Leave No Child Inside – Greater Cincinnati

Today’s children spend less time in nature than any generation in all of human history.  April’s Let’s G.O.! (Get Outside) campaign is aimed at reversing that trend!  Join in as people of all ages get outside  to Play, Serve and Celebrate during the month of April.   Let’s G.O.! (Get Outside) is the brainchild of Natural Leaders, the youth leadership section of the Children & Nature Network.  In their words, “This is not just a call to action, it is a call for fun!  Think of it as a party invitation, and the party location is all the green and living space around us.  Community gardening, local hikes, river clean-ups, bird watching, fishing, biking, beach days, trail maintenance and habitat restoration – however and wherever you get outside in nature.”  

So,  join the party, join the fun!  For a listing of outdoor activities in April, go to the Let’s G.O.! (Get Outside) website, type in your zip code, and you’ll see what’s happening near you.  Have your own event to list?  We want to hear about it!  Follow this link to post your own event.  Afterward, post photos and information about your event at the C&NN Connect.

PS – Spread the word!  E-mail on to your friends, neighbors, school and co-workers or print the flyer at right using this link.

Cincinnati has been identified as one of 2011′s Top 100 Communities for Young People by America’s Promise Alliance.  The award is presented to communities who are successfully working to improve graduation rates.   LNCIgc is actively involved in two of the programs cited in achieving that award:  Cincinnati Public Schools Elementary Initiative, which includes Fifth Quarter for at-risk students, and the Safe Routes to School project.

2011 was the first year of Let’s G.O.!, which is a youth led initiative aimed at getting people all across the country outside to Play, Serve and Celebrate during the month of April.  Plans are underway to make it bigger and better in 2012.  Does your organization have an event or service project planned for April?  Register it on the Children & Nature Network’s website to let people in your community know about it.  The Ohio Leave No Child Inside Collaboratives will be working to promote Let’s G.O.! events throughout Ohio.

2011 marked the fifth anniversary of Leave No Child Inside – Greater Cincinnati.  We’ve come a long way since 2006!  See our 2011 Annual Report for some of the highlights of last year.  It is thrilling to see all of the good work happening as this message becomes a part of the culture of organizations throughout Greater Cincinnati.

Now it its sixth year, the Kid’s Outdoor Adventure Expo was bigger and better than ever this year. In addition to serving as the conclusion to Cincinnati Public Schools’ Fifth Quarter program, the event provided over 4,000 area children with hands-on experiences designed to “spark their interest in the world of nature” and enhance academic performance. Read more and see photos here: http://www.ohioriverway.org/

In an innovative program designed to stem the loss of learning that takes place during the summer for many students, Cincinnati Public Schools offered a Fifth Quarter, targeting grades K-7 at thirteen* schools. The voluntary program included enrichment opportunities intended to close the achievement gap between low-income and more economically advantaged students. A recent Johns Hopkins University study found that 65 percent of the achievement gap between poor and more advantaged ninth-graders is due to unequal summer learning experiences during elementary school years. By the fifth grade, low-income children can be 2-1/2 years behind their middle and upper-income peers.

Seizing the opportunity to provide children with valuable environmental education and healthy outdoor activities, Leave No Child Inside-Greater Cincinnati partnered with Cincinnati Public Schools and CincyAfterSchool (overseen by the YMCA of Greater Cincinnati) to establish the EarthSmart Institute. With assistance from Greater Cincinnati Environmental Educators and the Ohio Department of Natural Resources, LNCIgc provided the schools with a menu of over sixty school outreach programs and more than thirty-five field trip opportunities, many of which were offered free of charge. In an effort to encourage problem-solving, creativity and outdoor physical activity, LNCIgc also helped each school to identify a “nearby nature” location for the students to visit. There, students completed a series of self-directed activities, using an EarthSmart Institute Passport as a roadmap to discovering “nature in the neighborhood” and learning how human behavior impacts the environment. Fifth Quarter concluded on Friday, June 26, with grades four through seven attending the Paddlefest Kids Outdoor Adventure Expo. EarthSmart Institute “graduates” were presented with a certificate signed by Superintendent Mary Ronan and Mayor Mark Mallory, and participating schools received recognition from Governor Ted Strickland.

Planning for the EarthSmart Institute, the Passport and graduation certificates were all donated to Cincinnati Public Schools. Many community organizations deserve recognition for their support of Fifth Quarter, but special recognition is due to the Fifth Quarter Planning Team: The Cincinnati Park Board, the Foundation for Ohio River Education (formerly ORSANCO), ALLY, Dater Montessori Nature Center, CincyAfterSchool and the Ohio Department of Natural Resources. Special thanks also to the Paddlefest Kids Outdoor Adventure Expo planning team: Hamilton County Park District, Ohio River Way, Inc. and the Paddlefest Steering Committee. All of these groups volunteered many hours of staff time to support this important and innovative initiative. We would also like to thank Greater Cincinnati Water Works for donating the cost of printing the EarthSmart Institute Passport.

*Sixteen schools were originally targeted for this program, but three of them are now in redesign and were removed from Fifth Quarter.

In September, 2010, an Ohio Children’s Outdoor Bill of Rights has been endorsed by Governor Ted Strickland and more than thirty Mayors across Ohio. Click here to view the Ohio Children’s Outdoor Bill of Rights.