June 2019: Cities are at the core of the children and nature movement

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Cities are at the Core of the Children and Nature Movement.
Last month, more than 800 children and nature advocates from 15 nations came together to share best practices and innovative programs for increasing equitable access to nature for all children. One of the key emerging themes is the critical role of cities. Read more.

Leadership Academy: 11 New Cities Begin Plans to Connect Children and Nature.
Led by a diverse faculty of organizational leaders, over 30 participants from 11 cities spent three days exploring strategy tools, brainstorming action plans, and touring field sites. Next month we will follow one of these cities through their journey of using CCCN tools to equitably connect children to nature.

Grand Rapids Breaks Ground on City-Wide Green Schoolyard Initiative. Grand Rapids recently broke ground on the first of four green schoolyards the city and school district plan to build in park-deficient areas over the next three years. The initiative creates healthy and safe green schoolyards for children to play, learn, and explore in natural spaces. Learn more.

Growing Urban Conservationists and Importance of Nature in Cities. Priya Cook, CCCN Program Manager, offers a personal and professional perspective on the ways we can help children become tomorrow’s conservationists. She emphasizes the importance of nature in cities, thinking outside the park, and conservation corps as a way to ensure quality connections in nature. Read more.

Making the Case Webinar: Community Engagement for Equitable Access to Nature
Watch the recording of this Children & Nature Network (C&NN) webinar about engaging community residents—adult and children alike—through deep and genuine participatory approaches is key to creation of equitable access to nature.

Place-based Stewardship education in urban communities promotes knowledge, Skills, and Motivation for Sustaining Common-Pool Resources. Frontiers in Psychology - Feb 2019

Citizens Initiatives Can Contribute to a Transition in Governance and Enhance the Quality of Urban Greenspace. Urban Forestry & Urban Greening - Jan 2018

The Meaning of Participation in School Ground Greening: A Study from Project to Everyday Setting. Landscape Research - April 2017

National Children & Youth Garden Symposium
July 10-13, 2019 | Madison, WI
The symposium provides knowledge and tools to create a sustainable environmental future and find ways to maintain and grow the gardens and programs that nurture our youth. Register today via a Children & Nature Network special discount.

Greater & Greener Conference
July 20-24, 2019 | Denver, CO
The Greater & Greener Conference explores the role of parks and recreation in addressing some of the biggest challenges facing 21st Century cities. Sessions featuring CCCN faculty and staff will focus on Engaging Children in Nature and Schoolyard Greening.

The Cities Connecting Children to Nature (CCCN) initiative helps city leaders and their partners ensure that all children have the opportunity to play, learn and grow in nature, from urban parks and community gardens to the great outdoors. Check out our online resource hub, and join the conversation on Twitter with #citykids2nature!