August 25, 2010 Dear Colleague: You are invited to attend a Community Forum on Saturday, September 25th, from 8:30 am until 12:30 pm, at California Lutheran University, Nygreen 160 W. Olsen Road Thousand Oaks, to discuss how Los Angeles can become a model for connecting children and nature. This forum is being convened by the Arbor Day Foundation and Dimensions Educational Research Foundation to raise community awareness and interest in efforts to connect children with nature and to improve the quality of early childhood experiences and children’s health. Research shows that when children have regular contact with nature they learn and grow better… physically, developmentally and in relationship to the natural world. Studies document the numerous benefits children gain from spending time outdoors. In October of 2006, participants from over 25 countries attended the first Working Forum on Nature Education for Young Children. That gathering of designers, landscape architects, early childhood educators and conservation professionals shared ideas for ways to expand outdoor learning and play opportunities for children. One of those ideas was to host regional community forums to bring key decision makers from diverse backgrounds together, at a local level, to address effective ways to reconnect young children with the natural world. That regional community forum model has generated transformational action in communities across the country. The Los Angeles area has long been a leader in education, conservation and children’s health efforts. You have received this invitation as a member of a prestigious group of educators/administrators, conservationists, architects/designers and health care professionals who care about issues impacting young children. Our vision is to increase the connections between children and nature in backyards, neighborhoods, public spaces and educational settings as a means of enhancing early childhood education, public school education, family health and well-being, lifelong learning, community revitalization and environmental stewardship. Dimensions Educational Research Foundation’s research explores the skills children are developing through their interactions with nature and how educators can best support this important learning. At the September 25th meeting, Dimensions Foundation Program Liaisons Manager, Tina Reeble, will describe the initiatives of demonstration sites and present a set of principles that can guide deliberations and strategies. Grant funds are available to help one organization in the Los Angeles regional area start a demonstration outdoor classroom site. The grant RFP application form will be handed out at the Forum. Professional growth hours will also be offered. Support for this forum also comes from California Lutheran University and Doubletree Hotels. Doubletree has been the proud sponsor of the Traveling Exhibit, “Exploring Trees Inside and Out,” which opened at the California Science Center in May and will run through September 26, 2010. We hope you are able to join us on September 25th to help develop a plan that will put the Los Angeles regional area in the forefront of this important global movement. Space is limited, so please register by September 22, 2010. Please feel free to call Lana Gilson at 402-873-8709, or email her at lgilson@arbordayfarm.org, if you have questions. Sincerely,
Susan
Wirth
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