Children in Nature November Update

Greetings to Children in Nature Enthusiasts!

This service is provided by the Alberta Recreation and Parks Association (ARPA).  This is our November update.  I have continued with the format showing full links.  This way links can be "copy and pasted" to link, if the hot link fails.

Urgent input to Alberta School Curriculum Survey - November 21: To provide input into plans for changes to the Alberta school curriculum go to: http://ideas.education.alberta.ca/engage/current-initiatives/action-on-curriculum

A special request from a U of A student: A researcher at the University of Alberta is seeking individuals who would be willing to fill out a survey on a special or meaningful nature experience you had in the last six months. You will participate in a survey that lasts approximately 15 to 20 minutes. A full description of the project and the survey can be found at: https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/SGTNBQZ

If you have any questions, please email the researcher Lara Fenton, at lfenton@ualberta.ca. Thanks in advance!

From the Lifestyle Information Network (LIN) the following articles:

Designing playgrounds for exercise in play - http://www.theatlantic.com/life/archive/2011/09/playground-and-park-design-getting-our-children-to-exercise/245666/

Link to a 7 minute preview of the Lost Adventures of Childhood, an excellent 2009 45 minute CTV production on children's "over-controlled" lives: http://realscreen.com/2009/09/29/lostadventures-20090929/

An article from York Region advocating "prescriptions" for time in nature: http://www.yorkregion.com/community/health/article/1230764

This PDF of Dr. Trevor Hancock's presentation at the National Recreation Summit will stimulate some thoughts about the impact of parks and open space on human health: http://lin.ca/resource-details/20211

A referral to the Canadian Index on Well Being website allows access to a variety of reports on the overall precetions of Canadians on a variety of measures of "well being": http://ciw.ca/en/

From the NRPA we have the following referrals:

A link to an article on how "hovering Parents" can impede children's physical activity during outdoor play.  Go to http://healthland.time.com/2011/09/16/back-off-mom-parents-who-hover-impede-kids-activity/

A link to an excellent article in Recreation Mgt. that focuses on getting kids engaged in nature.  Go to http://www.recmanagement.com/features.php?fid=201109fe01&ch=1

A link to a short article in HealthDay News on a Canadian study of children's physical activity levels in Neighbourhoods with busy inter-connected streets at http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/news/fullstory_117523.html

Outdoor time may reduce nearsightedness in children.  This is a reiteration of work reported on from Australia about 18 months ago.  Never-the-less interesting! http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/news/fullstory_117880.html

An article in the Atlantic on the importance of play for children: http://www.theatlantic.com/life/archive/2011/10/all-work-and-no-play-why-your-kids-are-more-anxious-depressed/246422/

From Marion Price of Sprynt (Ontario) we have the following link that explains how to plan a youth summit: http://sharepoint.agriculture.purdue.edu/ces/INadolescenthealth/Shared Documents/meet_how_hold_youth_summit.pdf

I recently attended the Get to Know Unconference in Jasper where I met many amazing youth.  One was Quinn Delgarno. (see http://wildquinn.com/)  Quinn created a video about children in Nature.  See it at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gZXAcGgnuyg&feature=share

The Canadian Child & Nature Alliance website is full of useful information on Children in Nature.  Visit them at http://www.childnature.ca/

More information, still, is available at the Children and Nature Network.  The have abundant files on research that supports the belief that children need to be outdoors.  Visit them at: http://www.childrenandnature.org/

Cliff Lacey, ARPA
Children and Nature Specialist