Built Environment News
Local
San Francisco Chronicle – October 09, 2008
New Museum Exhibit Encourages Free Play
By Paul Kilduff
A new interactive installation at the Bay Area Discovery Museum is designed to make children think differently about how they use their free time. The museum’s director hopes kids will come away motivated to choose leisure-time physical activities that are self-directed—that is, not done with parents and coaches scrutinizing their every move. “Everything we do here is child-centered play. No one’s telling them what to do, how to do it.”
National
Packet Online – June 04, 2008
Tree Houses Designed to Inspire Kids
By Ilene Dube
Pennsylvania’s Tyler Arboretum is exhibiting tree houses created by Delaware Valley artists, architects, and students in the hopes of strengthening the relationship between children and nature. According to the arboretum’s director of public programs, “Today, fewer kids have a connection to nature—they’re not getting outside for unstructured play, and they’re not experiencing nature on the soccer field—and tree houses are a way to get them excited.”
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Allies
Church Executive – March 01, 2008
Churches Encouraged to Connect Children with Nature
By Rachel Beach
The people who run the nation’s churches are being asked to “restore the connection between today’s children and nature” in the latest issue of Church Executive magazine. In addition to creating play environments on church grounds that incorporate more natural elements like trees and even wildlife, churches should consider restoring green play spaces within their communities as part of their ministries.
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State | Education
(Greensboro) News & Record – August 23, 2008
North Carolina Zoo to Build Outdoor Classroom
By Jeri Rowe
The North Carolina Zoo will soon begin raising $2.8 million to help create a four-acre classroom for kids, complete with caves, gardens, and a stream. And in another example of North Carolinian efforts to reconnect kids with nature, every family with a child attending Greensboro Montessori School is being given a copy of Last Child in the Woods.
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Local
(Cleveland) Plain Dealer – June 05, 2008
Ohio Arboretum Offers Wild Child Wonders
By Roxanne Washington
Holden Arboretum near Cleveland has created a special Wild Child Wonders program to inspire children to play in nature. The summer program, which traces its roots to Last Child in the Woods, features a series of Wonder Stations, including Forest Wonders, where kids can navigate a tree obstacle course and build a shelter with sticks, and Meadow Wonders, adventures that kids can transfer to their own backyards.
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Local | Education
Akron Beacon Journal – December 28, 2007
Last Child in the Woods Inspires Interactive Exhibit
By Dottie Shin
Inspired by the children and nature movement, Stan Hywet Hall and Gardens in Akron, Ohio, has commissioned an artist to create a series of interactive outdoor sculptures for children. P.R. Miller, who uses mostly recycled materials, will build hundreds of giant flowers and other pieces for the grounds. A previous exhibit convinced the garden’s programmers that what visitors like best, more than any specific events, is the chance for their children to play outdoors.
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Allies
California and Nevada Fish and Wildlife Service – June 27, 2007
Clint Eastwood hosts a Children and Nature Workshop
By Scott Flaherty
Organized by California and Nevada Fish and Wildlife Service and hosted by actor and director Clint Eastwod, the event brought together key leaders from the business and developer community, as well as government regulators. In his brief remarks, Eastwood told the group, “This is an idea that’s long overdue. We probably won’t get through all the barriers and solutions today, but we can start.”
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Local | Education
Palm Beach Daily News – March 31, 2007
Kids Decorate Green Playhouse
By David Rogers
The Garden Club of Palm Beach adds an exhibit to flower show featuring a green playhouse that celebrates nature and demonstrates environmentally friendly building principles.
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Commentary
Wild Zones – August 01, 2007
Introducing Wild Zones
By David Hawkins
David Hawkins, founding project manager of the Edible Schoolyard in Berkeley, Calif., discusses the concept of Wild Zones, places where kids can build shelters, dam creeks, make trails, and perform other active outdoors tasks. Wild Zones, he says, offer open-ended possibilities for play, creativity, socializing, and solitude.
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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.
