Apr 20
Green Schoolyard Success Contest Winners
Last month, the Leave No Child Inside Collaborative of Greater Cincinnati held a contest to collect success stories about how local schools are using their outdoor environments as a teaching tool. Entries ranged from school gardens to field studies to playscapes, but all were amazing examples of the effective use of outdoor spaces. Using criteria such as student involvement, enthusiasm and variety of learning opportunities, we have selected two winners: the Academy of Multilingual Immersion Studies (AMIS), a Cincinnati Public Schools magnet school located near Roselawn, and Cincinnati Country Day School in Indian Hill. AMIS has embraced the garden beds…
Aug 14
About our new look!
You may have noticed that we have a new brand! Our new logo has a more sophisticated look to communicate the importance of our message. Although we loved the playfulness of the original logo, our mission is a serious one that affects the health and well-being of today's children. In addition to the physical benefits, we now know that spending time in nature is beneficial for children's mental health. With pediatricians reporting stress levels in children at shockingly high rates, it's important for everyone who influences the ability of children to access nature to know that spending time in nature…
Aug 7
Evanston gets new “nature in the neighborhood”!
Every child deserves to play, learn and grow with nature in their everyday lives, and now the children of Evanston will be able to do just that at the new naturescape at the Evanston Recreation Center (ERC). Conceived nearly three years ago when Leave No Child Inside partnered with the Evanston Community Council to request that the City of Cincinnati purchase a vacant lot adjacent to the ERC for a new natural play area, the idea was embraced by the Cincinnati Recreation Commission as an ideal way to honor the memory of Wayne Lurix, a…
Aug 7
Great news in the movement to reconnect children with nature
The Children & Nature Network (C&NN) just released its impressive 2016 Annual Report on the progress that has been made in its ten years of building a movement to reconnect children with nature. C&NN was founded in response to a call to action from Richard Louv, author of Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children from Nature-Deficit Disorder. Published in 2005, the book brought attention to the fact that today’s children spend less time in nature than any generation in human history, and it is having a negative impact on their physical, mental, emotional health. The book also…
Apr 14
Nature-Based Education Growing
Green schoolyards provide a sensory-rich environment for learning which is shown to help students focus their attention and increase their engagement, while providing a myriad of physical and mental health benefits. Two recent news stories highlight nature-based learning: The Cincinnati Enquirer reported on a Forest Kindergarten in Yellow Springs, Ohio and the CBS Morning Show featured author Richard Louv at the Chattahoochee Charter School, a nature-based school where test scores are exceeding both the national and regional averages. Leave No Child Inside is working with local schools to encourage outdoor learning and we look forward to announcing progress on that front in the coming months! In…
Jan 28
2014 Progress Report
We are proud to begin the year with a report on our progress in 2014. We invite you to read the full report to learn about our work, including: - Pathways to Health: Leave No Child Inside’s first pilot project, launched in partnership with the Evanston Community Council and Safe Routes to School. The project was inspired by the words of New Urbanist Gil Penalosa, who said “Children are an indicator species. If we can build a successful city for children, we will have a successful city for all people”. This innovative project is designed to spark neighborhood-wide physical activity…
Aug 31
Back to School!
SCHOOL PROGRAM FINDER: Free Resource for Teachers LNCIgc’s new School Program Finder is a one-stop shop for anyone looking for school and after-school nature-based or environmental education outreach programs, field trips and camps. The School Program Finder lists dozens of local programs and allows you to search by topic, grade level, cost and more. We encourage you to conduct your school and after-school programs outside whenever possible! If you’d like help “greening” your school grounds or connecting with nearby nature for outdoor education, please contact us – we would love to help. THREE GREAT IDEAS FOR TEACHERS You Can Get Your Students…
May 20
Retired Teacher Pilots Outdoor Adventure Clubs for Urban High School Students
Denny McFadden is a retired teacher whose dream was to introduce urban youth to the great outdoors. “For many years while teaching in the Cincinnati Public School district, I facilitated annual team building canoe trips for students and fellow teachers. During those outdoor adventures, I witnessed a number of amazing things happen among our students and staff. Lots of kids and adults who had never paddled a canoe struggled mightily. Some became increasingly frustrated and discouraged as they tried to keep their boats upright and pointed downstream. Eventually, however, the skills of each and every paddler improved, and as we…
May 16
MeetMeOutdoors.com is Launched!
Great news!!!! Now you can see all of Greater Cincinnati’s outdoor events and programs on one convenient website. MeetMeOutdoors.com allows you to search for outdoor fun by activity and date. The site, sponsored by Green Umbrella, features not only upcoming special events, but also on-going programs in our region. It also contains a map of area destinations and retailers that supply outdoor gear. What a great resource for families throughout our region! Take a look and Meet Me Outdoors!
Mar 28
It’s Not Just About Obesity
Leave No Child Inside – Greater Cincinnati was founded in order to educate the community that time spent in nature is essential to the physical, mental and emotional health of all children. Because obesity is one of the most pressing issues facing the health community today (26% of children between the ages of 2-5 are overweight or obese, and that number leaps to 33% in school age children), it's easy to lose sight of other issues related to the relatively recent disappearance of unstructured play in nature. With the near extinction of that experience, we are seeing unprecedented levels of…
