Commentary News
Media & Culture | Review
San Francisco Chronicle
The Wild World Beyond the Playing Field
By Regan McMahon
Writer Regan McMahon explains why kids who are long on organized sports and short on unstructured play outdoors deserve time to explore nature at their own speed.
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Education | Resource
EdNews Interview with Cheryl Charles, Ph.D., President, Children and Nature Network
Education | Legislation/Policy
Children & Nature Network
Rethinking No Child Left Behind: Let’s put environmental education back in the classroom
By Jim Elder
Despite the evidence that we need schools that will help re-connect our children with nature, environmental education in our nation’s schools is declining for the first time after three decades of steady growth.
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Built Environment
The New York Times, Op-Ed – February 11, 2007
How Green Is Your Playground?
By Richard Louv
Perhaps because of my belief in the importance of playing in nature, I find the plans for the playground near South Street Seaport both intriguing and frustrating, especially if this model is advanced as a prototype for new urban play areas nationally. The proposed design replaces slides and swings and other traditional structures with sandboxes filled with blocks, ropes and pulleys, as well as wheelbarrows, crates and cardboard tubes.
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Leadership
Growing the Children and Nature Movement
By Richard Louv
A few months ago, I visited Ukiah, a mountain town nestled in the pines and fog. Ukiah is Spotted Owl Central, a town associated with the swirling controversy regarding logging, old growth and endangered species.
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Health
Time for a “Grow Outside Movement’ in Health Care
By Richard Louv
Do we really want to improve the nation's health care system -- or just throw more money at it? If better health is the true objective, a seldom-mentioned approach deserves more attention. That is, the preventive benefits of outdoor recreation and the restorative power of nature.
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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.
