About Leave No Child Inside
of Greater Cincinnati
Leave No Child Inside of Greater Cincinnati is a collaboration of organizations and individuals educating the community that time spent in nature is essential for the physical, mental and emotional health of all children.
What is Happening Nationally
The House Education and Labor Committee has approved the No Child Left Inside Act. The bill, sponsored by U.S. Rep. John Sarbanes and others, was inspired by Richard Louv’s book, Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children from Nature-Deficit Disorder. It provides funding for training teachers in environmental education and for expanding environmental education programs. The next step is for the bill to go to the full U.S. House of Representatives for a vote later this summer. Click here for more information on this bill and how you can help.
The July issue of Good Housekeeping magazine contains an interview with Richard Louv, encouraging families to adopt lifestyles that will enable kids to spend more time in outdoor free play.
Farm Bill Encourages
School Gardens
The Farm Bill recently passed by Congress contains a provision for school vegetable gardening programs in high poverty areas. Although the focus of this program is to promote nutrition education, research shows that gardening has a multitude of "fringe benefits" for children – a healthier environment, stress reduction and many other benefits related to experiential learning, including increased understanding of science.
QUEST Television Series Explores Nature-Deficit Disorder
On May 12, San Francisco's KQED Public Television series QUEST aired this special report on why we need nature, and efforts to encourage children to play outdoors.
Now Available
New
Edition of Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children from
Nature-Deficit Disorder by Richard Louv.
This new edition of the book which inspired an international Leave No Child Inside movement includes updated research from the U.S. and abroad confirming that direct exposure to nature is essential for healthy childhood development and for the physical and emotional wellbeing of children and adults. It also includes a Field Guide, Progress Report on the Leave No Child Inside Movement and Discussion Points to inspire community-wide conversations.
What's New
Save The Date:
For the Love of Kids Conference
November 8, 2008
Richard
Louv, author of Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children
from Nature-Deficit Disorder, will present two workshops at
the For
the Love of Kids conference in November. The workshops, offering
practical tips for reconnecting children with the ourdoors, are co-sponsored
by Leave No Child Inside-Greater Cincinnati and the BeechAcres Parenting
Center. This is the tenth anniversary of the For the Love of Kids
conference, which is regularly attended by 1,200 parents and others
interested in the health and well being of our children.
Exploring Nature with Your Little One
It
wasn’t long ago that I could slip on my hiking boots, snap the leash
on my dog’s collar and head out for a hike. The wind rustling through
the trees, the gurgling water in the stream and the birds chattering
all around soothed my soul and quieted my mind.
That was about 2½ years ago. Now I run through my checklist: diapers ... check, wipes ... check, snack ... check, sippy cup ... check, and when I’m really on the ball, extra outfit for falls in the mud ... check. All this takes place while my eternally patient dog gives me an annoyed glare, as if to say, "Do we really have to keep this little person? He makes everything more complicated."
Good Things Happening
Enter Our Child-Friendly
Backyard Contest!
We know that unstructured outdoor play leads to happier, healthier and smarter children! Leave No Child Inside wants to encourage a return to the joyful, creative outdoor play activities that should be the birthright of all children. Our Grow Outside Guide to Outdoor Play includes ideas for creating a Child-Friendly Backyard. The contest is a fun way to encourage parents to allocate space for these safe, unstructured play areas. To be eligible for awards, yards must be within a thirty mile radius of Downtown Cincinnati. To be eligible for awards, yards must be within a thirty mile radius of Downtown Cincinnati.
Photos of the winning Child-Friendly Backyards will be published in the Cincinnati Enquirer. Winners will be recognized at the Cincinnati Horticultural Society Gardener’s Recognition Awards Ceremony in the fall of 2008.
For ideas on how to create a Child-Friendly Backyard,
click here.
Movement Spread Through Ohio
Leave
No Child Inside – Greater Cincinnati is sharing its logo, created
by graphic designer Jan Kiefhaber, with the new Leave No Child INSIDE
Central Ohio Collaborative. It is our hope that by sharing brand
identity with other grassroots initiatives, we will increase awareness
of movement throughout the State of Ohio.
Four Born Learning Trails
In Greater Cincinnati
United Way of Greater Cincinnati has created four Born Learning Trails for kids under the age of six years old. This project is a "tangible, visible display of the community and UWGC's commitment to early childhood education". Three parks in Northern Kentucky (Bellevue Beach, Devou and Grant County Parks: Click here for details about these trails) and one in Cincinnati (Daniel Drake Park: Click here for details about this trail -.pdf) will have a ten-station trail with activities to teach children under six years old new skills. The trails will be a great way to strengthen the parent-child bond. They will be introduced at a Day of Action on June 21.
Ohio's Explore The Outdoors Campaign
Kids across Ohio are eligible to win prizes in the new Explore the Outdoors campaign! A visit to www.exploretheoutdoorsohio.com will provide you with details about this outdoor adventure, which includes hiking, fishing, camping and other activities for children and their families.
Spring into action all summer long
Most visitors to our site are here because they understand how important it is for children to experience nature on a regular basis. Odds are, you've seen the statistics:
- Children are spending 40 to 65 hours a week attached to electronic umbilica
- 80% of children under age 2 and more than 60% of children 2-5 do not have access to daily outdoor play
- Fewer than 1 in 5 children walk or ride a bike to school
- Childhood obesity has increased from 4% in the 1960s to 20% today
- Children have less time for unstructured play in the outdoors than ever before in human history
YOU can help reverse that trend! Here are a few opportunities to take action:
- Do you know a group that would like to hear more about Leave No Child Inside? Contact info@LNCIgc.org for information about our Speaker's Bureau.
- Create a Child-Friendly Backyard and enter our contest! Click here for contest rules and entry form.
- All of our collaborative members have volunteer programs that help get kids into nature. Clicking on their names from our "About Us" page will link you directly to their websites – look there for volunteer opportunities!
- Click here to learn about other opportunities to "Get Involved"
For Parents and Mentors:
Get those kids outside!!!
Leave No Child Inside-Greater Cincinnati's Grow Outside Guide to Outdoor Play, including The Child-Friendly Backyard, is available online.
