Connect with Nature: Celebrate Universal Children's Day

Did you know that November 20th is Universal Children's Day? The United Nations first proclaimed this day in 1954 to promote child welfare across the world. There are few better ways to celebrate than helping a child connect with nature!

In his 2005 book “Last Child in the Woods: Saving our Children from Nature Deficit Disorder”, Richard Louv reported a startling decrease in the amount of direct exposure that many of today’s children have to nature. In a recent study, 73% of parents reported that their children spend their after-school hours watching TV, reading or playing video or computer games, rather than enjoying outdoor play or physical activity. The same study found that children are spending an average of six hours per day in front of a computer or television screen outside of school hours.

The effects of this problem – dubbed “nature-deficit disorder” by Louv – are troubling. A growing number of studies are demonstrating a link between this lack of interaction with nature and problems like childhood obesity and attention-deficit disorder. Luckily, help can be as close as your own backyard. Doctors are reporting that spending as little as 20 minutes per day in an urban park, community or personal garden, can have a positive impact on our physical and emotional heath.

This Sunday, celebrate Universal Children’s Day by spending a little extra time outdoors. Not sure where to start? Check out this list of fun nature activities for families or join a presentation by a nature club or young naturalist club near you.

Photo by Brenda Foubert

Nature Canada presents at the Earth Day 2011 EcoMentors Youth Conference

This past weekend, Nature Canada had the pleasure of taking part in the Earth Day 2011 EcoMentors Youth Conference in Ottawa.

The EcoMentors program provides training and resources for youth ages 15-24 looking to become community leaders for the environment. This year’s conference welcomed youth from across the country for a day of interactive workshops and activities designed to inspire participants to promote positive change for the environment. Nature Canada was pleased to be on-hand to present our Nature Explorers program model and share with participants how we use on-line tools to inspire off-line, nature-based action in Canadians.

The ultimate goal of the Nature Explorers program is to connect one million Canadian youth and their families with multiple positive experiences in nature over the next three to five years. We look forward to building this relationship with EcoMentors and being a part of this exciting opportunity to empower Canadian youth to become environmental leaders in their own communities.

Photo by EcoMentors

Discover, Connect & Share from Sea to Sea to Sea

 We've entered an idea in the Aviva Community Fund challenge! But we need your help to make this vision a reality. The next round of voting starts on Monday, October 24 and every vote brings us one step closer to empowering young nature leaders across the country. Sign up now to be ready to vote or read on to learn more about our idea.

The Project

"It was in the Arctic that I started to realize the significance of a sustainable lifestyle."
– Donovan Taplin (17 years old)Bell Island, Newfoundland

Photo by Lee Narraway/Students on Ice

City traffic, air and noise pollution, cell phones, shopping malls and a daily deluge of e-mail are a reality for most Canadians. We spend our days indoors, sitting under fluorescent lights and breathing re-circulated air.

Our children play video games; they don't play outside. They know how to navigate the internet, but don't know what birds live in their backyards. They learn about big issues like climate change, but don't have the connection with nature that will let them truly understand the problem.

We are isolated from nature. We are isolated from each other.

Nature Canada and Students on Ice want to provide a life-changing opportunity for Canadian youth from sea to sea to sea. We will help them discover nature first-hand on the Arctic Expedition 2012, connect with peers and mentors in community dialogue, and share their experiences with other young people at a national Youth Leadership Summit. We hope that each person who is touched by the SEA to SEA to SEA experience is inspired to lead positive change in their own individual communities.

The Partners

For more than 70 years Nature Canada, a membership-based not-for-profit conservation organization, has been a leader in connecting Canadians to nature.

We have worked with hundreds of local groups in every province and territory to deliver community-based projects including the Parks & People program, allowing youth to experience nature first-hand; the Community Action Fund, enabling on-the-ground conservation activities; the Important Bird Areas Caretaker Network, engaging stewards for habitat and species protection; and Nature Explorers, an integrated program that will see one million children and their families participating in multiple experiences in nature over the next five years. 

Students on Ice is an award-winning program that provides youth from across Canada and around the world with ship-based education expeditions to the Arctic and Antarctic.

The Students on Ice mandate is to educate and inspire the next generation of leaders and responsible global citizens, and in doing so help provide them with a greater understanding and respect for the planet.

The Plan

Nature Canada and Students on Ice are seeking $150,000 of support from the Aviva Community Fund to assist with on-the-ground delivery of the 2012 SEA to SEA to SEA experience that will empower Canadian youth through a transformative journey.

Photo by Lee Narraway/Students on Ice

In August 2012, 75 students from around the world will participate in the Students on Ice Arctic Expedition 2012. Through a nationwide selection process, a young Canadian from every province and territory will be chosen to participate on the expedition thanks to this support from AVIVA. These funds will facilitate this journey of discovery and the development of young nature ambassadors.

Highlights of the expedition will include a welcome event hosted by the community of Kuujjuaq, Nunavik, and a visit with community leaders and Inuit elders in Pagnirtung to learn about their observations of climate change and its impacts on their community and way of life. The team will stop at National Parks, Important Bird Areas, and spectacular fjords along the way to immerse themselves in learning directly in the spectacular landscape. Participants will have a chance to see magnificent Arctic wildlife, including seabirds, whales, and polar bears.

Throughout the expedition, students will have a chance to learn from each other and connect with mentors. Ongoing discussions will let them reflect on their experiences and energize them to become leaders for environmental and social change in their own individual communities when they return home.

In November 2012, 130 youth from across Canada will converge at a Youth Leadership Summit to explore what the Arctic means to Canada, how our country is connected from SEA to SEA to SEA, and why healthy sustainable communities are critical for our future, the Arctic's future and the planet's future.

The AVIVA Nature Ambassadors from the expedition will serve as youth leaders, motivating their peers as they share their recent Arctic journey, experiences and new knowledge.

The Youth Leadership Summit will empower participants as young leaders, changing their lives and communities. They will make lasting connections that will link Canadian communities from sea to sea to sea in a sustainable future.

"I am taking on the world as an ambassador of positive change."
– Victoria Wee (17 years old)Coquitlam, British Columbia

Please vote to empower change, from sea to sea to sea.

Connect with Nature: Celebrate Earth Day!

Photo by Jim Salvas via Flickr

Tomorrow, April 22, marks our annual celebration of the planet we live on. But did you know that Earth Day was originally conceived by an American senator as a teach-in - a practical, participatory, action-oriented day of learning about the environment? In 1990, Earth Day went global and is celebrated in more than 175 countries each year; in 2009, the United Nations officially recognized International Mother Earth Day on this date.

Since Earth Day also coincides with a holiday for most Canadians this year, why not plan to spend some time with nature tomorrow? You can find an event near you, or just get outdoors and enjoy some fresh air. Try to learn or notice one new thing about the world around you, and then share that knowledge with others.

Happy Earth Day!

Connect with Nature: Visit a Natural History Museum

On my trip to the Museum of Nature,
I got to see frogs from around
the world. Photo by J. Desilets.

If the winter weather is too cold or snowy for you to get outside and explore nature, it's the perfect time to head to your local natural history museum! Natural history museums showcase Canada's rich and diverse natural history from coast to coast to coast. They preserve the past so that we can gain insights into the possible future. And they allow us to discover aspects of Canadian nature that we might not otherwise have a chance to see.

A giant sea turtle skeleton swims through
the air at the museum. Photo by J. Desilets.

I've been lucky enough to visit the newly renovated Museum of Nature in Ottawa twice in the past six months. The historical building has four floors (plus a basement!) full of natural history treasures from Canada. Separated by theme, each gallery tells a story about nature in Canada; whether your interest is birds, marine life, mammals, insects or geology you're sure to find something interesting in their many displays and interactive exhibits. My favourite gallery is still the dinosaurs, since new discoveries are still being made that help us learn about how animals evolved.

Plan your next trip to a museum near you! (If you're not sure where to start, try the Alliance of Natural History Museums of Canada.)

Our top tips for museum visits:

The RBC Blue Water gallery at the museum
features a live tank of starfish and other
sea life. Photo by J. Lim.

• Leave yourself plenty of time to explore the museum. Depending on the size of the exhibits and your specific interests, you want the chance to see everything without feeling rushed. At the Museum of Nature, we budgeted about an hour per floor (30 minutes per gallery).
• Wear comfortable shoes. If you'll be walking around for even a couple of hours, you don't want to have to stop because your feet are sore. If you're planning a family trip with younger children, make sure to space out energy-intensive activities with some quieter periods for rest.
• Know the museum guidelines about outside food and drink. Most museums will have designated areas where you can sit and eat your lunch or a snack. Make sure to find these on your map and plan your route accordingly.
• Bring your camera. Many museums will allow you to take pictures of the exhibits. Since so many of the experiences are interactive, you will be able to bring home some great memories!
• On a budget? Check to see if there are periods of discounted or free entry to your local natural history museum. In Ottawa, it's also possible to borrow a museum pass from the public library (that's how I was able to go).

Remember to share your own natural history museum experiences with us in the comments below!

Raising A Green Fledgling - Part 3 - Forging an early connection to nature

Hello Readers,

This week I'd like to focus on a couple of indirect ways in which my wife and I are trying to forge our daughter's connection to nature as she grows.

The idea for this post started as I was looking at my daughter's growing book collection. Yes, that's right, she's not even 7 weeks old and we already have tonnes of books. And tonnes of music - but that'll be a later installment in this series. We make sure to read, sing, hum and chat to our little one as much as possible to help her on her way.

Anyway, back to the point: I noticed that the majority of her books and music had some sort of nature theme. This is nothing extraordinary, of course, but I think it says something about the types of environmental values we hope to instill in our family.

I noticed books such as "On The Night You Were Born", by Nancy Tillman; "Baby Beluga", by Raffi and Ashley Wolff; "Panda Bear, Panda Bear What Do You See?", by Bill Martin, Jr. and Eric Carle; "I Like Bugs", by Lorena Siminovich; "Walking With Mama", by Barbara A. White; "Just Me and My Dad", by Mercer Mayer; "The Very Quiet Cricket", by Eric Carle; and of course "The Lorax" by Dr. Seuss. There are of course many others I've neglected to list.

Several of these books talk about wildlife as an inherent part of our world - as part of the human experience, while others focus on directly experiencing nature and the countless critters that comprise it. Baby Beluga gives a special nod to a federally-listed species at risk, too. "Panda Bear...", "On the Night..." and "The Lorax" go a step further to deal with conservation themes, quite eloquently and directly in the case of the Seuss book.

These are important messages we want to convey to our daughter. We want her to grow up understanding how we fit into nature and what opportunities we have to decrease our negative impacts on the natural world. There are many ways to do this and so far, it seems we're approaching it indirectly through the stories we share with our daughter. So with any luck, she'll grow up interested in nature and aware that it is both possible - and important - to experience it.

That last point made me think of a book by one of my undergraduate professors, Peter G. Brown, from McGill University's School of Environment. The book is called "The Commonwealth of Life" and though it's a treatise on stewardship economics, Brown discusses the inherent right to exist held by every living thing. He also addresses the moral imperative we have, as humans, to respect those inherent rights. I'm barely scratching the surface here, but I always recall these ideas when I think about why people should care about nature. That's just my take, and my daughter is free to come up with her own. :-)

There are also a couple of very special books I have to mention. My wife and I got these books more for ourselves to enjoy, but we think they hold a number of fun, timeless and valuable messages for our daughter, too. They are: "The World Needs Your Kid" by Craig and Marc Kielburger (of Free the Children fame) and Shelley Page, and "Nelson Mandela's Favourite African Folktales" edited by Nelson Mandela. We love that "The World Needs..." shares inspirational messages and ideas by some of the world's leading promoters of positive social and environmental change, while Mandela's book shares some very real, valuable lessons about life and the world, told through the voices of numerous African cultures throughout the ages. Both books capture some great points about the importance of connecting to and understanding nature.

Well, that's it for now. Thanks for checking out this third installment in the series. And be sure to check back next week for Part 4 on the trials and tribulations of cloth diapering!

NOTE: In searching for links to the books I've mentioned above, I stumbled across a list of children's nature books recommended by Virginia State naturalists. I also found this one from the Massachusetts Dept of Conservation & Recreation. That has me wondering, do other government departments, professional naturalists, naturalist clubs and associations have similar recommended book lists? Please post a comment if you know of one.

Raising A Green Fledgling - Part 1 - Introduction to the Series

Hello Blogosphere! You may already know me as Manager of Nature Canada's Protected Areas Program, but I'll soon start to wear a second hat on the Nature Canada Blog...

Every Friday for the next while I'll be posting my personal accounts of trying to be a 'green parent'. My wife and I joyously welcomed our first child, a beautiful baby girl, in July and we're excited to see how well our strong environmental values withstand the many demands - and conveniences - of modern-day parenthood.

My wife and I both have academic and professional backgrounds in biology and the environmental sciences, but our new role as parents will no doubt challenge us in many ways we can't even imagine...

This series will focus on the various environmentally responsible parenting choices my wife and I make, such as which baby products we buy, what foods we eat and the various things we do to maintain a small ecological footprint. I'll also write about the ways we try to gradually help our little girl connect to nature.

Now for some housekeeping.

This series will describe my own parenting choices and experiences and should in no way be interpreted as parenting, lifestyle or other advice coming from me or Nature Canada. It's just a way for me to share my green parenting thoughts, ideas and challenges (and failures...?) with you, the Reader.

Check back next Friday for Part 2, describing what we did to create a safe, 'harmful chemical-free' environment for our baby prior to her arrival.

Image 1: Me with my newborn daughter (Photo: J. MacDonald)
Image 2: Hemlock grove on Frozen Ocean Lake in Kejimkujik National Park & National Historic Site (Photo: A. MacDonald)