| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| Jen |
Posted - May 22 2007 : 12:21:46 PM
Forest Service Aims To Close Nature-Deficit Gap by Getting Kids out into the Woods
May 22, 2007 — By Matthew Daly, Associated Press
WASHINGTON -- Students from New York to Alaska will be exploring forests and wetlands this year as part of an effort by the U.S. Forest Service to get kids out of the classroom and into the woods.
The $1.5 million "Kids in the Woods" program is aimed at a growing problem among American school children: a lack of direct experience with nature that experts say can contribute to childhood obesity, diabetes and even attention deficit disorder.
The program also is intended to nurture future environmental scientists and other Forest Service workers -- an acute need for an agency with a graying work force, said Deputy Forest Service Chief Ann Bartuska.
"It's an opportunity to connect kids to our national forests and to other outdoor settings," she said.
The grant program, to be announced at a news conference Tuesday, includes 24 projects in 15 states. More than 23,000 children are expected to participate in the program, which is supported by a host of private groups, as well as state, federal and local agencies.
The Forest Service is providing $500,000 in grants, with another $1 million provided by partners including the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, New York Botanical Garden and the Gates Foundation.
In one project, students from the Harlem Link Charter School in New York City will explore forests and wetlands in the New York region, including the botanical garden and the Meadowlands Environmental Center in New Jersey.
In the Pacific Northwest, scholarship assistance will help 800 children attend educational programs at Mount St. Helens National Volcanic Monument in Washington state. The program also will provide overnight trips for students in the Seattle area to learn more about conservation and environmental stewardship.
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On the Net:
Forest Service: http://www.fs.fed.us/
Children and Nature Network: http://www.cnaturenet.org/
Source: Associated Press
The View From My Boots: www.bovesboots.blogspot.com
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| marybeth |
Posted - May 23 2007 : 10:52:32 PM
Near us is the Padilla Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve. A great place for families and lots of hands on things for kids to do plus trails in the woods and a beach to search for many things. The beach is at Bay View state Park and the Interpretive Center (Breazeale Interpretive Center) is walking distance by road or beach. Padilla Bay is an estuary--a place where saltwater meets the large delta of the Skagit River. It is about 8 miles long and 3 miles across. Because the bay is filled with sediment from the river the bottom is very shallow, flat and muddy. Perfect!! These conditions allow nearky 8000 acres of eelgrass to grow in Padilla Bay providing a nursery for salmon, crab, perch and herring. It is home for millions of worms, shrimp, clams and other invertebrates which are food for blue herons, eagles, otters, seals and people. Something is going on all the time and school buses full of eager kids fill the parking lot at the beach specially when the tide is low.
more info www.padillabay.gov I think a lot of the schools here try to do lots of things to get the kids outdoors. I hope so anyway. MB
http://day4plus.blogspot.com
Being outside is being |
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