Wednesday, February 25, 2009

Green Stimulus

Jacksonville, FL

I am here in Jacksonville, Florida to give a keynote to the YMCA of America's annual conference www.ymca.net . They are a group that repersents the best of America as they have a variety of issues that they engage in from health, military family support and the issue of connecting children with nature. I am amazed at the grwoth of our issue when you see an organization like the YMCA with over a million members that is diverse and gives America's families and youth countless opportunities, embracing the value of connecting children with nature. Children and nature has become not an enviornmental or educational issue but rather a human issue.

The recent stimulus package passed by Congress will hopefully give our economy the boost it so desperetly needs. I have many friends who have lost thier jobs over the past few months and don't have any hope of finding one. I have a feeling that it is going to get worse before it gets better. How do we get our economy going is the miliion dollar question? Richard Louv just wrote an interesting piece on how nature can help spur economy and bring back pride and a service movement in our country www.childrenandnature.org/blog/ The piece really captures that out of every disaster the United States has faced we have risen up and become stronger, I just finished reading an outstanding book by Jonathan Alter, The Defining Movement: FDR's 100 Days it touched upon how in these moments of crisis we have to come together and find creative ways to engage each other in community based solutions that can help us not only find a sense of hope but create economic opportunities. One of FDR's biggest programs the Civilian Conservation Corps helped get a struggling generation work and a sense of service and pride in setting up conservation projects. I know the pride this program created from my own Pepere (Grandpa in french) as he still takes me to all of the State Parks in New Hampshire that he helped create through his work in the CCC. Is is a tough time for so many people across the United States but maybe nature and the connection we have with it can help us create green jobs and inspire an entire new gneration.

Pat Quinn the new Governor of Illinois continues to work towards connecting children with the outdoors. His new Department of Natural Resources Chief Marc Miller has stated that his top goals are:
• Increase outdoor opportunities of all kinds;
• Get more young people outside.

The Children and Nature Network and REI have come together to put together a wonderful tool to connect families to the outdoors. The Nature Family Tool Kit can give families countless ideas on how to have a fun and safe outdoor outing www.childrenandnature.org/pdfs/NCFF toolkit.pdf

Spring is coming-time to find that special place outdoors!