http://www.cnaturenet.org/news/ Movement News & Commentary en Children and Nature Network Copyright 2008 2008-06-30T17:07:00-08:00 /news/detail/oregon_looks_for_ways_to_interest_youth_in_fishing/ /news/detail/oregon_looks_for_ways_to_interest_youth_in_fishing/ The number of Oregon teenagers who fish has dropped by nearly half over the last three decades. The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife has been working to reverse this trend, and this year it proposed creating a series of special youth-only fisheries. Not all anglers, though, support the effort. 2008-06-30T16:07:00-08:00 /news/detail/florida_pushes_nature_connection_with_free_parks/ /news/detail/florida_pushes_nature_connection_with_free_parks/ The Florida Department of Environmental Protection has launched a new campaign to reconnect children and families with nature. To promote the effort, the DEP is waiving admission to all 161 Florida state parks on Sunday, July 13. In the words of Florida State Parks Director Mike Bullock, “Establishing a healthy relationship with nature during childhood is a valuable habit that will benefit individuals and society as a whole for years.” 2008-06-30T16:06:00-08:00 /news/detail/author_advocates_free_play_in_usa_today/ /news/detail/author_advocates_free_play_in_usa_today/ Susan Linn, author of the book The Case for Make Believe: Saving Play in a Commercialized World, discusses the importance of unstructured play in a recent interview with USA Today. Beyond simply advising parents to make sure their children have play time away from the television and electronic toys, she specifically recommends taking kids outdoors. “Children actually play more creatively in nature,” she says. 2008-06-30T16:01:00-08:00 /news/detail/great_american_backyard_campout_set_for_june_28/ /news/detail/great_american_backyard_campout_set_for_june_28/ With high gas prices keeping families closer to home this summer, it seems likely that fewer children will be chasing fireflies and sleeping under the stars. That fact alone gives the National Wildlife Federation’s fourth annual Great American Backyard Campout added relevance. The event, in which more than 40,000 people participated last year, is scheduled for June 28. National, Media & Culture 2008-06-23T16:37:00-08:00 /news/detail/texas_state_parks_host_outdoor_family_workshops/ /news/detail/texas_state_parks_host_outdoor_family_workshops/ Recognizing that many Texans today lack the camping skills and experience of previous generations, the state’s parks and wildlife department is offering a new series of weekend workshops for families. The workshops, sponsored in part by Toyota, offer a supportive environment where families can learn how to pitch tents, cook outdoors, fish, kayak, and even geocache. 2008-06-23T16:35:00-08:00 /news/detail/house_committee_approves_no_child_left_inside_act/ /news/detail/house_committee_approves_no_child_left_inside_act/ Members of the House Education and Labor Committee approved the No Child Left Inside Act on June 18 by a vote of 37 to 8. If signed into law, the measure would send money to states to expand environmental and outdoor education programs. 2008-06-23T16:31:00-08:00 /news/detail/teens_encouraged_to_volunteer_outdoors_this_summer/ /news/detail/teens_encouraged_to_volunteer_outdoors_this_summer/ The opportunities for teenagers looking for work experience this summer include many volunteer positions outdoors. Northwest Youth Corps, a nonprofit group based in Eugene, Oregon, has sent thousands of youngsters to work in the forests of the Pacific Northwest over the past 25 years. Another area nonprofit, Food for Lane County, puts kids to work in gardens growing fruits and vegetables for the needy. 2008-06-16T16:09:00-08:00 /news/detail/new_car_sharing_program_helps_youth_reach_nature/ /news/detail/new_car_sharing_program_helps_youth_reach_nature/ Bay Area Wilderness Training and City CarShare are making it easier and more affordable for youth educators to take groups of kids on outdoor excursions. BAWT recently purchased two all-wheel-drive minivans, each capable of carrying up to seven people, for the City CarShare fleet. The hope is that making these “BAWTmobiles” available for short-term use will help youth educators avoid the legal, administrative, and financial hurdles that often prevent field trips. National, Access 2008-06-16T16:07:00-08:00 /news/detail/book_chronicles_dad_connecting_kids_with_nature/ /news/detail/book_chronicles_dad_connecting_kids_with_nature/ Rick Van Noy, an English professor and father, has written a book that chronicles his efforts to turn his children’s attention from their television and computer screens to the outdoors. A Natural Sense of Wonder: Connecting Kids with Nature Through the Seasons focuses on Van Noy’s experience of bringing his children outdoors and allowing them to play without structure. In a series of essays organized mostly by season, he describes swimming, hiking, gardening, and fishing with his family. 2008-06-16T16:04:00-08:00 /news/detail/tree_houses_designed_to_inspire_kids/ /news/detail/tree_houses_designed_to_inspire_kids/ Pennsylvania’s Tyler Arboretum is exhibiting tree houses created by Delaware Valley artists, architects, and students in the hopes of strengthening the relationship between children and nature. According to the arboretum’s director of public programs, “Today, fewer kids have a connection to nature—they’re not getting outside for unstructured play, and they’re not experiencing nature on the soccer field—and tree houses are a way to get them excited.” National, Built Environment 2008-06-09T16:42:00-08:00 /news/detail/free_play_gets_a_boost_in_scotland/ /news/detail/free_play_gets_a_boost_in_scotland/ Advocates for unstructured play are celebrating the opening of a new play area in the Scottish Highlands. Funded in part by the local government, the play area, which is part of a primary school, was designed to encourage children to use their imaginations. In addition to a set of extra-large dominoes, an obstacle course that children can build themselves, and a special area for water play, there is a quiet area where children can sit on oversized outdoor cushions surrounded by flower and vegetable tubs. International, Education 2008-06-09T16:40:00-08:00 /news/detail/younger_children_need_more_vitamin_d/ /news/detail/younger_children_need_more_vitamin_d/ At least 40 percent of U.S. infants and toddlers don’t get enough vitamin D, according to researchers from Children’s Hospital in Boston. Also known as the sunshine vitamin, vitamin D is produced naturally when the body reacts to sunlight, and too much time indoors and out of direct sunlight may be one of the factors contributing to vitamin D deficiency in young people. 2008-06-09T16:37:00-08:00 /news/detail/decline_in_school_recess_continues/ /news/detail/decline_in_school_recess_continues/ Despite research showing that unstructured play is important to healthy childhood development, the amount of time that schools allow for recess continues to decline. One reason for the decline is the increased emphasis on standardized testing. Other factors include limited budgets for safe playground equipment, concerns about lawsuits from playground injuries, and fears of bullying. Research & Studies, Education 2008-06-02T16:53:00-08:00 /news/detail/another_statewide_effort_to_reconnect_kids_with_nature/ /news/detail/another_statewide_effort_to_reconnect_kids_with_nature/ Ohio joins the ranks of states trying to reconnect children with nature. As part of its summer Explore the Outdoors challenge, the Ohio Department of Natural Resources recently distributed nearly 800,000 activity guides to public school students. The activities described in the guides include fishing and hiking, and students who complete eight or more of these activities before September 1 are eligible for prizes. State, Campaign/Initiative 2008-06-02T16:49:00-08:00 /news/detail/virtual_field_trips_take_hold_in_california/ /news/detail/virtual_field_trips_take_hold_in_california/ In California schools, the traditional field trip to a state park or other destination so that children can learn firsthand about the natural world is being replaced by the virtual field trip, which uses videoconferencing to beam nature lessons into the classroom. These virtual experiences, supporters say, are better than the alternative: no field trips at all. State, Education 2008-06-02T16:45:00-08:00 /news/detail/botanical_garden_redesigned_to_encourage_play/ /news/detail/botanical_garden_redesigned_to_encourage_play/ Recognizing the importance of allowing young people to explore the natural world, the director of the Idaho Botanical Garden and her staff are reimagining the garden’s existing children’s area. The new Children’s Garden will offer lush landscaping, bamboo shelters, a tree house, a castle wall, a simulated beach, and a so-called kitchen garden. It will be a place, the director says, where kids can explore on their own and “don’t have to stay on the path.” 2008-05-26T18:32:00-08:00 /news/detail/virginia_museum_receives_children_and_nature_grant/ /news/detail/virginia_museum_receives_children_and_nature_grant/ The Virginia Museum of Natural History has been awarded a $215,350 grant to establish a program that will offer children an interactive approach to outdoor learning. The grant, from the Martinsville-based Harvest Foundation, creates the Children and Nature Educational Network, which will “provide more opportunities for children to learn, enjoy, and just be outdoors,” says Dennis Casey of the Virginia Museum of Natural History. 2008-05-26T18:30:00-08:00 /news/detail/australians_study_nature_deficit_disorder/ /news/detail/australians_study_nature_deficit_disorder/ Researchers in Australia are investigating the effects of nature-deficit disorder on children, the Sidney Morning Herald reports. In one study of 500 Melbourne children, the more vegetation in a school yard, the more highly the children rated that environment as “restorative” and the better their attention scores in the classroom following play in the greener area. 2008-05-26T18:28:00-08:00 /news/detail/free_range_kids/ /news/detail/free_range_kids/ Journalist Lenore Skenazy has sparked a dialogue that's touched a nerve in the national psyche. Are American parents raising children who are never allowed to take risks, or are they simply protecting them? For a complicated mix of reasons there is an urgent and growing desire among families to reassess their lifestyles and consider a more balanced form of parenting, one that allows for more independence and risk-taking. Commentary, Media & Culture 2008-05-22T16:34:00-08:00 /news/detail/bioblitz_takes_aim_at_los_angeles_children/ /news/detail/bioblitz_takes_aim_at_los_angeles_children/ The National Park Service and the National Geographic Society are joining forces to host the Santa Monica Mountains BioBlitz the last weekend in May. Part scientific endeavor, part festival, and part outdoor classroom, the BioBlitz will draw together scientists, naturalists, community leaders, and more than 1,400 Los Angeles schoolchildren for a 24-hour race to discover and record as many plant and animal species as possible. Local, Event 2008-05-19T21:42:00-08:00 /news/detail/why_are_schools_designed_like_prisons/ /news/detail/why_are_schools_designed_like_prisons/ In an opinion piece for the New York Times website, writer and editor Allison Arieff laments the way that school design tends to inhibit outdoor activity as children get older. “What if we looked beyond the notion of schools as institutions,” she writes, “and thought about them more as laboratories for creativity, exploration, and innovation?” National, Education 2008-05-19T21:38:00-08:00 /news/detail/rei_promotes_outdoor_activities_for_kids/ /news/detail/rei_promotes_outdoor_activities_for_kids/ Outdoor retailer REI recently launched its Kids’ Passport to Adventure campaign with a quote from Richard Louv on the positive effects that nature experiences can have on young people. The campaign, now in its third year nationwide, encourages kids to participate in outdoor activities like cycling, hiking, and kayaking this summer. 2008-05-19T21:36:00-08:00 /news/detail/military_family_outdoor_mfo_initiative/ /news/detail/military_family_outdoor_mfo_initiative/ The Military Family Outdoor (MFO) Initiative, a joint project of the Sierra Club and The Sierra Club Foundation, today announced a three-year grant of up to $23 million, provided by generous donors to support three organizations that provide returning veterans and their families with healing, life-affirming outdoor experiences in the natural world. National, Access, Campaign/Initiative 2008-05-15T15:27:00-08:00