While participation in outdoor recreation among kids ages 6 to 17 and young adults 18 to 24 declined for the third year in a row in 2008, signs abound that the trend may soon be reversed.
 
From neighborhood nature clubs to the White House and Congress, momentum is building behind the so-called “children and nature” movement, which was greatly energized by Richard Louv’s best-selling 2005 book “Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children from Nature Deficit-Disorder.”
 
While it’s too early to tell what impact the children and nature movement is having, The Outdoor Foundation speculated in its 2009 Outdoor Recreation Participation Report that it may be behind a slower decline in participation rates among children ages 6-17.
 
In 2008, participation in outdoor recreation among youth ages 6 to 17 dropped by 6 percent – adding to a combined 16.7 percent drop over the last three years. Participation fell most precipitously among the youngest age group measured, ages 6 to 12, which decreased 9.0 percent, according to the report.
 
“While this drop in participation is concerning, the rate of decline is not as dramatic as last year and may reflect the positive impact of efforts nationwide to connect youth and the outdoors,” reads the report. “The severity of declines in participation reported last year were alarming, and this year’s decrease, while still cause for concern, is welcome after last year’s news.”
 
The Children & Nature Network (C&NN) and the Association of Fish & Wildlife Agencies are currently conducting baseline surveys to determine the size of the movement. An online “Movement Map” published by C&NN currently counts 61 grassroots campaigns and initiatives, Family Nature Clubs and hands-on outdoor programs and events for children and families. That includes many which pre-date the organization, which was formed in 2006. The No Child Left Inside Coalition, meanwhile, claims to represent 1,000 organizations.
 
Like the outdoor industry, the movement may be getting some help from a slow economy. To cope with falling tax revenues, school districts across the country are cutting team sports budgets and adopting pay-to-play policies to shift more of the expense to players’ families. While athletic directors fear the trend will restrict participation, it may create an opening for environmental educators and advocates of outdoor recreation.
 
“There are some ironic opportunities around cutbacks in some of sports programs and recess,” said Cheryl Charles, president and CEO for C&NN. “I think there are a lot of opportunities there.”
 
Some school districts are already working with state wildlife agencies to offer outdoor recreation programs. Outside Houston, Texas for example, a school district has trained teachers to be angling instructors, said Nancy Herron, who manages fishing and wildlife education programs for Texas Parks & Wildlife and serves as a director for the Children & Nature Network. “In Texas, we’ve had good luck with P.E. teachers and are incorporating outdoor skills as part of P.E. programs,” said Herron. “I would like to see the outdoor industry provide equipment and buses for outdoor activities," she added.
 
In Albany, New York, C&NN Board Member Yusuf Burgess has had success using aftercare programs to launch eco, kayaking and bicycling clubs at schools. He is pioneering a “green play/green pay” program at Green Tech High Charter School  to introduce at risk boys to the joy of outdoor recreation and related career paths.
 
Environmental education could get a major boost if Congress passes the No Child Left Inside Act of 2009, which would set aside $100 million a year in grant money to fund environmental education for fiscal years 2010 through 2014. The bill is sponsored by Rep. John Sarbanes (D-MD) in the House, where it has 80 co-sponsors and Sen. Jack Reed (D-RI) in the Senate, where it has 17 co-sponsors. Environmental education advocates, including the No Child Left Inside Coalition, argue that under No Child Left Behind, schools have become so focused on improving test scores that they have abandoned environmental education.
 
Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar has taken up the cause thanks in part to the work of The Outdoor Foundation, which convened a “campfire meeting” in Washington, D.C. in April between leaders of the coalition, the outdoor industry and government. A week later, Salazar announced the creation of a new Office of Youth, which will coordinate youth programs aimed at reconnecting youth to the outdoors.