Equity & Inclusion

Want to learn more about birding with children or have an enthusiastic beginning birder in your life? Check out this book from special educator Rasha Hamid with this exclusive excerpt. Learn how to get started, birding terminology and strategies that will help everyone get connected to the joy of birding!

Our April Peer Learning Network event session explores practical strategies for securing leadership buy-in, whether you’re seeking a pledge of support, advancing policy actions or strengthening coalition partnerships.

Engaging local stakeholders helps align new children and nature strategies with previous efforts and community goals. It can also help maximize local resources and build connections with new stakeholders who may value children’s well-being but may not currently use nature connections. This resource supports communities in bringing local stakeholders together to support local efforts.

During our February Peer Learning Network event, speakers from Great Outdoors Colorado’s (GOCO) Generation Wild Coalition shared how they have expanded equitable access to nature by dedicating positions in youth summer employment programs to expanding nature connections; and expanding summer and after-school nature connection programs with a focus on equity, ensuring access to nature programs for children of color and children experiencing poverty or other barriers.

Today and every day, we celebrate Black leaders in the children and nature movement. These changemakers are breaking down barriers to connect more communities to the benefits of nature and paving green career pathways for youth — driving a brighter future for all. Here are just a few of those leaders, whose work we have featured in the past year.

This Digest highlights research that has examined the interactions between screen time, green time, and children’s health and development. Based on these understandings, a set of research-based practical recommendations are offered to guide families and communities in helping youth establish healthy relationships with screen devices through a variety of approaches aimed at boosting green time.

This Digest explores the developmental and restorative potential of nature for refugee children and others experiencing severe trauma.

In the final Research Digest of 2024, Research Director and Digest editor Cathy Jordan shares exciting developments for the year ahead and offers a look back at the Digests from 2024.

Watch the October 4, 2024, recording of the National League of Cities and Children & Nature Network in-depth look at the new report “How Green Schoolyards Create Economic Value.” The conversation, moderated by NLC’s Dr. Robert Blaine, primarily featured report author Rob Grunewald, with additional insights and perspective from Jordan Twardy from the City of Dearborn and Priya Cook from C&NN.

This slide deck on the economic benefits of green schoolyards can be used to support your own case-making efforts. Kindly credit them to Rob Grunewald in your presentations.

This brief summarizes key elements of “A Field Scan of Older Adults and Nature in Minnesota.” It also shares information about how the Field Scan project is raising awareness of this topic, supporting organizations doing this work, and expanding opportunities for people 55+ in nature across Minnesota. It includes the importance of intergenerational connections and makes suggestions about actions readers can take to promote fuller access to nature.\

This Digest explores dimensions of play inequity and strategies to create greater equity.

This Digest focuses on nature as a promoter of resilience in vulnerable children and youth

This report highlights the benefits of nature-based activities for individuals 55+ and provides a framework for enhancing their access and participation in nature. Written from the perspective of work happening in Minnesota with applications far beyond, this 100-page document has links to many resources and models and is intended for anyone interested in learning how better to support and grow accessto nature for people 55+. It includes information about intergenerational work to connect children and older adults in nature.

We’ve had the honor of collaborating with many inspiring women over the past year. In recognition of Women’s History Month, we’re spotlighting just a handful of them.

Watch the recording of our November 29 Member Appreciation event moderated by Jesús Aguirre, Board Chair of the Children & Nature Network, and CEO of the Waterloo Greenway Conservancy with panelists Sarah Milligan-Toffler, C&NN President and CEO, Dylan McDowell, Executive Director for the National Caucus of Environmental Legislators and Amanda O’Rourke, Executive Director of 8 80 Cities. They discuss trends and approaches to health and well-being that might influence, impact or present opportunities for children and nature leaders in the coming year.

At the end of 2023, the Children & Nature Network Founders’ Council – a cross-sector group of experts that includes the organization’s co-founders – finalized a report highlighting some of the most compelling challenges and opportunities facing the children and nature movement today.

This Digest focuses on children with special needs and inclusion as a social justice issue.

Editor’s note: This story is being published to coincide with the month of Ramadan, a holy time for the Muslim...

Studies in this Digest were selected to illustrate more inclusive, socially just, and participatory approaches to research on children and nature. These approaches address increased diversity and pluralism in research, the use of culturally sensitive data collection tools and strategies, as well as children’s right to have their voices heard.

Watch the recording of of the December 7 Member Appreciation Event. A screening of “Wood Hood,” Best Short Film winner at the Banff Mountain Film Festival and conversation with creators Manny Almonte and Carlos Davila.

This Digest highlights research relating to inequities in opportunities for children’s engagement with nature. Included are studies that (1) raise awareness of inequities, (2) demonstrate the potential of increased nature engagement in narrowing disparities in health and well-being, and (3) provide examples of specific initiatives designed to address inequities in children’s access to nature.

The studies in this Digest highlight the importance of nature for the culture, identity, and health of Indigenous people as well as some of the challenges they experience navigating Western culture and the effects of climate change. This Digest also presents a number of studies that examine the critical role of Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK) in restoring culture, connection to nature, health, and resilience for both Native and non-Native individuals.

Studies in this Digest focus on Hispanic/Latinx populations in honor of National Hispanic Heritage Month. Latinx communities place a high value on nature, but they often face disparities in access to quality natural environments and nature-based activities. Research is needed to understand how best to serve these communities in the context of cultural assets related to connection to nature.

Parks play an important role in the physical and mental health of children and families and the resilience of communities. However, there are barriers to park access and use that often fall along income, racial and geographic lines. Improving access to high quality, welcoming and inclusive parks is one important way to enhance nature’s benefits and create more equitable outcomes.

Gardening can promote children’s physical, emotional, social, and academic development, as well as pro-environmental attitudes and behaviors. Children of all ages and abilities can benefit from garden-related experiences.

Three of the 2022 C&NN conference track themes are highlighted in this Digest, each one focusing on increasing equitable access to nature. These themes are policy and public sector leadership, equity and inclusion, and cross-cutting topics.

Learn about how Black leaders have been a powerful force in the movement for children and nature.

The Children & Nature Network's Inside-Out International Conference brings practitioners together to advance strategies for turning the trend of an indoor childhood back out to the benefits of nature. Keynotes, breakout sessions, and hands-on workshops will explore current best practices within six tracks: family engagement, youth development, green schoolyards, policy and public sector leadership, equity and inclusion, and cross-cutting themes. To showcase our conference and promote an evidence-based look at these topics, our January and February Research Digests will introduce research aligned with these areas.

When racist taunts made Patricia Kelly’s childhood painful, she found relief in a saddle. Her family was the third Black family in a predominantly white neighborhood...

It’s no secret that people of color, people with disabilities and the LGBTQ+ community lack representation in most forms of media, from advertising to feature films to the relatively new field of influencer marketing. The outdoor industry and conservation fields face the same challenge. But a new commitment to equity and inclusion is taking hold and new solutions are emerging from creative leaders like the entrepreneurs at Nappy, a stock photography company on a mission to improve representation.

The summer of 2020 was one of social distancing and shuttered public spaces due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Minnesota’s capital city of Saint Paul was also swept up in the civil unrest following the killing of George Floyd, an unarmed Black man, by police in the neighboring city of Minneapolis. Saint Paul residents, especially Black, Indigenous and People of Color, found it challenging to find places where they felt safe to gather and connect—at a time when they needed it most.

This Digest focuses on factors limiting children’s engagement with nature, some residing in the child and/or family; some associated with urban parks and public greenspaces; some specific to schools.

In September 2020, Ron Griswell launched a non-profit to connect students at America’s Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) to outdoor experiences and careers. HBCUs Outside has been a labor of love, years in the making. Ron would say it’s been in the making since his childhood.

This Digest focuses on the impact of COVID-19 on the mental health of people around the world. Social distancing restrictions and limited access to natural environments have contributed to the mental health concerns.

We honor and celebrate Black leaders working to connect children and communities to the benefits of nature and to increase equity in the outdoors. Here are just a few of those leaders who have been featured in Finding Nature News, written commentary for the Children & Nature Network or who have spoken at one of our events:

Professor Charlie Nilon stumbled upon his career like a hiker might stumble across a fawn on a forest trail. Nilon, who is the William J. Rucker Professor in Fisheries and Wildlife at the School of Natural Resources at the University of Missouri, grew up in Boulder, Colorado.

C&NN strives to support and increase the leadership and diversity of young people benefiting from and contributing to meaningful connections to nature, outdoor activities, and outdoor-related careers. As part of this effort, we identify and implement strategies for engaging youth and their perspectives in the planning and facilitation of events. This event guide will help you do the same.

This report details the programming and outcomes of the 2020 Inside-Out Leadership Summit, C&NN’s convening of children and nature movement leaders, including report outs from six strategic action areas: cities, green schoolyards, international action, policy, youth development, and health and well-being.

Equity serves as a central goal of the Cities Connecting Children to Nature initiative (CCCN). In this new equity resource, CCCN provides a snapshot into the current consensus within CCCN on definitions and principles for advancing equity, as well as a few illustrative examples of city progress and additional ideas.

The primary goal of this guide is to help you center Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) as fundamental values of event planning so that all feel welcome, valued and inspired.

An interview with Dr. Cathy Jordan, Consulting Research Director for the Children & Nature Network

Key strategies and policy tools to advance racial inclusion and equitable growth in cities.

Roanoke school district’s innovative equity rating system to improve achievement for all students, including measures for consideration in selecting schools for green schoolyard programs.

Minneapolis Parks & Recreation Board uses equity-driven metrics for selecting projects in neighborhood parks.

Watch this short video about the national CCCN initiative and three of the 18 innovative cities working towards a vision where every child in every city has regular access to nature.

The City of Houston has a vision for a more equitable city – one where all it’s residents have equal access to the city’s resources.

In this video, learn how being part of the CCCN initiative has helped the City of Rochester plan, execute and sustain city efforts to more equitably connect children to nature.

Since 2016, San Francisco has built a coalition of over 30 organizations and city departments all working together to more equitably connect all children to the many benefits of nature. Their story is one of collaborations, partnerships and a shared vision of equity.

Watch Mayor Sylvester Turner of Houston, TX address a CCCN Houston stakeholders meeting in 2019. About 75 stakeholders from across sectors came together to discuss a common vision and path to connecting kids to nature in Houston.

Engaging community residents—adult and child alike—through deep and genuine participatory approaches is key to creation of truly equitable access to nature.

This research digest outlines new research that provides a rationale for focusing on children’s equitable access to nature.

This report makes the case for including schools in federal infrastructure funding to close the education equity gap in the U.S.

This webinar presents research and strategies for increasing equitable access to nature, including C&NN’s Cities Connecting Children to Nature, Natural Leaders and Green Schoolyards initiatives.

A tool to support planning for long-term success of partnerships, policies and programs that promote equity in nature access for children

Insights from the Cities Connecting Children to Nature initiative guiding city leaders on strategies for equitable access to nature for children.

Planning tools to map city systems for asset/gap assessments and to identify strategies for equitable nature access.

Minneapolis Parks & Recreation Board uses equity-driven metrics to evaluate regional parks and trails, and ensure that investments are equitably targeted and support the MPRB’s Comprehensive Plan.

List of 55 priority actions including proposals for policy and practice reforms at the local, state, and federal levels, to help systematically scale green schoolyards.

A look at how health equity can a local lever for green schoolyard program development.

Austin’s Nature Equity Score is a data-based decision-making tool that helps city and community leaders determine where to pilot green schoolyard projects.

This fact sheet introduces shared use as a strategy for reducing health disparities by creating equitable opportunities for recreation in parks and schoolyards.

This brief document shares strategies and critical considerations for authentically engaging community in planning a green schoolyard.