Philanthropy Friday: Leave No Child Inside

Connecting Children and Nature. In late 2006, Jenny Morgan attended a luncheon at the Metropolitan Club in downtown Columbus where author Richard Louv was the featured speaker. His book, Last Child in the Woods – Saving Our Children From Nature Deficit Disorder, and the accompanying research that shows children are suffering from an indoor-sedentary lifestyle that is putting their health and the health of our natural world at risk moved her. His message that we need to get children playing outside again, freely and regularly, so they can reconnect with nature and enjoy all the physical, cognitive, and emotional benefits that free play in nature provides struck a chord with Jenny.

After months of planning, Jenny assembled many others who were also moved by Louv’s book and in September of 2007 the first Leave No Child Inside Central Ohio Collaborative Summit was held. The goal was to bring individuals and organizations together who had a passion for the subject, and to discuss how everyone could work together to get more central Ohio children outside.

As a result of the Summit, The Leave No Child Inside Central Ohio Collaborative was born and now includes over 60 organizations plus individual members. The Collaborative forms a network among the great organizations in central Ohio who are working in the areas of health, education, conservation, recreation, parks, camping, schools, child care, mental health, parenting and urban planning. All these fields have a stake in letting kids be kids. Allowing children to play freely in nature as well as experience the benefits like better fitness, better mental health, better grades, better neighborhoods, and happier families.

Since the publication of the book, concerned citizens and civic leaders have started other collaborative efforts across the country. In an effort to support and connect all of these burgeoning Leave No Child Inside campaigns, Mr. Louv co-founded the Children and Nature Network in 2007. The Network can be found at www.childrenandnature.org.

Nature Deficit Disorder

While Nature Deficit Disorder is not an official diagnosis, Richard Louv coined the phrase to describe a very serious set of circumstances that is putting children in harm’s way. Childhood has changed in the last thirty years. It has moved indoors, become very sedentary, structured, and non-autonomous. Studies show that on average children are spending over six hours a day, outside of school, plugged in to an electronic gadget. They are six times more likely to play a video game on a typical sunny day than to ride a bike. Childhood obesity has tripled in the last thirty years, and consequently, heart disease and diabetes are both on the rise among children.

The Collaborative is hoping people will begin to realize that humans weren’t designed to exist like this. We all need a little dirt; a little sweat; a little bit of icicles hanging from our noses–especially kids. In fact, more and more scientific studies are supporting these ideas, and proving that free play in nature is essential for children’s healthy physical, cognitive and emotional development.

How to Connect Children With Nature

There are so many easy and inexpensive ways to connect children with nature. Just a simple walk every day, or a daily exploration in the back yard or school yard is a good start to connecting kids with nature.

The national Children and Nature Network recently released their Family Nature Club Tool Kit. The idea behind it is to have families join together to form nature clubs to regularly explore nearby parks, nature preserves, and even nearby nature in the neighborhood. The tool kit can be found here.

Member organizations offer a myriad of more formal programs to connect kids with nature, from summer camping or starting a garden at your school, to environmental education or doing nature. Various ideas how to connect children with nature can be found here.

How You Can Help

Volunteers are always welcome to speak at public meetings, to appear with the Collaborative at an event, or to help with their annual Summit. Volunteer opportunities are listed here.

The 3rd Annual Summit is set for Friday, September 25, 2009 at Greenwood Lake Conference and Retreat Center in Delaware. You are welcome to join the Collaborative to grow the Collaborative, deepen involvement and map the future. For details visit the website.

To read a touching behind the scenes story about Leave No Child Inside Collaborative and to see more photos visit www.inkindconnection.com.

For more information on Leave No Child Inside Collaborative visit their website.

Philanthropy Friday is a feature article by Michele Savoldi that will highlight a Columbus area non-profit organization every other week.