In September of 2006, The Conservation Fund, best-selling author Richard Louv (Last Child in the Woods: Saving our Children from Nature-Deficit Disorder), and the Secretary of the Interior hosted a breakthrough dialogue on how to reconnect children with nature. Leaders from public agencies, corporations, the media, and health and environmental organizations convened to explore opportunities for action.
The major outcome of the meeting was a commitment to elevate this issue to the national agenda through a National Forum on Children and Nature. This initiative was launched on June 21, 2007 and is chaired by Governors Schweitzer of Montana, Rendell of Pennsylvania, Rell of Connecticut, and Sanford of South Carolina.
The National Forum on Children and Nature will involve governors, mayors, corporate CEOs, heads of environmental organizations, and leaders from health and education institutions, and who will find and help support projects with on-the-ground tangible results that address the issue of children’s isolation from nature.
The Forum will identify 20 nationally significant demonstration projects in four key areas of health, education, the built environment, and media/culture that, individually and collectively, will provide substantial steps toward improved children’s health and environmental stewardship and models for future action.
The Forum will use a two-phased project endorsement process. In Phase I, applications were accepted from across the country on projects that actively connect children with the natural world. The deadline for Phase I applications has already passed. The Forum review committee will select projects from these applicants to provide a more detailed Phase II application.
Project leaders will be notified in early 2008 if their project has been selected for a Phase II application. Groups chosen from this Phase II pool for Forum endorsement will receive national recognition by the National Forum on Children and Nature, along with marketing and fundraising support for their projects.
The National Forum on Children and Nature (Forum) is seeking applications to administer a center with the primary task of conducting program evaluations of the Forum’s sponsored programs. Applications are due October 10, 2008.
For more details, download the application.
The National Forum on Children and Nature, comprised of a broad range of national leaders, will identify 20 nationally significant projects that work to connect children with nature. A request for proposals is available online. Read more about:
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