Children: The National Forum on Children and Nature

Send to a Friend

Tree House Not long ago, kids ruled the outdoors—building secret forts and playing tag across city neighborhoods and country valleys alike. But children are becoming increasingly disconnected from the natural world, spending more time indoors or in scheduled activity. This trend has disturbing implications—both for kids and the environment.

In June 2007, The Conservation Fund launched the National Forum on Children and Nature. The Forum includes 51 influential leaders—governors and mayors, private and public leaders—who will endorse selected projects that reconnect children and nature. Advisory panels, staffed by 80 respected professionals, drive this effort.

In 2008, The Conservation Fund and Forum members will team with project champions to raise funds and visibility for projects focusing on education, health, media or the built environment.

“At The North Face, our day-to-day mantra is ‘never stop exploring,’” says Steve Rendle, the company’s president and a Forum member. “We need to help kids discover the thrill of the outdoors.”

Richard N. Goldman, founder and president of the Richard and Rhoda Goldman Fund, emphasizes the urgency behind the Forum’s mission. “At the Goldman Fund, many of us attribute our deep commitment to environmental causes to our childhood experiences in the outdoors,” Goldman says. “In order to ensure that future generations have the same connection with nature, we choose to support The Conservation Fund’s strategic work in this area.”

Forum Chairs:

HONORARY CO-CHAIR
Richard Louv, Author,
Last Child in the Woods

CO-CHAIRS
Gov. M. Jodi Rell, Connecticut
Gov. Edward Rendell, Pennsylvania
Gov. Mark Sanford, South Carolina
Gov. Brian Schweitzer, Montana

The National Forum on Children and Nature includes mayors, corporate CEOs and heads of leading nonprofits in the environment, health, education and more. Among other organizations, Forum members represent: The North Face, REI, Sesame Workshop, The Walt Disney Company, Travelocity, the Turner Foundation, National Audubon Society, and the cities of Los Angeles, Houston and Chicago.