Leave No Child Inside

Kids today build internet sites instead of constructing forts in the woods. Music piped into earphones has replaced listening for the sounds of bird calls and frog croaks. Cell phones and e-mails are more efficient than two cups on a string or flashlight signals. Childhood has changed.

A growing body of research is telling us that time spent outdoors in nature is critical to children’s physical, social and emotional development. Unstructured time in nature fosters creativity, emotional well-being, independent learning and problem solving; it lets kids connect with the place in which they live and the larger environment on which we all depend.

Chicago Wilderness members share a common dream: that the children of this region will grow up with a strong connection to nature, and, as a result, are healthier and motivated to become its caring stewards. The Chicago Wilderness Leave No Child Inside initiative is helping to foster that connection by raising public awareness about the importance of access to nature for healthy childhood development, and by welcoming families to explore our member organizations’ wondrous places and programs, such as camping, service learning projects, and programs for schoolchildren like Mighty Acorns, which combines a science curriculum with exploration of local nature and hands-on stewardship of public lands.

For more information on the Leave No Child Inside initiative, and ideas for how to connect your children to nature, visit www.kidsoutside.info.

Model Collaborative Program Introduces Youth to Conservation Careers

A diverse group of 54 fourth-through-seventh-grade students participated in the 2011 Cool Summer Experience, a nature-based, environmental-focused summer learning program organized and delivered by the First Baptist Church of Waukegan in collaboration with the Waukegan Leave No Child Inside network of partners. Over an intensive six week period this past summer, the students explored the outdoors and learned about careers in conservation through hands-on site visits and multiple interactions with established professionals. The program used a curriculum that integrated science, technology, engineering and mathematics with geography, social science, writing, and the arts.

With funding in part from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service National Conservation Training Center, the students visited local conservation leaders at their workplaces, conducted in-depth guided research on specific conservation career tracks, and interviewed established professionals for a podcast series. For example, program participants interacted with U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service biologists at a wetland mitigation site, where they also searched for the federally threatened eastern prairie fringed orchid and learned about the role that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service professionals play in conserving wetlands and endangered species.

Cool Summer Experience was the first ever Success Story featured on the Leave No Child Inside website, and is a model collaborative program in the region. By virtue of its integral role in the Waukegan Leave No Child Inside continuum of programs, Cool Summer Experience implements the Chicago Wilderness alliance's strategic objective to create progressive opportunities to engage and develop the next generation of conservation leaders. This year, the program also helped to fulfill a key recommendation of the America's Great Outdoors Report: to increase federal agencies' support for efforts that promote stewardship and appreciation of our natural heritage beyond the school day.

The Cool Summer Experience program is now part of a year-round effort, The Cool Learning Experience, coordinated by the First Baptist Church of Waukegan to take the students outside to experience the awe and wonder of nature, stimulate a love and appreciation for the outdoors, and cultivate career mentoring relationships. If you are interested in learning more or connecting with the program, contact Barbara Waller, The Cool Learning Experience Director.