Before the Subaru’s and sea kayaks, our love of the natural world had much more humble beginnings. For me, it all began in a creek that ran behind my parents’ house. It was a singular wild place hidden among a network of rather tame cul-de-sacs. In that creek I watched tadpoles turn into frogs, and first tested my mettle as I clambered over slick mossy rocks and traveled deep into the dark forest.
Those types of moments that lay the foundation for developing future outdoors men and women are becoming increasingly rare.
Modern life has delivered us an entire generation of children who have more experience “Googling” frogs than they do catching them. As the divide between our children and nature widens, many organizations are offering programs that seek to supplement classroom learning with tangible outdoor experiences.
This spring I had the privilege of working to be part of this solution. I volunteered with the Washington State Parks and Recreation commission on the No Child Left Inside Grant program. The program developed out of a piece of state legislation that sought to deliver the benefits of outdoor education to Washington’s underserved school children.
The grant ended up awarding approximately $1.5 million from the state’s general fund to 25 programs offering outdoor and environmental education throughout the state. And while similar legislation exists in other states, Washington’s No Child Left Inside Grant marked an unprecedented amount of state funds supporting the efforts of outdoor education.
These grantees represent just a small percentage of organizations dedicated to increasing academic achievement and an understanding of nature through hands-on experiences that many times serve as an extension of what is being taught inside the classroom. Whether it was sailing through the San Juan Islands, snowshoeing on Mt. Rainier, or paddling a giant war canoe down the Columbia River, these programs connected children to our local region. And they often did so through intentional curriculums that emphasize scientific inquiry and self-discovery, and are directly linked to Washington’s Essential Academic Learning Requirements (EALRs).
This legislation also connected Washington to a growing No Child Left Inside national movement as similar legislation is being proposed in Congress. The No Child Left Inside Act of 2009 was introduced in both the House and Senate on Earth Day this year. The proposed act would provide $500 million dollars worth of funding over five years to K-12 schools nationwide to support efforts to increase environmental literacy.
This legislation however, is not guaranteed to pass. Current criticism of the act states that it is not the role of government to dictate school curriculum. And while the transformative power of nature is something outdoor enthusiasts know very well, many in the general public do not understand how outdoor programs enhance core learning in reading, math, and science and see this type of funding as wasteful.
Regrettably, refunding of Washington’s No Child Left Inside Grant program will not occur this year. It is yet another unfortunate victim of our current economy. I worry about how this will affect the number of children these programs are able to reach in the following year. But there is an even bigger question at stake.
Outdoor enthusiasts are some of public land’s greatest allies in the fight for preservation and conservation. When an entire generation grows up never developing a love of playing in our parks, forests, oceans, and rivers, who will fight for their protection?
Liz Cornish has a B.A. in Outdoor Experiential Education from Prescott College in Prescott, Ariz. and is presently finishing her M.Ed. in Recreation Management from the University of Arkansas. She has taught outdoor education all over the country, but currently calls Olympia, Wash. home. You may contact her at editor@OutdoorsNW.com.
RESOURCES
Washington No Child Left Inside Grant Program
www.parks.wa.gov/NoChildLeftInside/
The No Child Left Inside Coalition
www.nclicoalition.org
Facebook Group
No Child Left Inside-Washington
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