Nature 9-1-1

U.S. Sen. Jack Reed wants to turn classrooms inside out. So does U.S. Rep. John Sarbanes. 

If passed, the No Child Left Inside Act of 2007, a bill sponsored by both congressmen, would provide federal funding for states to develop environmental literacy plans, teacher-training programs, and more outdoor learning opportunities. The proposed act would also reestablish the Office of Environmental Education. 

The congressmen’s efforts are the latest in a series of initiatives at both the state and federal level to address the growing divide between children and nature. That divide was spotlighted by Richard Louv’s 2005 book, Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children From Nature-Deficit Disorder.

The cause for alarm is many-fold. As more time is spent inside, the epidemic of overweight children in the U.S. continues to intensify (18 percent in 2003-2004 compared to 11 percent between 1998 and 1994). Fewer kids—50 percent fewer in 2003 than in 1997—spend time outside hiking, fishing, or playing. Yet studies indicate that more time outdoors can improve children’s cognitive development and emotional well-being.

In a University of Illinois study, parents of children diagnosed with attention deficit disorder ranked “activities in green settings” as better than indoor activities for their children’s symptoms. A 2005 study by the American Institutes for Research revealed a 27 percent increase in science testing scores from California students who took part in outdoor, science-based learning. 

This is not news to Andrea Muller, director of A Mountain Classroom, an AMC program through which students in grades five through 12 participate in outdoor learning. Academically, Muller says, what is learned outside can be more memorable because hands-on learning “puts them in the environment they are learning about. If they’re studying geology, they’re out there looking at mountain formations with glacial erosion and ultimately analyzing that information and drawing their own conclusions.”

Recognizing such benefits, Northeast state leaders have taken action. In Maine, Gov. John Baldacci introduced “Take it Outside,” a program encouraging families to spend more time outdoors; Pennsylvania’s Gov. Ed Rendell held a spring conference to address a plunge in hunting and fishing license sales; and Vermont Gov. Jim Douglas introduced a month-long challenge for children to draw or write about being outdoors.

As part of the first Great Park Pursuit in Massachusetts, dozens of families visited six state parks over six consecutive weekends this summer, participating in guided and self-guided activities. The program was modeled after one created and launched last summer by the Connecticut Department of Conservation and Recreation. That summer, according to Diane Joy, Connecticut’s No Child Left Inside coordinator, 400 families registered, with 97 families completing the eight-week contest. This year, 750 families joined and 150 completed the now seven-week program. 

Joy says the program is a way to educate residents that a state park or forest is within a 10-minute drive of most Connecticut homes. “We can create the environmental stewards but only if people have had interaction with the environment,” she notes. “You won’t protect anything you know nothing about.”

Gina McCarthy, commissioner of the Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection, agrees. She spearheads the state’s No Child Left Inside initiative and works with other New England states and organizations to foster partnerships that extend the impact of any one program. “There has been a disconnect with the natural world that didn’t happen in one generation, it happened over time,” McCarthy says. “If we get parents with their kids comfortable about being outdoors, they can continue to take the next leap forward, and we can hand it off to the AMCs of the world. We think this is a continuum where we are trying to grow families who are comfortable being outdoors and understand what it has to offer to them. And hopefully the natural world can become the soul of this country again.”

©2007 Appalachian Mountain Club. All rights reserved.

Appalachian Mountain Club
Founded in 1876, the Appalachian Mountain Club is the oldest conservation and recreation organization in the United States. With more than 90,000 members in the Northeast and beyond, the nonprofit AMC promotes the protection, enjoyment, and wise use of the mountains, rivers, and trails of the Appalachian region. More information on AMC is available online at www.outdoors.org.

Karen Finogle, senior editor of AMC Outdoors, is a four-season outdoor enthusiast keen on introducing people from all walks of life, especially children, to the wild environs of the Northeast.