House Committee Approves No Child Left Inside Act
The (Annapolis) Capital – June 22, 2008
The "No Child Left Inside" movement pushed by a local congressman took a significant step forward last week.
Members of the House Education and Labor Committee approved Wednesday the No Child Left Inside Act.
Sponsored by U.S. Rep. John Sarbanes and others, the bill sends money to states to expand environmental and outdoor education programs. The states also will receive money to develop plans to make sure graduates are "environmentally literate."
Mr. Sarbanes, D-Baltimore County, represents parts of Anne Arundel County.
Mr. Sarbanes' push for the bill took him to the Patuxent Research Refuge in Laurel on Earth Day, where the committee held a hearing after seeing kids in action learning in the great outdoors.
The push for more environmental education has its roots in the book "Last Child in the Woods," in which author Richard Louv decries the lack of outdoor learning and play available to children today.
The coalition supporting the No Child Left Inside Act grew to more than 300 groups. A companion bill in the Senate has not been voted on.
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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.
