Guest Post: Children Need Nature (and Nature Needs Children)

Children and nature is a continuing topic – for health of children and for the long-term sustainability of the natural environment. I found this blog on the Land Trust Alliance site and written by Rob Wade very interesting as we at Bur Oak Land Trust continue to reach out to engage children in nature:

At the recent International Leadership Summit for the Children & Nature Network in California, I was fortunate to attend a session about green schoolyards.

Leading the group was Jaime Zaplatosch, formerly of Openlands, an accredited land trust based in Chicago. In this room with activists, educators, school staff and landscape architects were representatives of many other land trusts from across the nation. It was an inspiring gathering with the singular focus on connecting children to nature.

The benefits of access to nature and outdoor experiences has been well documented by the Children & Nature Network.

Every land trust has the opportunity to support their own goal of conserving lands that matter while also supporting children in their community. Whether compelled by a desire to support student learning, physical, psychological or emotional health, social development, or concern for the environment, improving access to nature is a proven solution.

Consider how the Trust for Public Land’s initiative to conserve open spaces within a 10-minute walk of every U.S. child’s home parallels the Feather River Land Trust’s own Learning Landscapes model of conserving open spaces within a 10-minute walk of every local school. This focus on proximity supports accessibility for all and increases the likelihood of repeat visits. Creating these outdoor connections near homes and schools encourages weekly — even daily — interactions. And that’s good both for people and for land conservation.

The Children & Nature Network’s Green Schoolyards Initiative seeks to optimize the quality of every school campus in the country. This is an ambitious goal that will require strategic partnering. Your land trust could be one such partner, and frankly, our schools cannot do this without our help.

The Land Trust Alliance’s K-12 Environmental Educators’ Community of Practice was created to help you connect with others to do this successfully. (To access the materials, log in to The Learning Center, creating a free account, if necessary. Once logged in, mouse over the left-hand blue bar, select Collaboration, then select Forums, then scroll down and click on Land Trust K-12 Educators.) Join the conversation to see what all the excitement is about!

Rob Wade is director of the Feather River Outdoor School, coordinator of the Plumas County School’s Outdoor Education Program and a founding member of the Feather River Land Trust. Originally published on the LTA blog.