BUCKET FULL OF NATURE: A Fun Indoor Nature Challenge for Families
During the COVID-19 crisis, if you’re experiencing cabin fever and your kids (and you) are climbing (or drawing on) the walls indoors, we’ve got a plan to keep you connected with nature! The mental, physical, social and emotional benefits of regular and meaningful...
National Parks Are Open — with Some Changes — amid Virus
Interior Secretary David Bernhardt on Wednesday temporarily waived National Park Service entrance fees to make it easier for people to get outdoors and “implement some social distancing.” The National Park Service says it’s adhering to the latest guidelines from the White House and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, vowing to keep outdoor spaces open while giving park superintendents the power to close or modify operations.
Coronavirus: Concern over Lack of Social Distancing During Outdoor Walks
In Ireland, the National Parks and Wildlife Service has raised concerns that people out walking in parks and elsewhere outdoors are failing to maintain advised social distancing to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.The parks service called on “individuals to avoid congregating closely in large groups, even in these outdoor areas,” and to maintain 6.5 feet between each person in walking groups.
Dutch Cities Giving Disabled Children Equal Access to Outdoor Play
Councilors in the Dutch city of Breda have launched a national campaign to give equal opportunities for outdoor play to children with disabilities. Breda is the latest Dutch city to raise the issue of an outdoor play provision for Dutch children. Over the next two years, the aim is to raise awareness of ‘play for everyone’ in the Netherlands, whether the child is able-bodied or disabled.
Global Call to Cut Urban Road Speed Limits
The 3rd Global Ministerial Conference on Road Safety (Ministerial Conference) held in Stockholm, Sweden has called on countries to impose mandatory 20mph limits in urban areas to help cut deaths and injuries to pedestrians, including many children. Held in the final year of the Decade of Action for Road Safety 2011-2020, the conference brought government Ministers together to extend the 2020 target to reduce road deaths and serious injuries to 2030. The program has the support of dozens of countries worldwide.
NATURE GOES ON: Rediscovering the Rhythm of Nature in a Crisis
I was bent over the passenger-side front fender of a 2015 Subaru Sunday, trying to swap a burned-out headlight for a replacement that didn’t want to fit. That’s when I heard the distinctive sound. It’s like the call of a flock of geese, but with the reverb turned up....
10 Nature Activities to Help Get Your Family Through the Coronavirus Pandemic
If the coronavirus spreads at the rate that experts believe it will, schools, workplaces and businesses will continue to close. Here’s a thread of silver lining. We’ll have more time for each other and nature. And, at least so far, nature’s always open. Getting...
Study Reveals Positive Connection Between Nature Experiences and Happiness
A team of researchers from the National University of Singapore (NUS) used social media and artificial intelligence (AI) to look at the connection between nature experiences and happiness. The team analyzed over 31,500 photographs across 185 countries on social media with the help of an automated image recognition technology, finding global evidence of the biophilia hypothesis, or of human’s innate tendency to seek connection with nature. The study was published in Scientific Reports.
Dwindling Numbers of School-age Children in US Cities
As the income gap becomes more pronounced in US cities, the number of school-age children is dropping as families move out to the suburbs. In 2018 about 12 percent of children aged 17 and under lived in the principal city of a metropolitan area, down from 14.6 percent in 2010. In addition, data from the national Census Bureau’s American Community Survey shows that the percentage of children aged five and under in these central cities fell from 16 percent in 2010 to 13.9 percent in 2018.
