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Education Policy Bulletin
Tuesday, March 10, 2009(National Wildlife Federation)
The National Wildlife Federation has created a monthly Policy Bulletin on Connecting Children with Nature. This bulletin highlights advocacy efforts in Washington, DC, state and local policy initiatives, and the latest research on connecting children and families with nature. The latest edition of this resource is pasted at the bottom of this email. To be added to the distribution list, please email Patrick Fitzgerald, NWF’s Senior Legislative Representative for Environmental Education Campaigns at fitzgeraldp@nwf.org.
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NWF Policy Bulletin on Connecting Children with Nature (February 2009)
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In This Issue:
1. Economic Recovery Package - Green Education, Green Jobs, & Green Schools
2. Report: Time Outdoors for Children Drops 11 Percent
3. Maryland Partnership for Children and Nature
4. NWF Joins Safe Routes to School Partnership
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1. Economic Recovery Package - Green Education, Green Jobs, & Green Schools
On February 17th, President Obama signed a $787 billion economic recovery package into law which includes significant investment in green jobs education and training. The final bill included $500 million for green job education and training at the Department of Labor and up to $37.5 million for green job training at Job Corps Centers.
Funding for Green Schools was a hotly debated provision throughout consideration of the economic recovery package. In the House passed bill, K-12 and higher education school modernization was funded at $20 billion, with a 25% set aside for green school modernization. The Senate bill initially included a similar funding level for school modernization with a priority for green modernization, but that funding was stripped before the final Senate vote.
The National Wildlife Federation and 19 partner organizations reacted quickly to these cuts, sending a sign-on letter to conferees asking that funding for green education, green jobs, and green schools be included at the House levels. While we had a clear victory on the funding for green jobs education and training, the results on green schools funding was mixed. Up to about $10 billion of the state stabilization funds for education may be spent on school modernization, with a priority for green, but there is no specific set-aside for green renovations. The final decision for how these funds will be spent is ultimately up to individual Governors.
View the full text of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009:
http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/getdoc.cgi?dbname=111_cong_bills&docid=f:h1enr.txt.pdf
2. Report: Time Outdoors for Children Drops 11 Percent
The Outdoor Foundation recently released the 2008 Outdoor Recreation Participation Report. The report surveyed Americans ages six and older and covered 114 outdoor activities, making it the largest survey of its kind. The report found that overall participation in outdoor activities among Americans increased in 2007 with more than 138.4 million people getting outdoors.
This positive trend however is overshadowed by the alarming news that outdoor participation for children between the ages of six and seventeen declined by more than 11 percent, with the greatest declines occurring between the ages of six and twelve. In addition, for the first time, the declines were greater for girls than for boys (ages 6-12), with approximately 11 percent more young boys participating in outdoor activities than young girls. The report also found that Caucasian children tend to participate in more outdoor activities than minority children. However, those minority children that do participate in outdoor activities did so more frequently.
The report points to the need to support and encourage children to spend time outdoors. As the amount of time for children between six and seventeen declined, the amount of time for adults between the ages of eighteen and sixty-four increased. It is important for this older age group to share and instill their love of nature in younger generations.
Read the full report by The Outdoor Foundation:
http://www.outdoorfoundation.org/research.participation.2008.html
3. Maryland Partnership for Children and Nature
In April of 2008 Maryland Governor Martin O'Malley issued an Executive Order calling for the establishment of a Partnership for Children in Nature. The Executive Order had two primary goals: 1) to develop and implement a plan to provide children with structured and unstructured opportunities for play, outdoor recreation, learning and scientific study, and 2) to develop and implement a state environmental literacy plan.
Two working groups were formed and co-chaired by Secretary of the Department of Natural Resources John Griffin and State School Superintendent Dr. Nancy S. Grasmick. These groups, the "Environmental Literacy" group and the "Community and Public Lands" group worked together to create a Maryland Partnership for Children in Nature Plan. The final plan will include detailed recommendations for programs to help the children of Maryland become more connected with nature and more environmentally literate. Specific initiatives included in a recently released draft plan are: a high school graduate requirement that all students must take and pass a designated environmental literacy course; a requirement that every student in Maryland have a meaningful outdoor learning experience every year; the creation of a statewide land and water trail that connec! ts communities, parks, waterways, and schools; incorporation of nature play spaces into community health planning, land use planning and community development design; and a comprehensive initiative to green all schools and school grounds to create opportunities for outdoor learning experiences for students.
Overall, NWF believes the draft plan for Maryland's Children in Nature Partnership is very well thought out and has excellent potential to bring about change. To directly quote the draft plan, this plan should "stand as a national model for environmental literacy and stewardship, while involving children in outdoor learning and nature play."
Visit the Maryland Partnership for Children in Nature website: http://www.dnr.state.md.us/education/children_nature/partners/index.asp
Visit the Maryland NCLI Coalition website:
http://www.cbf.org/site/PageNavigator/act_sub_actioncenter_federal_mdncli
4. NWF Joins Safe Routes to School Partnership
The National Wildlife Federation recently joined the Safe Routes to School Partnership. Safe Routes to School (SRTS) is a national and international movement consisting of an alliance of government agencies and professional groups encouraging children to get more physical activity by biking or walking to school. Forty years ago, approximately 50 percent of children walked or biked to school. That number has now dropped to less than 15 percent.
In 2005 Congress approved $612 million over five years to fund the state implementation of SRTS programs. These programs work to construct new walking and biking paths and sidewalks, as well as promote safe route campaigns in elementary and middle schools by educating parents, administrators, and policy-makers alike. NWF is a strong supporter of this initiative. Encouraging children to bike or walk to school is an easy way to increase the amount of time children spend outdoors and a convenient way to encourage physical activity.
Learn more about the SRTS Partnership:
http://www.saferoutespartnership.org/