Wednesday, September 8, 2010

September Children in Nature Update

This service is provided by the Alberta Recreation and Parks Association (ARPA). This is our September update.

For those wishing to be removed from the mailing list, just click reply and request removal. The majority of you are getting bcc's, but those few on the cc list are willing to have their names "exposed" to facilitate contact from others.

For those of you that might be interested, Krista Robertson's recently completed master's thesis, entitled 'Natures Play", is available at a file sharing site. This study has numerous local examples and several excellent references. I am not entirely sure this link will work for you, but you can copy and paste into your browser. http://www.filefactory.com/file/b310996/n/K._Robertson_MDP_May_2010.pdf
If this link fails, please contact Krista at kj_robertson@hotmail.com for a copy of the 150 page study.

From the NRPA newsletter we have a link to a New York Times article that looks at the recuperative effect spending time outdoors can have on busy adults. (I am sure we can extrapolate these findings to include children!) In this case four neuroscientists with an interest in mental focus and brain function spend time on the river in Glen Canyon, Utah. Good references and links. Click here for the article.

A great article on geocaching from the Winnipeg Free Press proclaims the benefits of this sport, a technology that takes you outdoors. Sounds great for getting kids involved.... Click here for info.

"In Your Face" is the title of a youth worker training session offered by BCRPA. This info comes to us from SPRYNT. For a link through the BCRPA website, click here.

From LIN (The Lifestyle Information Network) comes this link to over 2500 activities for children and youth. Once at the site you are asked a series of questions that narrows the focus of the suggested activities. Click here to access this site.

NRPA refers us to an article in DC.Streets that looks at the reverse correlation between obesity and "active commuting". Click here for a synopsis of the study and, once there, a link to the original published work (available for a fee).

The "Promoting SUCCESS Act" is before the US Congress. It proposes to make funding available to pilot test the success of summer camps in getting kids outdoors to help them change destructive health habits and retain learning from school. This is an interesting concept. Whether it has the legs to actually become legislation, only time will tell. Click here to get to the Library of Congress. Then select "Back to Bill Summary" and once there click on the "Text of Legislation" box view the proposed wording.

The Alberta Council for Environmental Education has courses available for those interested in teaching environmental education. Go to their website for details or sign up for their monthly newsletter at http://www.abcee.org/

There is a site in Britain that features a biosphere called Eden. Schools use it as a venue to take children to a variety of ecosystems on one field trip. The website is set up to provide info for teachers considering a trip to the facility. A very interesting amenity and video to go with it. Click here for the link.

LIN once again furnished a great link to a CBC item on "Poor and fat" children. This article is by Brett Taylor , associate professor of pediatrics and emergency medicine, researcher, lecturer and emergency pediatrician at Dalhousie University and the IWK Health Centre in Halifax. To read this article, click here.

The Children & Nature Network has begun to distribute a Natural Families Network newsletter. If you are interested you can sign up through their website. Click here for a link to the website.

The final entry goes to our Canadian website, the Child Nature Alliance. There is a map for you to post activities on sites on, there is a list of interesting articles and you can sign up for a newsletter. Click here to get to the site.

Cliff Lacey