Explorer News

It’s time for a National Conference on Children, Nature and the Law, organized by the legal profession with a little help from insurance companies, educators, health care folks, policy-makers, C&NN and others. This conference is a fiction, so far. But somebody needs to step to the plate. As a powerful deterrent to natural play, fear of [...]

Those of us who care about the future of our children and the human relationship with the natural world should applaud First Lady Michelle Obama's call for a " Let's Move" campaign to reverse the trend toward child obesity. We particularly like her statement that when she was young, " we spent hours running around outside, we couldn't go inside until dinner." In the past, the national conversation about child obesity has seldom mentioned getting outside in nature as part of the solution. We're hoping that changes, and as the " Let's Move" campaign evolves, it will give far greater attention to children's independent play, particularly in natural surroundings.

Beginning January 16, Green Hour will begin its big migration over to its new home. Find out about the changes!

Dear Mr. Cameron, Afew weeks ago, I read a terrific quote from you that ran in at least two newspapers, the Philippine Daily Inquirer and The Hindu. " What is ‘Avatar' saying," the interviewer asked you. You answered: " It asks questions about our relationship with each other, from culture to culture, and our relationship with the natural world at a time of nature-deficit disorder." A billion or so dollars later, " Avatar" is the king of the film world. Not everyone likes its political message. But from Connecticut to Kansas to California, and probably around the world, people are starved for the movie's larger message: humans pay an awful price and take a terrible toll when they lose touch with the natural world.

Rebecca Cohen achieved an amazing goal: She had an outdoor experience with her kids every day in 2009. Find out how!

Children's author Mary Quattlebaum knows how to have a Green Hour even at the the darkest time of the year.