Getting Kids Back to Nature Organizations
As Girl Scout councils across the US are looking to close and sell off camps, other organizations and governmental entities are striving to increase children’s access to nature. These groups understand the importance that education, exploration, and play in nature provides to children’s physical, cognitive, and emotional well-being.
National Programs
National Get Outdoors Day
http://www.nationalgetoutdoorsday.org/
2013 marked the 6th annual National Get Outdoors Day. From the website: “The pilot effort of National Get Outdoors Day was launched on June 14, 2008. Building on the success of More Kids in the Woods and other important efforts to connect Americans – and especially children – with nature and active lifestyles, the USDA Forest Service (FS) and the American Recreation Coalition (ARC) agreed to lead an inclusive, nationwide effort focusing on a single day when people would be inspired and motivated to get outdoors. GO Day partnered with federal, state and local agencies, key enthusiast organizations and recreation businesses to create a healthy, fun day of outdoor adventure aimed at reaching first-time visitors to public lands and reconnecting children to the outdoors.”
Check out their “News” section for stories about the event and other articles about the importance of spending time in nature.
Click here for a link to “The Top Ten Reasons For National Get Outdoors Day”, with statistics and impact statements about why being out in nature is so important.
American Camp Association (ACA)
http://www.acacamps.org/
About ACA: “The American Camp Association (formerly known as the American Camping Association) is a community of camp professionals who, for 100 years, have joined together to share our knowledge and experience and to ensure the quality of camp programs. Because of our diverse 9,000 plus membership and our exceptional programs, children and adults have the opportunity to learn powerful lessons in community, character-building, skill development, and healthy living — lessons that can be learned nowhere else. As a leading authority in youth development, ACA works to preserve, promote, and improve the camp experience.”
Check out this site for information and research about the benefits of camp.
Children and Nature Network (C&NN)
http://www.childrenandnature.org/
About C&NN: : “Children & Nature Network (C&NN) was created to encourage and support the people and organizations working nationally and internationally to reconnect children with nature. The network provides a critical link between researchers and individuals, educators and organizations dedicated to children's health and well-being. C&NN also promotes fundamental institutional change and provides resources for sharing information, strategic initiatives and success stories.”
Check out this site for news, initiatives, and research information about the benefit of children connecting with nature.
Outdoors Alliance For Kids (OAK)
http://outdoorsallianceforkids.wordpress.com/
About OAK: “The members of OAK are brought together by the belief that the well-being of current and future generations, the health of our planet and communities and the economy of the future depend on humans having a personal, direct and life-long relationship with nature and the outdoors. While childhood is the best time for instilling and fully benefiting from a connection to nature, in today’s world children are increasingly moving away from an understanding of the natural world. Although families have the leading role in connecting children with the outdoors, local, state and national decision-makers have a critical role to play to ensure that children, youth and families have the access, opportunities, skills and encouragement to connect with the great outdoors.
To reconnect with nature OAK believes that every child should have the opportunity and encouragement to play outside, touch soil, feel rain, watch leaves fall, sleep under the stars, count waves, eat food fresh from the garden, roll down a hill, catch a fish and enjoy the satisfaction of climbing to the top of a hill or a tree. Such simple acts create a pathway to longer hikes, an appreciation for wildlife, a desire to care for special places, healthier bodies, deeper family relationships and wiser people, which in turn OAK believes offers hope for a better world.” Committee member organizations include: The National Wildlife Federation, The Sierra Club, The American Heart Association, The YMCA, and others.
Building Bridges to the Outdoors
http://www.sierraclub.org/youth/default.aspx
A program of the Sierra Club “to give every child in America an outdoor experience...leave no child inside!” Check out their site for news, events, and other resources.
Regional And State Programs and Initiatives
Delaware No Child Left Inside Initiative
http://www.dnrec.delaware.gov/Pages/NoChildLeftInside.aspx
From the site: "A new taskforce is developing a statewide plan to increase opportunities for children to engage in nature, both in school, at home, and on public lands. The taskforce is comprised of representatives from DNREC and the Department of Education, Nemours Health and Prevention Services, the Department of Health and Social Services, the Delaware Nature Society and numerous other state and federal agencies, and community partners.
No other coordinated effort currently exists to help battle Nature Deficit Disorder in Delaware. We want Delaware to be a leader in environmental literacy so we can help children reconnect with nature. We will lay a path back to nature for new generations; our children deserve nothing less."
Secretary Collin O'Mara
The State of Delaware Children in Nature/No Child Left Inside Initiatives Taskforce Report October 2012
Click here for a link to the full report:
Recommendations from the taskforce include: state legislation requiring meaningful outdoor experiences for every student, creation of a Youth Conservation Corps, and marketing of the program in cooperation with state, local, education, healthcare, community, and non-profit groups. For a full list of recommendations see report, pages 46- 51.
International Initiatives
Addressing Children’s Nature-Deficit Disorder: Bold Actions by Conservation Leaders Worldwide
September 2012
To read full article click here.
“The worldwide movement to re-connect children with nature got a big boost at the prestigious and influential World Congress of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) September 5 – 14 in Jeju, South Korea. More than 10,000 people representing 150 nations and more than 1000 non-governmental organizations (NGOs) participated in the Congress which convenes every four years. The Children & Nature Network (C&NN) is one of the participating NGOs.
Of the many declarations approved and actions taken, there are three of particular relevance to the children and nature movement:
• IUCN adopted the resolution, “Child’s Right to Connect with Nature and to a Healthy Environment.” The resolution calls on IUCN’s government members and NGOs to promote and actively contribute to the international acknowledgement and codification of this right within the framework of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child.
• Leaders of national parks and protected areas throughout the world resolved to work collectively to strengthen people’s engagement with nature by approving the “Jeju Declaration on National Parks and Protected Areas: Connecting People to Nature.” This declaration commits to creating a global campaign that recognizes the great contribution of these natural treasures to the health and resilience of people, communities and economies.
• The Children & Nature Network, one of the signatories to the Jeju Declaration, along with the IUCN Commission on Education and Communication (CEC), jointly released the landmark “Children and Nature Worldwide Summary of Research.” This annotated bibliography of peer-reviewed research and studies from scholars throughout the world provides an evidence-based resource to dramatize the critical reasons for connecting children and youth with nature.”
National Programs
National Get Outdoors Day
http://www.nationalgetoutdoorsday.org/
2013 marked the 6th annual National Get Outdoors Day. From the website: “The pilot effort of National Get Outdoors Day was launched on June 14, 2008. Building on the success of More Kids in the Woods and other important efforts to connect Americans – and especially children – with nature and active lifestyles, the USDA Forest Service (FS) and the American Recreation Coalition (ARC) agreed to lead an inclusive, nationwide effort focusing on a single day when people would be inspired and motivated to get outdoors. GO Day partnered with federal, state and local agencies, key enthusiast organizations and recreation businesses to create a healthy, fun day of outdoor adventure aimed at reaching first-time visitors to public lands and reconnecting children to the outdoors.”
Check out their “News” section for stories about the event and other articles about the importance of spending time in nature.
Click here for a link to “The Top Ten Reasons For National Get Outdoors Day”, with statistics and impact statements about why being out in nature is so important.
American Camp Association (ACA)
http://www.acacamps.org/
About ACA: “The American Camp Association (formerly known as the American Camping Association) is a community of camp professionals who, for 100 years, have joined together to share our knowledge and experience and to ensure the quality of camp programs. Because of our diverse 9,000 plus membership and our exceptional programs, children and adults have the opportunity to learn powerful lessons in community, character-building, skill development, and healthy living — lessons that can be learned nowhere else. As a leading authority in youth development, ACA works to preserve, promote, and improve the camp experience.”
Check out this site for information and research about the benefits of camp.
Children and Nature Network (C&NN)
http://www.childrenandnature.org/
About C&NN: : “Children & Nature Network (C&NN) was created to encourage and support the people and organizations working nationally and internationally to reconnect children with nature. The network provides a critical link between researchers and individuals, educators and organizations dedicated to children's health and well-being. C&NN also promotes fundamental institutional change and provides resources for sharing information, strategic initiatives and success stories.”
Check out this site for news, initiatives, and research information about the benefit of children connecting with nature.
Outdoors Alliance For Kids (OAK)
http://outdoorsallianceforkids.wordpress.com/
About OAK: “The members of OAK are brought together by the belief that the well-being of current and future generations, the health of our planet and communities and the economy of the future depend on humans having a personal, direct and life-long relationship with nature and the outdoors. While childhood is the best time for instilling and fully benefiting from a connection to nature, in today’s world children are increasingly moving away from an understanding of the natural world. Although families have the leading role in connecting children with the outdoors, local, state and national decision-makers have a critical role to play to ensure that children, youth and families have the access, opportunities, skills and encouragement to connect with the great outdoors.
To reconnect with nature OAK believes that every child should have the opportunity and encouragement to play outside, touch soil, feel rain, watch leaves fall, sleep under the stars, count waves, eat food fresh from the garden, roll down a hill, catch a fish and enjoy the satisfaction of climbing to the top of a hill or a tree. Such simple acts create a pathway to longer hikes, an appreciation for wildlife, a desire to care for special places, healthier bodies, deeper family relationships and wiser people, which in turn OAK believes offers hope for a better world.” Committee member organizations include: The National Wildlife Federation, The Sierra Club, The American Heart Association, The YMCA, and others.
Building Bridges to the Outdoors
http://www.sierraclub.org/youth/default.aspx
A program of the Sierra Club “to give every child in America an outdoor experience...leave no child inside!” Check out their site for news, events, and other resources.
Regional And State Programs and Initiatives
Delaware No Child Left Inside Initiative
http://www.dnrec.delaware.gov/Pages/NoChildLeftInside.aspx
From the site: "A new taskforce is developing a statewide plan to increase opportunities for children to engage in nature, both in school, at home, and on public lands. The taskforce is comprised of representatives from DNREC and the Department of Education, Nemours Health and Prevention Services, the Department of Health and Social Services, the Delaware Nature Society and numerous other state and federal agencies, and community partners.
No other coordinated effort currently exists to help battle Nature Deficit Disorder in Delaware. We want Delaware to be a leader in environmental literacy so we can help children reconnect with nature. We will lay a path back to nature for new generations; our children deserve nothing less."
Secretary Collin O'Mara
The State of Delaware Children in Nature/No Child Left Inside Initiatives Taskforce Report October 2012
Click here for a link to the full report:
Recommendations from the taskforce include: state legislation requiring meaningful outdoor experiences for every student, creation of a Youth Conservation Corps, and marketing of the program in cooperation with state, local, education, healthcare, community, and non-profit groups. For a full list of recommendations see report, pages 46- 51.
International Initiatives
Addressing Children’s Nature-Deficit Disorder: Bold Actions by Conservation Leaders Worldwide
September 2012
To read full article click here.
“The worldwide movement to re-connect children with nature got a big boost at the prestigious and influential World Congress of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) September 5 – 14 in Jeju, South Korea. More than 10,000 people representing 150 nations and more than 1000 non-governmental organizations (NGOs) participated in the Congress which convenes every four years. The Children & Nature Network (C&NN) is one of the participating NGOs.
Of the many declarations approved and actions taken, there are three of particular relevance to the children and nature movement:
• IUCN adopted the resolution, “Child’s Right to Connect with Nature and to a Healthy Environment.” The resolution calls on IUCN’s government members and NGOs to promote and actively contribute to the international acknowledgement and codification of this right within the framework of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child.
• Leaders of national parks and protected areas throughout the world resolved to work collectively to strengthen people’s engagement with nature by approving the “Jeju Declaration on National Parks and Protected Areas: Connecting People to Nature.” This declaration commits to creating a global campaign that recognizes the great contribution of these natural treasures to the health and resilience of people, communities and economies.
• The Children & Nature Network, one of the signatories to the Jeju Declaration, along with the IUCN Commission on Education and Communication (CEC), jointly released the landmark “Children and Nature Worldwide Summary of Research.” This annotated bibliography of peer-reviewed research and studies from scholars throughout the world provides an evidence-based resource to dramatize the critical reasons for connecting children and youth with nature.”
