The perfect pairing: Youth development and nature connection

Peanut butter and jelly. French fries and ketchup. Batman and Robin. Campfires and sing-alongs.

Some things are good, and when paired together, they become great. The same is true for youth development and nature connection. Youth development programs ensure that youth are socially and emotionally supported. Meanwhile, programs involving natural materials and outdoors experiences provide the perfect context for connecting to our senses and improving health and well-being. The benefits of each are undisputed. And like PB&J, when coupled, the two become even more wonderful. 

Research echoes this truth. Programs that focus intentionally on youth development and nature are proven to result in youth gaining a deeper understanding of themselves, an environmental ethos and an appreciation for nature, as well as youth displaying greater resilience, building stronger relationships and fostering deeper connections to place.   

The benefits of the two do not happen by chance. It takes intentional inclusion of each to achieve maximum impact. On the youth development side of things, organizations can nurture youth understanding of self and build their confidence by providing opportunities for reflection and self-expression, balancing structure with independent time, and sharing leadership with program participants. They can take things a step further by establishing group agreements and norms, and by providing opportunities for youth to experience challenges in a safe and supportive space to develop agency and decision-making.

As for the integration of nature, connection to nature starts with simply taking programming outdoors. Organizations can then move into incorporating the history, heritage and traditions of the local community and using local, natural features as context and as a way to facilitate a sense of belonging and build a sense of appreciation for nature.

Organizations across the country are excelling at this intersection. We highlight three such organizations here.

A pathway for youth’s professional development

The Cincinnati Nature Center in Ohio joined a year-long Children & Nature Network cohort because they were seeking assistance centering youth voice and equity in the design and implementation of their programs. During their involvement in the cohort, they focused their recruiting on diversifying participation in their Teen Leadership program and evolved their pathway for engaging and growing youth.  Their youth pathway takes participants from camper to Leader-in-Training to Counselor-in-Training, eventually culminating in becoming a Counselor. 

Brian, a second-year counselor who participated in this pathway, says, “Being a counselor has been the best experience of my life. The campers, the environment, and my coworkers make it all so worth it and inspire me to keep being a part of something as amazing as camp. There’s so much more to learn every day — about creatures, and plants, and people — that you get to carry with you for the rest of your life!” To further center youth voice and equity in their program design, the Cincinnati Nature Center has added three new camps for teens including overnights — a new offering for the organization.

Sharing power with young leaders in community agriculture

Young leaders from the San Luis Valley Local Foods Coalition at the Children & Nature Network’s Legacy Camp in 2022.

The San Luis Valley Local Foods Coalition (SLVLFC) had the vision to inspire and build youth and community connections in community agriculture, local foods, and Indigenous practices. They started this journey by reimagining their organizational structure and implementing more opportunities for youth leadership within their organization’s culture. In August of 2022, the Children & Nature Network supported SLVLFC in conducting a landscape scan on their gaps and assets. The information was used to create an action plan, including sharing power within their organization. To this end, they secured funding to transition three seasonal positions held by young leaders into full time roles.

“Taking a scan of organizations has helped us to be strategic including securing money and creating a cycle where different staff members, regardless of title, lead and implement staff meetings. It’s a new discipline for us and now impossible to imagine going back to our old ways,” says Abe Rosenberg, SLVLFC Program Leader. In September of 2022, SLVLFC joined the Children & Nature Network’s Legacy Camp, a multi-day youth development training, both as participants and co-planners. Eight SLVLFC staff members attended the Legacy Camp in the role of young leaders to immerse themselves in conversations of programming and shared leadership. 

Measuring positive youth outcomes and strengthening partnerships

Based in Los Angeles, California, the organization Community Nature Connection (CNC) seeks to eliminate barriers and increase access to the outdoors for communities impacted by racial, socio-economic and disability injustices. In March 2022, staff from the Children & Nature Network met with the staff of CNC to support the organization’s goals.

CNC was using a survey from Hello Insight, co-developed by the Children & Nature Network and the YMCA’s Bold & Gold, to measure positive youth outcomes and nature connection in relation to two of its programs: Emerging Naturalists, and the Outdoor and Coastal Access Leadership Institute (OCALI). Using real-time data, the Children & Nature Network staff helped CNC to identify facilitation techniques and tools to better support the outcomes that they aimed to achieve. The visit also produced ideas for how to strengthen existing partnerships, diversify funding streams, and connect with prospective new partners, such as East Yard Communities for Environmental Justice.

CNC plans to use what they’ve learned to take their offerings to the next level. “In our next phase of evaluative efforts, CNC is looking to develop metrics and examine how our programs increase a sense of comfort and belonging in the outdoors for participants,” said Celeste Kelley Gasperik, CNC’s Director of Programs & Training.

The perfect pairing

As for me, I’ll take french fries with ketchup over dry fries, a book and hammock for an afternoon, and youth development and nature paired for the win. 

In my fourteen-year-old son, I see how his relationship with nature, friends, and family are inextricably linked to his confidence, personal development and relationship with the land and water. It’s the result of nudging him to join me on hikes, hosting teen camping trips, and creating space for curiosity and exploration. 

I invite all parents, practitioners and program leaders to explore the Children & Nature Network’s Youth Development and Nature Framework to see how you too can be intentional in helping all youth experience the benefits of both.

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