Education News
National | Campaign/Initiative
Washington Post – April 17, 2008
Washington Post: Inside the Capitol, the Great Outdoors
By Moira E. McLaughlin
When a group of fifth-graders showed up to tour the Capitol recently with an alligator, two leopard cubs, and assorted other animals in tow, even the Washington Post took notice. The students were at the Capitol to show support for the No Child Left Inside Act, which would fund environmental education programs if passed.
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Allies
(Cedar Rapids) Gazette – April 12, 2008
One Farmer’s Efforts to Connect Kids with Nature
By Orlan Love
Dick Jensen, an Iowa farmer with a love for nature, has made it his mission to teach young people about the joys and the value of spending time outdoors. In 1990 he started welcoming youth groups to his farm; in 2000 he began building a two-mile nature trail on his property; and in 2006 he founded Take a Kid Outdoors, a nonprofit educational organization that has since benefited hundreds of youngsters already.
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State
Salt Lake Tribune – March 19, 2008
High Demand for Nature Education in Four Corners
By Tom Wharton
Interest in outdoor education in the Four Corners region is on the upswing, with field schools and nature programs in places like Zion and Albuquerque reporting a high demand for their offerings. The director of the Canyonlands Field Institute in Moab credits “a national groundswell of getting youth outdoors” for the increased interest.
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Allies
The (Polk County) Ledger – March 08, 2008
To Revive Hunting, States Turn to the Classroom
By Ian Urbina
West Virginia is the latest state to pass legislation aimed at attracting young people to hunting. The new law will allow hunting education classes in schools where at least 20 students express an interest such classes. Though some parents are not pleased, others welcome the new law. In the words of one hunting advocate, “While the soccer mom watches her son or daughter play a sport, hunting involves both parent and child learning and experiencing together.”
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State
National Public Radio – February 05, 2008
NPR Visits High School in the Vermont Woods
By Larry Abramson
National Public Radio recently paid a visit to the Walden Project, an alternative education program in the Vermont wilderness that features a curriculum based on environmental studies and the teachings of Henry David Thoreau. And while many of the students taking part in the program are doing so because they were having difficulties in high school, the Walden Project participants are, in fact, more likely to attend college than students at the traditional high school.
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Local | Campaign/Initiative
Boston Globe – December 31, 2007
Boston Globe Focuses on Children and Nature Movement
By Peter Dizikes
A recent front-page article in the Boston Globe provides an overview of the children and nature movement at the local and national levels. Entitled “Nature Nurtures Learning,” the article examines the efforts of one Boston elementary school to integrate nature studies into its curriculum, and quotes a noted pediatrician, the biologist E.O. Wilson, author Richard Louv, and others on the benefits of such a curriculum.
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C&NN has designated April "Children & Nature Awareness Month." As part of this effort, we invited network members (like you) to list their April programs and share their strategies for building public awareness. Find out what's happening in your community on the C&NN Movement Map.
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:
An annotated bibliography of 20 premier studies focusing on the children and nature connection.
