Movement Update JULY 2007
In the past year we have seen the growth of countless new private and public programs aimed at reconnecting children and nature — and the bolstering of many existing ones. The idea of a national children and nature movement has become a reality.
 To date, we have identified over thirty cities or states that have either launched or are assembling campaigns to connect children with nature. Looking forward we see increasing opportunities for changes in public policy, increased financial support and public awareness, and the emergence of successful models for community action.
 C&NN is working side-by-side with regional leaders to develop a clear and simple roadmap to enable local organizers, regional institutions, and individuals to take action at every level. Simultaneously, a national peer-to-peer network is growing, and the media is keeping the issue in the public eye by devoting front-page coverage to evolving campaigns, legislative hearings, forums and events. Together, we are confronting the growing gap between children and nature in the United States and elsewhere.
This newsletter highlights just a few of the tangible actions and accomplishments that have occurred over the past two months, thanks to individuals, agencies and organizations that are working together to create a movement for fundamental change.
— The Children & Nature Network Board of Directors
MOVEMENT NEWS & COMMENTARY - May - June, 2007
Distinguished speakers join to discuss nature-deficit disorder
May 16 - Los Angeles Calif.
 Working in conjunction with the Children & Nature Network, the Sierra Club hosted the Leave No Child Inside Forum, featuring an eight-member panel of leading decision-makers. Among them, Ruth Coleman, director of state parks, and state Sen. Alex Padilla, whose Senate Bill 207 would help further efforts to give all children in California an outdoor experience.
[+] read more
Agencies and organizations testify before Congress at “No Child Left Inside” hearing
May 26 - By Dawn Miller, Charleston Gazette
 Speaking to two subcommittees of the House Committee on Natural Resources, panelists urged Congress to take action. Charleston Gazette writer Dawn Miller covers the story In Defense of Play.
[+] read the article (PDF)
[+] read C&NN testimony (PDF)
The Conservation Fund Launches The National Forum on Children and Nature
June 19 -21 - By Donna St. George, Washington Post
 More than 30 of the nation’s most influential public and private leaders — including governors, mayors, CEOs, educators, and clergy — participated in the June launch of an ambitious effort to reconnect kids with nature. The Forum was featured in Lost in the Great Indoors, the Washington Post's front-page report on parents, advocacy groups, and the Conservation Fund's launch of a $20 million campaign to fund initiatives to reconnect children and nature.
[+] read more
Chicago Wilderness launches "Leave No Child Inside" program
June 24 - By Heidi Stevens - Chicago Tribune
 Plant your kids outside and watch 'em grow; Chicago Wilderness has just launched a "Leave No Child Inside" program to connect children with the outdoors and teach them to love and protect nature. Pruett-Jones, executive director of Chicago Wilderness, makes a compelling argument for why we need to get our kids outside more.
[+] read the article (PDF)
Clint Eastwood hosts a Children and Nature Workshop
June 27 - Carmel County
Organized by California and Nevada Fish and Wildlife Service and hosted by actor and director Clint Eastwod, the event brought together key leaders from the business and developer community, as well as government regulators. In his brief remarks, Eastwood told the group, “This is an idea that’s long overdue. We probably won’t get through all the barriers and solutions today, but we can start.”
Governor announces Vermont's No Child Left Inside challenge
July 13 - Burlington,VT
 Governor Jim Douglas launches the No Child Left Inside challenge — a program to encourage young Vermonters to get outside. The program - part of the governor's Fit and Healthy Kids Initiative — is a collaborative effort among various state agencies and Vermont's outdoor recreation and health organizations.
COMMENTARY
Nature makes a comeback
July 7 - By Jenna Russell, Boston Globe
 In a techno world, this front page article reports that traditional camps may be acquiring a new appeal — as an antidote to "Nature Deficit Disorder."
Introducing Wild Zones
July 7 - by David Hawkins
 David Hawkins, founding project manager of the Edible Schoolyard in Berkeley, Calif., discusses the concept of Wild Zones, places where kids can build shelters, dam creeks, make trails, and perform other active outdoors tasks. Wild Zones, he says, offer open-ended possibilities for play, creativity, socializing, and solitude.
OpEd By Amit Rana
June 14 - by Amit Rana, Sacramento News & Review
 Amit Rana, the Sierra Club's California youth education representative and coordinator of Building Bridges to the Outdoors, speaks out on SB 207, the California Leave No Child Inside Act, which would provide more outdoor education opportunities to California’s youth — especially at-risk kids.
[+] read the article
An idea as dangerous as all outdoors
July 3rd - by Karen Heller, The Philadelphia Enquirer
 “The Dangerous Book for Boys.” What is that about? This retro-edition book about any number of politically incorrect things boys can do as they play outdoors, from skinning a rabbit to waterproofing matches, celebrates an era of boyish innocence and inspires a newspaper columnist to consider the larger issue of nature-deficit disorder.
To subscribe to C&NN news and updates join the network. |
|
NEWS IN REVIEW
NEW! C&NN Publishes Research and Studies Volume Two
[+] read more
REGIONAL NEWS:
Children's Outdoor Bill of Rights Supported by Governator
[+] read more
The Children's Outdoor Bill of Rights
[+] read more
More Kids in the Wyoming Woods
[+] read more
Northern Utah groups awarded $93,700
[+] read more
Kudos for South Carolina Program
[+] read more
Planting SEEDS in Missouri
[+] read more
Get Your Green Hour in GA
[+] read more
Pennsylvania Governor Appoints Nature Task Force
[+] read more
UPDATES:
U.S. Forest Service Announces 24 recipients of the “More Kids in the Woods” challenge
[+] View the list of Recipients
[+] read more
BLM launches "Take It Outside" initiative
[+] read more
American Camp Association launches two new Web resources
[+] read more
Doctors Asked to Promote Play
[+] read more (PDF)
Sierra Club a camp booster: Donation to aid military children
[+] read more
“A Magical Place for Kids”
IslandWood,
[+] read more
Kids Decorate Green Playhouse
[+] read more
RESOURCES:
Louv Lecture Available Online
[+] read more
|
