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Event Name:Wyoming Youth Congress on Children and Nature

Calendar:Teacher Learning Center

When:Occured Oct 15 - 18, 2009

Where:
Jackson Campus of Teton Science Schools
700 Coyote Canyon Road
Jackson, WY 83001

Event Info:

The Wyoming Youth Congress on Children & Nature was a key step of a broader initiative to re-integrate the outdoors and nature into the daily lives of all children living in Wyoming. The Congress provided a voice to an unheard stakeholder in the Children & Nature movement - youth themselves - and promoted positive youth development and provided for state-wide change with our state’s youth serving as leaders.

Youth from all 48 Wyoming school districts convened in a structured setting, voiced their opinions, shared visions and identified new ideas related to their connection to nature. The ultimate outcome of the Congress ensured that nature and the outdoors play a positive role in influencing the development of Wyoming’s children.

Participants in the Congress created an Action Plan to implement innovative projects in their home communities focused on connecting kids to nature. Coordinators of the Congress will publish a report on the status of the connection between children and the nature of Wyoming that summarizes the current reality and presents new ideas. Action Plans and a program assessment will be presented to the Governor’s office, State Department of Education and federal, state and local agencies.

For more information please contact Leslie Cook at leslie.cook@tetonscience.org
Phone: (307) 734-3736

Multimedia

Final Report

Download the Wyoming Youth Congress on Children and Nature Final Report
(PDF Format - 10MB)

Facts

Program:Wyoming Youth Congress on Children & Nature

Purpose:Engage Wyoming’s youth in the discourse about the growing disconnect between children and the outdoors.

Harness youth-energy, creativity and enthusiasm to inspire other kids, adults, parents, teachers and decision-makers to take action to strengthen the connections between children and nature.

Why: An opportunity to address the disconnect between kids and nature and its consequences…

Approximately 176,500 children and adolescents suffer from diabetes.
Approximately 9 million (16%) of US children aged 6-19 are overweight or obese.
Visits to state and national parks have declined every year since peaking in 1987 down 25%.
25% fewer hunting and fishing licenses are being issued since the peak in 1981.

Who: 100 Eighth Grade Students (1 boy and 1 girl from each of Wyoming’s 48 public school districts and representatives from Wyoming’s Independent Schools)

When:October 15-18, 2009

Where:Teton Science Schools’ Jackson Campus, Jackson Hole, Wyoming

Contact:Leslie Cook, Teton Science Schools
Email: leslie.cook@tetonscience.org
Phone: (307) 734-3736

Partners

The Conservation Fund
The Wyoming Children’s Fund of the Wyoming Community Foundation
The George B. Storer Foundation
US Forest Service
National Park Service
Wyoming Governor’s Task Force on Recreation (WY REACT)
National Outdoor Leadership School
Grand Teton National Park Foundation

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Leslie Cook, Faculty – Teacher Learning Center As the Botanical Research Institute of Texas (BRIT) finishes a capital campaign and prepares to move into a new facility, members of their education, research, leadership teams have and will travel to Teton Science Schools to discuss ideas for seamlessly integrating science, research and education. The first crew of [...]

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