History
Children in today’s world are being adversely affected by their growing disconnection from the natural world. To address this concern, the Working Forum on Nature Education for Young Children was held in October, 2006 at Arbor Day Farm, Nebraska, USA. The Forum brought together, for the first time, people from three diverse groups --landscape architects and community planners, environmentalists, and early childhood educators -- to share information and plan for future collaborative efforts. Participants from 25 nations as diverse as Swaziland, Denmark, and Belize came together to learn from and with each other. One of the major outcomes of the Forum was the creation of the Nature Action Collaborative for Children.
Mission, Vision and Structure
Our mission is to re-connect children
with the natural world by making
developmentally appropriate nature
education a sustaining and enriching
part of the daily lives of the world’s
children.
The rapidly changing global condition
of children and childhood requires
new collaborations with new
approaches to all that we do with and
for children. One area of change is the
disconnection of children from the
natural world. In this regard, children
increasingly face challenging societal,
technological and environmental
conditions that are producing
deteriorating trends in physical and
mental health; at the same time,
existing educational approaches and
conditions are inadequate to enable
them to meet and overcome these
challenges, much less secure their
future.
Transforming our approach to
environments, health and early
education is critical. Connecting
children with the natural world:
- Is crucial for their optimal intellectual
and physical development;
- Provides a sense of refuge and healing
in a sometimes violent and frightening
world;
- Helps them grow into adults who care
about environmental stewardship;
- Nurtures a sense of shared community
among the world’s peoples.
A global regional representative
structure has been developed. Each
of the six regions of the world is
represented by up to three leaders.
Regional leaders have been chosen
to provide as much representation
of each of the three disciplines as
possible.
Join the Nature Action Collaborative for Children
We welcome involvement from anyone who shares the common goal of re-connecting children
with nature. The Collaborative works world-wide on efforts to:
- Provide opportunities to collect and disseminate information (including research)
- Provide professional growth and mentoring opportunities
- Become a strong voice for advocacy
- Provide opportunities for early educators, environmentalists and landscape architects/
community planners (as well as others such as architects, health care professionals, parents,
and elected officials) to meet together regularly.
Please join us by registering for membership at
worldforumfoundation.org. There are no membership fees. Through
the website members will be able to post information of interest to others, learn of upcoming events relating to nature
education, and find links to recent research and other current information.
