Children & Nature Network - July 04, 2009
The Children & Nature Network (C&NN) was created to encourage and support the people and organizations working worldwide to reconnect children with nature. C&NN provides access to the latest news and research in the field and a peer-to-peer network of researchers and individuals, educators and organizations dedicated to children's health and well-being.
The Passing of Thomas Berry
On June 1, 2009, Thomas Berry, whose philosophy helped shape the way we perceive the human relationship with nature, died. He was a great supporter of our work, and served on the C&NN advisory board. Andrew Revkin of the New York Times wrote a perceptive and sensitive obituary. In addition, Revkin wrote a wonderful entry about the remarkable Berry legacy on his Dot Earth blog for the Times. Both pieces include a video clip of a 2006 interview with Berry. We hope you’ll read Revkin's story and blog, and watch the inspiring video. We believe that Berry will be remembered as one of the great thinkers of the 20th century, and we will miss him. Visit our own C&NN blog to read an updated essay about Thomas Berry by C&NN Chairman Richard Louv.[+] Read the Times obituary.
[+] Read the Dot Earth blog.
Built Environment
American Academy of Pediatrics: Build with Recreation in Mind
The June issue of the journal Pediatrics features a policy statement on the built environment and children’s health from a committee of the American Academy of Pediatrics. The statement encourages communities to provide children with opportunities for recreational physical activity through parks and open spaces. Pediatricians are asked to play a role in establishing these communities designed for activity and health. [+]
Education | Health
BBC Reports on Drive to Boost Outdoor Learning
The BBC recently reported on a Scottish effort to increase the amount of outdoor learning that preschool children experience. The government-backed initiative includes the opening of a special training center and a push for educators to look at returning some risk and adventure to their classes.
Education | Legislation/Policy
New York Times Magazine: Kindergarten Cram
Kindergarten has changed in the last few decades, and not necessarily for the better, writes Peggy Orenstein in the New York Times Magazine. Rather than letting children engage in free play, the typical kindergarten class today focuses on standardized tests and literacy exercises. Orenstein questions this trend, and finds support for her beliefs in the “Crisis in the Kindergarten” report by the Alliance for Childhood. [+]
Education
Education.com Launches NDD Special Edition
Education.com, an online resource that receives nearly a million unique visitors each month, has created a new nature-deficit disorder section for parents. The special feature offers a wealth of information, everything from quick facts on the disorder and helpful advice for parents to lengthy background articles and links to information published elsewhere on the Web.
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Campaign/Initiative
Kansas Governor Signs Order Forming New Coalition
Governor Kathleen Sebelius of Kansas issued an executive order recently to form a new group that will create opportunities for children to experience nature. The Kansas Coalition for Children in Nature will work with state agencies and other organizations. “Kansas is blessed with an abundance of natural beauty and this coalition will work to make sure Kansas children experience all that our state has to offer,” said the governor. [+]
Education
Education Leadership: The Window into Green
The May issue of Education Leadership, the flagship publication of the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development, features an in-depth article on the importance of instilling true environmental literacy in students. The No Child Left Inside movement is among the developments the author, Mike Weilbacher, cites as a promising model. [+]
Leadership | Media & Culture
C&NN's Natural Leaders Day: Get Outside & Play!
On Saturday, April 4, 2009, hundreds of youth all across our nation joined together to celebrate Natural Leaders Day: Get Outside & Play! Youth leaders from Puerto Rico to Los Angeles and everywhere in between reached out to their communities, friends, and families to reconnect all youth with nature.
Media & Culture
Richard Louv, Nature Clubs on Today Show
NBC’s top-rated Today Show featured a report July 16 on nature-deficit disorder and one Virginia parent’s efforts to help other families connect with nature. Host Ann Curry then conducted an in-studio interview with Richard Louv, who summarized the benefits that nature can have on children and the Children & Nature Network’s ongoing work to help people form local nature clubs. [+]
As part of our ongoing efforts to build the movement, the Children & Nature Network has published two new resources for leaders, organizers, and participants at the local, national, and international levels:
