The Save No Child Left Inside Petition

This morning (Aug. 25th) I participated in tour with other county legislators of the great work that Cornell Cooperative Extension of Dutchess County (CCEDC) and 4-H do at the Dutchess County Fair and beyond.

During the tour I learned that the three-year $75,000 grant from Cornell University for the wonderful No Child Left Inside program that CCEDC has been running is over at the end of this year, and indications have not been positive from DEC lately that this program's funding could be picked up by them; the great NCLI students informed county legislators like myself at the tour this morning that "this is our last year" because the three-year grant is over.

No Child Left Inside is an incredibly valuable program that would cost the taxpayers of Dutchess County only an extra $25,000 annually (out of a $400 million yearly county budget)-- sign on to this petition and send a letter to all 25 of us in our County Legislature at [email protected] if you agree.

For example, this morning at the Fair exhibit booth they were manning, the inner-city NCLI kids had on display aquatic worms, crayfish, stoneflies, water pennies, waterstriders, caddisflies, hell grammites, dobsonflies, mayflies, dragonflies, and midges-- and spoke knowledgeably about the health of streams and watersheds can be gauged by how populated streams are by these creatures; see: http://www.bgsd.k12.wa.us/hml/jr_cam/macros/docs/macro_ID.pps.

It's not just kids in sports who stay out of courts-- kids who study streams follow their dreams!

Joel Tyner
Dutchess County Legislature Environmental Committee Chair
County Legislator (Clinton/Rhinebeck)
324 Browns Pond Road
Staatsburg, NY 12580
DutchessDemocracy.blogspot.com
[email protected]
(845) 876-2488

p.s. Calls to Congress at (800) 828-0498 and Albany at (877) 255-9417 don't hurt either!

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CCEDC's No Child Left Inside program has consistently done great work with spring, summer, and fall afterschool programs with environmental games and activities at schools like Krieger Elementary and places like the Catherine Street Community Center-- five youth getting paid three to five hours a week-- who end up educating over five hundred other youth (with an adult staff supervising paid part-time as well).

From the flyer about Dutchess NCLI program distributed this week at the Fair:

"Current Projects:

-- Training teen leaders about environmental and water issues through Project WET, DEC Hudson River Snapshot Day, CCEDC + 4-H programs

-- Taking youth on regular hikes and wilderness trips to experience nature; participate in sails on the Clearwater Sloop

-- Participating in hands-on projects with watershed groups and with the Hudson River National Estuarine Research Reserve (Eel Monitoring Project)

-- Working with local school districts to provide ecology school field trips, and pilot ecology after-school enrichment programs (Krieger and Violet Avenue Schools)

-- Educating adults and the public about NCLI programs through public presentations, and improving public speaking through 4-H presentations

The mission of NCLI is to train teens to be environmental leaders, and work with them to teach their peers and younger youth about the environment, and raise awarness in their community.

Collaborating organizations working together to make NCLI happen include:

-- Cornell Cooperative Extension Environmental Program and 4-H Programs
-- Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies
-- Cornell University
-- DEC/Hudson River National Estuarine Research Reserve
-- Hudson River Sloop Clearwater
-- Hyde Park School District
-- Poughkeepsie School District

With funding from a grant from Cornell University, staff from the CCEDC Environment and 4-H Programs work with teens from Poughkeepsie High School to provide them opportunities to get outdoors and learn about their environment. The teen environmental leaders undertake hands-on activities with local watershed and environmental organizations. Teen environmental leaders then teach younger children from area schools about their environment and how to protect it.

Key Ecology Concepts:

-- Watersheds and Water Quality
-- Streams, Hydrology, and Wetlands
-- Biodiversity and Critical Species
-- Outdoor Education and Wilderness
-- Climate Change and Conservation
-- Thinking Globally/Acting Locally
-- Youth Teaching Youth"

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On that note-- this from http://www.ecostudies.org/ecofocus_2009-02-01.html ...

"No Child Left Inside"

by Kim Notin, Cornelia Harris, and Alan Berkowitz

[Kim Notin and Cornelia Harris are educators at the Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies in Millbrook; Dr. Alan R. Berkowitz heads the Cary Institute's education program.]

This column originally appeared in the February 1, 2009 issue of the Poughkeepsie Journal.

What if our children could recognize the birds, plants and insects in their backyards as well as they know the brands of shoes on their feet or the secret weapons they need to get to the next level in a video game? When is the last time you saw a child climb a tree, build an outdoor fort or keep a nature journal? If you have seen such a rare event, you and that child are lucky.

According to the Kaiser Family Foundation, most kids under 6 spend about two hours a day in front of a screen. Kids and teens 8 to 18 spend nearly eight hours a day watching TV, doing non-academic work on a computer, or playing video games. As ecology educators, we ask ourselves, "If the sounds, sights, textures, and smells of nature no longer excite the senses of children, how will they come to value the living environment?"

In addition to replacing outdoor play with indoor screen time, most children have fewer opportunities for outdoor study at school. Many elementary school teachers are forced to spend less time teaching science, including nature studies, so they can focus on math and English language arts. These are the skills measured in the tests federally mandated by the No Child Left Behind Act. Schools are under intense pressure to increase student performance.

Positive Impact Multifaceted

Unfortunately, this comes at a cost that goes beyond a diminishing understanding of the natural world. Research studies have shown that, in addition to increasing people's positive attitude toward the environment, meaningful time spent outdoors can have a positive effect on self-esteem, attention spans, short-term memory, and cooperation and conflict resolution skills. It can also reduce childhood obesity and the symptoms of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder. Our desire to "feel connected" to each other is validated through Facebook and Second Life, but these virtual communities likely do not provide the benefits of time outdoors.

In recognition of the benefits of outdoor studies, a coalition of concerned citizens has crafted an amendment to the highly contested No Child Left Behind Act - the No Child Left Inside Act. This act, which has passed the House and will be presented to the Senate this year, will ensure that environmental education is incorporated in all core subject areas in schools. The act also mandates environmental education training for teachers and provides incentives for states to increase their students' environmental literacy.

We place our children in front of screens so they will be better prepared for a technology-pumped society. A complete disconnect from the virtual world is impossible and undesirable, but there must be a way to strike a balance.

All students would benefit from creative outdoor play, such as a stroll along the shores of the Hudson, inquiry of their schoolyard ecosystems, or a hike in the woods. Adults would benefit from outdoor time, too. Yet, our priorities often place the virtual world above the real world.

So what can we do? Call your senator and ask them to support the No Child Left Inside Act.
At home, try practicing the new Secular Sabbath, by unplugging everything one day a week. Suddenly, there is time for a walk in the park, a picnic, or a conversation with neighbors. In this extra time, you can also go to public events and educational programs held at the Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies and other like-minded organizations.

Turn Off The Gadgets

You are likely reading this on a Sunday morning. So here is our advice: Finish your paper, turn off the phones, the computers and anything else that beeps for your attention - and go outside. Take a deep breath and look around. Find tracks in the snow. Hunt down the best icicle in your neighborhood. Try observing birds and figuring out what they are eating in the middle of winter. Or just grab a sled and have some fun. Repeat, at least once a week.