The Children in Nature Collaborative has the potential to transform the experience of our everyday lives. This Collaborative brings together very different individuals and groups to work together to create healthier lives and more vibrant communities.
As we have seen with anti-smoking and recycling campaigns, change can occur rapidly through our common effort. Social and political pressure can create a shift in just one generation to reconnect children with the natural world.
What You Can Do
There are many possible ways to enhance individual and community health by restoring the bond with nature including:
- Creating more opportunities in our everyday lives for unstructured play or time outside with family and friends
- Developing neighborhoods that encourage outdoor play for children and adults
- Encouraging schools to weave nature experiences into the school day and environment and provide more time for outside unstructured play
- Prescribing nature and including nature therapy and gardens in our community health care systems
- Exploring violence prevention strategies that facilitate nature experiences for offenders
- Preserving open space and natural landscapes in our neighborhoods as a strategy for developing healthy communities
- Creating safe routes and joining with others to walk and bicycle to school and activities
- Taking action to foster policy changes in environmental and city planning issues
- Becoming a member of the Bay Area Children in Nature Collaborative
See our Strategic Plan for a full range of strategies and examples of action that individuals and organizations have taken.
Join the growing movement to connect children and nature. Receive emails with information about forums and events and newsletters with regional news and links to related articles of interest.
The Children in Nature Collaborative is a convener – it brings partners together, coordinates strategies and actions, and fosters communication (locally, regionally and nationally). The Collaborative provides:
- A catalyst for interested individuals and organizations to take action by providing space for open dialogue and opportunities to form partnerships, share resources, develop as a learning community.
- Partnerships that leverage individual efforts and attract higher visibility and resources.
- Access to a community of peers that shares the values and experience around environmental, social and health issues.