NWF Policy Bulletin on Connecting Children with Nature
Thursday, January 22, 2009(National Wildlife Federation)
Welcome to the first edition of the
National Wildlife Federation's Policy Bulletin
on Connecting Children with Nature. NWF,
home of Ranger Rick magazine, is committed
to advancing federal, state, and local policy
solutions for connecting children and families
with nature. Much is at stake, including
the future of American conservation, the
economy, and the health of our children. This
bulletin highlights advocacy efforts in
In This
Issue:
1. Surgeon General
Campaign - Time Outdoors for Children's
Health
2. No Child Left
Inside Act Gains
Momentum
3. Visitation to
4. Access to Nature as
a Public Health Strategy: Green Space, ADHD
& Childhood
Obesity
----------------------------------------------------------
1. Surgeon General Campaign - Time
Outdoors for Children's
Health
The Surgeon General, as
our nation's principal health educator,
provides the American public with information
and guidance on how to live a healthier
life.
As more and more children tune out
nature (and tune into televisions and video
games), rates of childhood obesity continue to
reach alarming levels. This is a national
health issue that requires national attention
and NWF and its partners are urging the Surgeon
General to take
action.
In the last three
months, NWF has partnered with more than 185
organizations to ask the Surgeon General to
promote the physical and mental health benefits
of unstructured time outdoors in natural
settings for children and their families. Just
one "green hour" a day could help lead to a
healthier weight, lower stress levels, a
stronger immune system, reduced incidences of
anxiety-related disorders, and better cognitive
development.
This letter remains open for
organizational sign-on, as does the online
citizen's petition, which has inspired more
than 20,000 individuals to take action. Since
the transition to the Obama Administration has
already begun, the letter and petition will be
delivered to President-Elect Obama's new
Surgeon General.
Sign the Surgeon General Citizen's
Petition Here:
http://online.nwf.org/GetAmericaOutdoors
----------------------------------------------------------
2. No Child Left Inside Act Gains
Momentum
The No Child Left Inside
Act (H.R. 3036 and S. 1981) made huge strides
in the 110th Congress, especially in
the House of Representatives. This
legislation, championed by Senator Jack Reed
(RI) and Congressman John Sarbanes (MD), seeks
to enhance environmental education in our
nation's elementary and secondary schools.
On September 18, 2008,
the leadership in the House of Representatives
made environmental education a priority by
bringing the bill to the House floor for three
hours of debate and a roll call vote.
Ultimately, the House passed the No
Child Left Inside Act with an overwhelmingly
bi-partisan vote of 293-109.
Thanks to the League of
Conservative Voters (LCV) this important House
vote is getting some extra attention. LCV
publishes an annual "National Environmental
Scorecard," a non-partisan report card that
ranks Members of Congress according to their
voting record on environmental
legislation. For the first time LCV
"scored" a vote on environmental education
legislation - The No Child Left Inside Act -
sending a signal to Capitol Hill about the
importance of environmental education to the
environmental and conservation
community.
Passage of the House
bill as well as the numerous, bi-partisan
co-sponsors supporting the Senate bill, provide
great momentum as we move into the
111th Congress and seek to pass the
bill in both the House and Senate. The No
Child Left Inside Coalition has launched a
citizen's petition to keep momentum rolling and
provide an opportunity for individuals to take
action.
As always, organizations are encouraged
to join the growing coalition that now
represents over 1,000
members.
Read the NWF Press Release on House
Passage of NCLI Act (9/18/08):
http://www.nwf.org/news/story.cfm?pageId=775DA208-15C5-5FE8-B0C71B2553C8D9CC
Read the
Full 2008 LCV National Environmental
Scorecard:
http://www.lcv.org/2008-pdf.pdf
Sign the NCLI Act Petition:
http://online.nwf.org/NCLIPetition
Join the NCLI Coalition:
http://www.cbf.org/site/PageServer?pagename=act_sub_actioncenter_federal_nclb_support
----------------------------------------------------------
3. Visitation to
A recent study by the National Visitor
Use Monitoring Program found that visits to
National Forests are on the decline. Between
2000 and 2003, approximately 204.8 million
Americans visited National Forests each year
compared to 178.6 million visitors from 2003 to
2007, a decline of 13 percent. There
is some debate over the reasons for this
decline. Some point to rising gas prices, an
increased interest in video games, and a
growing urban and elderly population.
The Forest Service is working to reach
out to the general public and specifically
children with programs like "More Kids in the
Woods." This is a grant program intended to
increase the number of children taking part in
nature-based activities at National
Forests.
While the now well-established More Kids
in the Woods program is engaging more children
in the outdoors, the overall decline in
visitors to National Forests is cause for
concern. National Parks and Forests are major
areas of outdoor recreation. Fewer people
in our parks and forests means fewer and
fewer people are connecting to, and benefiting
from nature.
Read the AP Article on National Forest Service Visitation Study:
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5g5n1rBdnAR0_w1JlL6-4Mc5_vMBwD94OPOA00
----------------------------------------------------------
4. Access to Nature as a Public
Health Strategy: Green Space, ADHD, &
Childhood
Obesity
Two recent studies have highlighted the
health benefits for children who spend time
outdoors. A two-year study released in the
American Journal of Preventative Health has
found that increased time in green spaces may
help reduce childhood obesity. The study,
conducted in Marion County, IN, over a two-year
period, found that children who did not have
access to green spaces gained an average of
thirteen percent more weight than children who
did have access to green spaces. The findings
of the study ultimately "support the
exploration of the promotion and preservation
of green space within neighborhoods as a means
of addressing childhood
obesity."
Another study by the
This connection between public health
and conservation policy is starting to receive
national attention. Dr. Sanjay Gupta, chief
medical correspondent for the health and
medicine unit at CNN, recently wrote an article
for TIME Magazine highlighting the
benefits of outdoor time for children. Dr.
Gupta is supportive of the beneficial health
impacts of time spent outdoors pointing out
that it not only helps to battle obesity, but
also helps battle ADHD, reduce stress, and may
even increase
longevity.
Read the study on childhood obesity
visit:
http://download.journals.elsevierhealth.com/pdfs/journals/0749-3797/PIIS0749379708007344.pdf
Read the study on ADHD visit:
http://www.ajph.org/cgi/reprint/94/9/1580
Read Dr. Sanjay Gupta's article in TIME magazine:
http://www.time.com/time/specials/2007/article/0,28804,1703763_1703764_1862029,00.html