Armleder Park Trail Connection This trail opened with a dedication ceremony on June 14 and connects the Otto Armleder Park (which includes a great dog park, by the way), with the Lunken airport bike trail.  The connection gives you 8 miles of trail to walk or bike – great for the whole family.  An interesting piece of information – the Armleder Park was determined to have more birds than any other park in our area, so take the binoculars when you go and ask the kids how many species they can spot.  Learn more about the new trail here.

With the release of the 2011 Grassroots Leadership Survey, the Children & Nature Network provides us with evidence that our work and that of grassroots initiatives across the country is having an impact.  Results from the survey were analyzed and reported by an independent evaluator as a follow-up to a 2009 baseline survey designed to measure changes in children and nature activities.  Among the findings: The total number of participants reached in 2011 by activities of the 72 grassroots initiatives responding was between 2.7 and 4.25 million.  This is a significant increase over 2009, when the number was between 900,000…

It’s long been known that biodiversity is essential to the health of our environment.   The Leave No Child Inside movement is also working toward the health of communities by increasing the diversity of the people who experience nature in their daily lives.  Locally, we have focused on enabling children of all races and ethnicities to experience nature on a daily basis in their own neighborhoods by encouraging and facilitating school gardens and natural playscapes.  In the coming year, we will expand our local focus on diversity in tandem with the Children & Nature Network, which is taking a leadership role…

Have you wondered what the television ads for Green Umbrella are all about?  Green Umbrella is an exciting new collaborative working to improve the economic vitality and quality of life in the region around Cincinnati by maximizing the collective impact of individuals and organizations dedicated to environmental sustainability.  Leave No Child Inside – Greater Cincinnati is proud to participate in the Outdoor Recreation and Nature Awareness Team of Green Umbrella.  The ORNA team brings together facility managers, marketing directors and nature educators to develop strategies to get more people to become aware and take advantage of the many outdoor recreational…

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…

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.