Access News
National
PRWeb – June 11, 2008
New Car-Sharing Program Helps Youth Reach Nature
Bay Area Wilderness Training and City CarShare are making it easier and more affordable for youth educators to take groups of kids on outdoor excursions. BAWT recently purchased two all-wheel-drive minivans, each capable of carrying up to seven people, for the City CarShare fleet. The hope is that making these “BAWTmobiles” available for short-term use will help youth educators avoid the legal, administrative, and financial hurdles that often prevent field trips.
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National | Campaign/Initiative
Sierra announces $23 million in support for Military Family Outdoor (MFO) Initiative
The Military Family Outdoor (MFO) Initiative, a joint project of the Sierra Club and The Sierra Club Foundation, today announced a three-year grant of up to $23 million, provided by generous donors to support three organizations that provide returning veterans and their families with healing, life-affirming outdoor experiences in the natural world.
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State
The Pioneer Press – February 17, 2008
Ice Fishing Weekend Hooks Young Minnesotans
By Chris Niskanen
State and local officials in Minnesota are trying to determine how best to respond to a series of studies showing that an increasing number of the state’s young people have little or no interest in the outdoors. The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources has taken the lead in trying to reverse this trend. Among its efforts are new mentoring and access programs to recruit young anglers and hunters, including the Take-A-Kid Ice Fishing Weekend in February.
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Local | Education
KQED Radio – November 20, 2007
KQED Radio Features a Local Cure for Nature-Deficit Disorder
By Gabriella Quiros
A new program in San Francisco is introducing the city’s low-income youth to the pleasures of camping outdoors—without leaving the city itself. Developed by a collection of nonprofits, Camping at the Presidio aims to overcome the barriers that traditionally keep urban youth from visiting national parks: costs and a lack of exposure to camping. Eligible groups sleep overnight in a grove of eucalyptus trees, right within the city limits.
Quest is a TV, radio, Web, and education series by KQED that explores science, the environment, and nature in Northern California.
National | Campaign/Initiative
the Atlanta Journal Constitution – April 27, 2007
Sierra Club a camp booster: Donation to aid children in military families
By Gerry Smith
The Sierra Club announced it will donate more than $1 million to send military children to Operation Purple camps across the country. For one week this summer, children will kayak along the Broad River, learn the history of the Cherokee Indians and roast marshmallows with other children who know what it feels like to have a parent in the military.
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International | Campaign/Initiative
International Mountain Biking Association – October 29, 2008
Bike Group Introduces Gateway Trails
The International Mountain Biking Association is launching a new initiative to build what it calls "gateway trails" to broaden the recreational options available to families in urban and suburban communities. The IMBA hopes the new trail systems will “inspire kids to explore the natural world and lead to positive associations with exercise.” [+]
National | Resource
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency – October 21, 2008
EPA Video Explores the Value of Urban Wetlands
The film focuses on urban and suburban wetlands as valuable resources to be restored, protected, and enjoyed. These places, often the only remnants of the natural world in developed areas, can play a key role in connecting people to nearby nature—thereby improving the health of our children and our communities. [+]
State
(New Jersey) Star-Ledger – March 23, 2008
New Jersey Audubon Invites Kids to “Try Nature”
By Fred J. Aun
The New Jersey Audubon Society is conducting a new outreach campaign during the month of April to encourage what it calls “enlightened nature-based discovery.” The effort includes activities designed especially for children and families, such as Skunk Cabbage Safaris and Salamander Searches. Vouchers for free enrollment are being made available online.
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State
Press Democrat – February 08, 2008
A California Perspective on Outdoor Recreation Trends
By Derek J. Moore
Though international in its scope, the recent Nature Conservancy report on the decline in outdoor recreation in the U.S. and abroad is provoking interest on the local level. Even in nature-loving Northern California people are hearing, perhaps for the first time, of the precipitous drop in attendance at many area parks.
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Local
Sacramento Bee – January 02, 2008
Citizens Organize State-Funded Nature Walks in Sacramento
By Blair Anthony Robertson
A former city dump, now a regional park, has become the site of nature walks for Sacramento schoolchildren. The field trips, funded in part by a California state grant, are the brainchild of area residents who believe that children today need more contact with nature.
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Commentary | Local
Star Tribune (of Minneapolis-St. Paul) – January 02, 2008
Bloomington Parks Adapt to Today’s Needs
By Mary Jane Smetanka
Randy Quale, manager of the Parks and Recreation Division in Bloomington, Minnesota, has a unique perspective on children and their connection, or lack thereof, with nature. “You start to wonder how many kids have the chance for unstructured play outside,” he says. Thus one of his priorities is for the city’s parks is to provide a place where parents feel secure letting their children engage in unattended outdoor play.
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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.
