WHAT we do
Through our hands-on, nature-based environmental education programs tailored specifically to young children, CNI has been connecting children (and adults) to nature in the greater Los Angeles area for over 20 years.

• We bring nature to children (and adults) with the CNI Wonder Mobile, a traveling science classroom stocked with feathers, bones, taxidermy specimens, sea shells, live animals, and more.
• We bring children (and adults) to nature with CNI’s Family Nature Walks and Outreach Field Trips, guided excursions at our beaches and mountains, led by CNI-trained Volunteer Walk Leaders.
• Our award-winning nature activity book, Trails, Tails and Tidepools in Pails, serves as a reference guide for parents and teachers.
• We close the loop with activities such as the Urban Nature Hunt, which shows families how to find nature in their own neighborhoods and schoolyards.

WHY it's important
“But MY child is going to be a computer programmer/lawyer/pro basketball player. S/he doesn’t need to know the difference between an oak and a sycamore!”

Perhaps not.

But nature-based education isn’t just learning about nature. It’s also learning through nature.

In other words, experiences with nature are used to practice more general academic skills (e.g., reading, math, logical thinking).

• Click here to see what educational authorities have to say about nature-based, or environment-based, education.
• Click here for examples of how nature-based activities develop academic skills.

Time spent in nature also has more general benefits, such as better physical and psychological health, and improved behavior.

What’s more, in addition to being a computer programmer/lawyer/professional basketball player, your child is also going to be a consumer, voter, and (hopefully) responsible member of the community. His/her childhood experiences with nature will help shape his/her attitudes toward the environment and the kinds of decisions s/he makes later in life.

THE EVIDENCE

WHO else cares
Individuals and organizations writing about, researching, or working to enhance the connection between kids and nature.

Richard Louv
This San Diego-based journalist, author and child advocate has brought the growing crisis of children’s disconnection from nature into the public eye with his acclaimed 2005 book, Last Child in the Woods: Saving our Children from Nature Deficit Disorder (Algonquin Books).

The Children and Nature Network
This non-profit organization is chaired by Richard Louv, and is working to bring together a wide range of organizations interested in bringing children and nature together. “The vision and mission of the Children & Nature Network is to give every child in every community a wide range of opportunities to experience nature directly, reconnecting our children with nature’s joys and lessons, its profound physical and mental bounty.”

The Coalition for Education in the Outdoors
Based at the State University of New York at Cortland, this is a “non-profit network of environmental education centers, conservation and recreation organizations, schools, fish and wildlife agencies, and businesses to support outdoor education.”

White Hutchinson Learning & Leisure Group
This is a small commercial company specializing in the design of educational outdoor play areas for children. They have written extensively about this topic, including this article about the importance of young children forming a relationship with nature.

Landscape and Human Health Laboratory
This research group at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, led by Dr. Frances Kuo, studies the “connection between greenery and human health” and has published many studies demonstrating the power of natural features in the environment to improve psychological health and quality of life, primarily in inner-city settings.

Mary S. Rivkin, Ph.D.
Coordinator of the Early Childhood Education program at the University of Maryland, Dr. Rivkin has written extensively about the importance of nature and outdoor play for children’s education.

Natural Learning Initiative
This research and extension program of the College of Design at North Carolina State University, led by Dr. Robin Moore, conducts research on the importance of outdoor activity in early childhood.

State Education and Environmental Roundtable (SEER)
This collaboration between 16 state Departments of Education works to promote the “EIC Model” (using the environment as an integrating context for learning) in K-12 education.

North American Association for Environmental Education
NAAEE is an association of environmental education professionals, developing standards for environmental education, hosting conferences on the topic, and providing resources and certification.

National Environmental Education and Training Foundation
NEETF is a non-profit organization “dedicated to advancing environmental education in its many forms,” which it does through numerous educational programs for schools and the general public.

Center for Ecoliteracy
Dedicated to “education for sustainable living,” this San Francisco Bay area foundation makes grants to educational organizations and school communities, focusing primarily on the use of school lunches as a tool for experiential learning.

Sierra Club – Building Bridges to the Outdoors
Through this project, the Sierra Club’s goal is to “give every child in America an outdoor experience.”

Trust for Public Land
TPL is “a national, nonprofit, land conservation organization that conserves land for people to enjoy as parks, community gardens, historic sites, rural lands, and other natural places, ensuring livable communities for generations to come.” They have published reports on the access (or lack thereof) people have to natural parklands, and the importance of such access to health and quality of life.

Outdoor Classroom Project
Hosted by the Child Educational Center serving Caltech and the Jet Propulsion Lab (JPL), and funded by First 5 LA, this project seeks to “increase the quantity, quality, and benefit of outdoor experiences for children aged 0 - 5 in LA County child care centers.”

Education and the Environment Initiative (CA)
This effort, led by the California Environmental Protection Agency and the California Integrated Waste Management Board, seeks to develop a strategy to “bring education about the environment into California’s primary and secondary schools.”

MEDIA coverage
Stories about the importance of connecting children and nature.
USA Today
CBS
PBS
NPR
Minnesota Public Radio
The Christian Science Monitor
The Seattle Post-Intelligencer
The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review