A broad coalition representing a growing chorus of business and non-profits advocating more outdoor time for children last week unveiled a national partnership called the Outdoors Alliance for Kids (OAK).

 

OAK brings together the YMCA of the USA, REI, Sierra Club, National Wildlife Federation, The Outdoor Foundation, National Recreation and Park Association and the Children & Nature Network to address the growing divide between children and families and the natural world.


Collectively, the group represents more than 30 million members. The alliance is designed to concentrate and magnify the voice of the children and nature movement.  It’s member are already working closely with the Obama Administration to boost funding for local parks, improve child nutrition and position outdoor recreation more prominently in the country’s battle against obesity.


OAK will promote outdoor play and exposure to nature among children to combat a host of ills. One in three American kids is now overweight or obese; more than half of all children in the U.S. are deficient in Vitamin D; prescriptions for ADHD medications are increasing; and depression rates among youth are increasing.


OAK member organizations are united by the belief that the well-being of current and future generations, and the health of our planet and communities depends on humans having a personal, direct and life-long relationship with nature and the outdoors.


“The conditions are right for making lasting changes in the ways children, youth and families relate to nature,” OAK said in a statement released June 2. “Already this spring, the Obama Administration and Congress have taken critical steps to reverse the trend towards indoor sedentary lifestyles with the announcement of the America’s Great Outdoors (AGO) initiative and the inclusion of the Moving Outdoors in Nature component of the Healthy CHOICES Act…”


“Today’s launch of the Let’s Move Outside initiative highlights the important role our public lands, and all green spaces large and small, play in the development of healthy kids, healthy families and healthy communities. It is time to band together to ensure these and additional initiatives achieve their purpose and get kids off the couch and into nature,” the statement continued.


OAK is calling for local, state and national legislative and administrative policies and initiatives to reconnect children, youth and families with the natural world.


Specifically, OAK is working to strengthen the connections between health and well being and time spent outdoors by encouraging the passage of the Moving Outdoors in Nature Act recently introduced by Congressman Ron Kind of Wisconsin. The Coalition is also supporting empowerment of youth leaders to advance the movement to connect children and families with the outdoors by supporting events and initiatives that prepare diverse youth for leadership roles, like Outdoor Nation.