Deficit Disorder. Nature is a powerful learning tool that can ignite curiosity. 
Every teacher can be a Natural Teacher
As a teacher, your ability to creatively engage your students with the natural world in their everyday lives can make a huge difference in their health, well-being, and capacity to learn.
Together with families, neighborhoods, and communities, you can play a vital role in getting kids outdoors and helping overcome the epidemic of childhood obesity, growing incidence of ADHD, and increasing rates of school drop outs. Every teacher can be a Natural Teacher and make a positive difference in a child’s life.
We encourage you to join the Natural Teachers Network. As a member of this Network, you will join a growing movement of thousands of existing members of the Children & Nature Network and gain access to regularly updated research, tools, activities and resources. You will receive a personalized Certificate of Participation that states for all to see what it means to be a Natural Teacher, and an “I Am a Natural Teacher” badge that you can display. You are invited to join the Natural Teachers Network’s social networking site to share with your peers your ideas, successes, and challenges in taking your students outside. You are encouraged to invite other teachers of all disciplines to join the Natural Teachers Network. There is strength in numbers and incredible creativity in diverse points of view.
Download articles by Richard Louv and Cheryl Charles:
[+] Do Our Kids Have Nature Deficit Disorder by Richard Louv, published in the December 2009 issue of Educational Leadership Journal.
[+] The Ecology of Hope by Dr. Cheryl Charles, published in the May/June 2008 issue of Connect.
NEW! CHILDREN’S CONTACT WITH THE OUTDOORS AND NATURE: A FOCUS ON EDUCATORS AND EDUCATIONAL SETTINGS
The following is a synthesis of selected research and studies that focus on education and educational settings. These studies, along with others, were originally published as part of C&NN's four volumes of annotated bibliographies of research and studies listed in the research section of the C&NN Web site. [>] Download PDF
The following is a synthesis of selected research and studies that focus on education and educational settings. These studies, along with others, were originally published as part of C&NN's four volumes of annotated bibliographies of research and studies listed in the research section of the C&NN Web site. [>] Download PDF
In the future, with funding and your help, we will be creating a Natural Teachers Guidebook, a Natural Teachers Newsletter, a locator map on the web site to help connect teachers in their own communities, and other tools and resources to improve and expand the Network. We will hold celebration events, and in 2010 we will also announce a national award to be presented to a teacher who demonstrates creative and effective ways to improve learning using the natural world as a classroom. Stay tuned for details.
Regional Leadership Support
Natural Leaders Network
Natural Families Network
Natural Teachers Network
Nature Rocks
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