http://www.cnaturenet.org/news/ Movement News & Commentary en Children and Nature Network Copyright 2008 2008-07-22T19:02:00-08:00 /news/detail/pbs_reports_on_camps_for_military_kids/ /news/detail/pbs_reports_on_camps_for_military_kids/ The Newshour with Jim Lehrer recently featured a report on Operation Purple, the free one-week summer camps for children of military personnel deployed overseas. This summer 10,000 military children are expected to take part in Operation Purple, which aims to help children cope with the stress associated with having a parent in harm’s way and promote healing through nature. 2008-07-22T18:02:00-08:00 /news/detail/no_child_left_inside_coalition_reaches_milestone/ /news/detail/no_child_left_inside_coalition_reaches_milestone/ The No Child Left Inside Coalition announced on July 21 that its membership has now reached 500. These 500 member organizations, which represent all 50 states, Puerto Rico, and the District of Columbia, range from high-profile national organizations like the Sierra Club to local groups like the McCall Outdoor Science School in Idaho. Together the groups are working to insure passage of the federal No Child Left Inside Act. 2008-07-21T21:22:00-08:00 /news/detail/park_supporters_celebrate_success_in_los_angeles/ /news/detail/park_supporters_celebrate_success_in_los_angeles/ For the first time in more than a century, Los Angeles residents are able to celebrate the opening of a new public park in the downtown area. Vista Hermosa Park, which features 10.5 acres of trails, meadows, streams, and playgrounds, represents a triumph for the low-income, largely immigrant community that surrounds it. As a local politician said during the opening ceremony for the park, “When a child can’t run freely and play safely in a park, it speaks to our fundamental values.” 2008-07-21T17:10:00-08:00 /news/detail/a_uk_perspective_on_computers_and_outdoor_play/ /news/detail/a_uk_perspective_on_computers_and_outdoor_play/ Concerns that children today lack sufficient opportunities to play freely outdoors are not limited to the United States. In the UK, more than half of parents surveyed believe that children now are being deprived of childhood. And as Scottish journalist Ron Ferguson argues, thinking that these children are safer indoors on the their computers than outdoors playing amongst themselves may be a mistake. 2008-07-21T17:08:00-08:00 /news/detail/study_as_children_grow_activity_slows/ /news/detail/study_as_children_grow_activity_slows/ As reported in the New York Times, a new study captures in detail the dramatic declines in physical activity that occur as children get older. Whereas a nine-year-old spends an average of three hours a day walking, running, climbing, or otherwise in motion, a fifteen-year-old spends as little as 30 minutes a day engaged in any kind of physical activity. One possible reason for the decline: schools often curtail physical activity as children age. 2008-07-21T17:06:00-08:00 /news/detail/richard_louv_nature_clubs_on_today_show/ /news/detail/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. National, Media & Culture 2008-07-16T19:11:00-08:00 /news/detail/texas_parks_host_seminars_for_parents/ /news/detail/texas_parks_host_seminars_for_parents/ The Texas Forest Service is launching a seminar series for parents that explores the importance of nature in children’s lives. The three-part Nature Realized: Connecting Your Children to the Land will cover topics such as the physical and emotional benefits of nature for children, the differences between free and structured play, and the dangers, real and perceived, of letting children roam outdoors. “If we can reach the influential adults in a child’s life, we can build a conservation ethic in today’s children and sustain their excitement for the outdoors,” says one organizer. 2008-07-14T16:54:00-08:00 /news/detail/kids_should_be_free_to_play_author_says/ /news/detail/kids_should_be_free_to_play_author_says/ The Toronto Sun talks with early-childhood expert Rae Pica about the importance of unstructured play in children’s lives. The author of A Running Start: How Play, Physical Activity and Free Time Create a Successful Child, Pica urges adults to let children find their own unique ways to entertain themselves, even if that means occasionally being bored. “Heaven forbid they get to adulthood,” she says, “and not know how to be alone with themselves and their thoughts.” 2008-07-14T16:52:00-08:00 /news/detail/miami_herald_the_changing_nature_of_play/ /news/detail/miami_herald_the_changing_nature_of_play/ A sobering article in the Miami Herald looks at the reasons why fewer children today enjoy the kind of free play that was common even a generation ago. As a single mother who fears letting her daughters play outdoors unsupervised remarks in the article, “I think they’re missing out on the freedom to be a child, to do just what they want.” Commentary, Health 2008-07-07T16:56:00-08:00 /news/detail/ohio_arboretum_offers_wild_child_wonders/ /news/detail/ohio_arboretum_offers_wild_child_wonders/ 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. Local, Built Environment 2008-07-07T16:53:00-08:00 /news/detail/oregon_looks_for_ways_to_interest_youth_in_fishing/ /news/detail/oregon_looks_for_ways_to_interest_youth_in_fishing/ The number of Oregon teenagers who fish has dropped by nearly half over the last three decades. The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife has been working to reverse this trend, and this year it proposed creating a series of special youth-only fisheries. Not all anglers, though, support the effort. 2008-06-30T16:07:00-08:00 /news/detail/florida_pushes_nature_connection_with_free_parks/ /news/detail/florida_pushes_nature_connection_with_free_parks/ The Florida Department of Environmental Protection has launched a new campaign to reconnect children and families with nature. To promote the effort, the DEP is waiving admission to all 161 Florida state parks on Sunday, July 13. In the words of Florida State Parks Director Mike Bullock, “Establishing a healthy relationship with nature during childhood is a valuable habit that will benefit individuals and society as a whole for years.” 2008-06-30T16:06:00-08:00 /news/detail/author_advocates_free_play_in_usa_today/ /news/detail/author_advocates_free_play_in_usa_today/ Susan Linn, author of the book The Case for Make Believe: Saving Play in a Commercialized World, discusses the importance of unstructured play in a recent interview with USA Today. Beyond simply advising parents to make sure their children have play time away from the television and electronic toys, she specifically recommends taking kids outdoors. “Children actually play more creatively in nature,” she says. 2008-06-30T16:01:00-08:00 /news/detail/great_american_backyard_campout_set_for_june_28/ /news/detail/great_american_backyard_campout_set_for_june_28/ With high gas prices keeping families closer to home this summer, it seems likely that fewer children will be chasing fireflies and sleeping under the stars. That fact alone gives the National Wildlife Federation’s fourth annual Great American Backyard Campout added relevance. The event, in which more than 40,000 people participated last year, is scheduled for June 28. National, Media & Culture 2008-06-23T16:37:00-08:00 /news/detail/texas_state_parks_host_outdoor_family_workshops/ /news/detail/texas_state_parks_host_outdoor_family_workshops/ Recognizing that many Texans today lack the camping skills and experience of previous generations, the state’s parks and wildlife department is offering a new series of weekend workshops for families. The workshops, sponsored in part by Toyota, offer a supportive environment where families can learn how to pitch tents, cook outdoors, fish, kayak, and even geocache. 2008-06-23T16:35:00-08:00 /news/detail/house_committee_approves_no_child_left_inside_act/ /news/detail/house_committee_approves_no_child_left_inside_act/ Members of the House Education and Labor Committee approved the No Child Left Inside Act on June 18 by a vote of 37 to 8. If signed into law, the measure would send money to states to expand environmental and outdoor education programs. 2008-06-23T16:31:00-08:00 /news/detail/teens_encouraged_to_volunteer_outdoors_this_summer/ /news/detail/teens_encouraged_to_volunteer_outdoors_this_summer/ The opportunities for teenagers looking for work experience this summer include many volunteer positions outdoors. Northwest Youth Corps, a nonprofit group based in Eugene, Oregon, has sent thousands of youngsters to work in the forests of the Pacific Northwest over the past 25 years. Another area nonprofit, Food for Lane County, puts kids to work in gardens growing fruits and vegetables for the needy. 2008-06-16T16:09:00-08:00 /news/detail/new_car_sharing_program_helps_youth_reach_nature/ /news/detail/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. National, Access 2008-06-16T16:07:00-08:00 /news/detail/book_chronicles_dad_connecting_kids_with_nature/ /news/detail/book_chronicles_dad_connecting_kids_with_nature/ Rick Van Noy, an English professor and father, has written a book that chronicles his efforts to turn his children’s attention from their television and computer screens to the outdoors. A Natural Sense of Wonder: Connecting Kids with Nature Through the Seasons focuses on Van Noy’s experience of bringing his children outdoors and allowing them to play without structure. In a series of essays organized mostly by season, he describes swimming, hiking, gardening, and fishing with his family. 2008-06-16T16:04:00-08:00 /news/detail/tree_houses_designed_to_inspire_kids/ /news/detail/tree_houses_designed_to_inspire_kids/ 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.” National, Built Environment 2008-06-09T16:42:00-08:00 /news/detail/free_play_gets_a_boost_in_scotland/ /news/detail/free_play_gets_a_boost_in_scotland/ Advocates for unstructured play are celebrating the opening of a new play area in the Scottish Highlands. Funded in part by the local government, the play area, which is part of a primary school, was designed to encourage children to use their imaginations. In addition to a set of extra-large dominoes, an obstacle course that children can build themselves, and a special area for water play, there is a quiet area where children can sit on oversized outdoor cushions surrounded by flower and vegetable tubs. International, Education 2008-06-09T16:40:00-08:00 /news/detail/younger_children_need_more_vitamin_d/ /news/detail/younger_children_need_more_vitamin_d/ At least 40 percent of U.S. infants and toddlers don’t get enough vitamin D, according to researchers from Children’s Hospital in Boston. Also known as the sunshine vitamin, vitamin D is produced naturally when the body reacts to sunlight, and too much time indoors and out of direct sunlight may be one of the factors contributing to vitamin D deficiency in young people. 2008-06-09T16:37:00-08:00 /news/detail/decline_in_school_recess_continues/ /news/detail/decline_in_school_recess_continues/ Despite research showing that unstructured play is important to healthy childhood development, the amount of time that schools allow for recess continues to decline. One reason for the decline is the increased emphasis on standardized testing. Other factors include limited budgets for safe playground equipment, concerns about lawsuits from playground injuries, and fears of bullying. Research & Studies, Education 2008-06-02T16:53:00-08:00 /news/detail/another_statewide_effort_to_reconnect_kids_with_nature/ /news/detail/another_statewide_effort_to_reconnect_kids_with_nature/ Ohio joins the ranks of states trying to reconnect children with nature. As part of its summer Explore the Outdoors challenge, the Ohio Department of Natural Resources recently distributed nearly 800,000 activity guides to public school students. The activities described in the guides include fishing and hiking, and students who complete eight or more of these activities before September 1 are eligible for prizes. State, Campaign/Initiative 2008-06-02T16:49:00-08:00