Support for Rochester’s Children and Nature
Mayor Lovely Warren envisions a future where
all of Rochester’s kids reach their full potential. Improving children’s
connections to nature can help achieve this vision. Increasingly indoor
lifestyles have created pressing child development issues including higher
rates of emotional and
physical health challenges. Regular time spent playing
and learning outside enhances children’s physical and mental health, social
emotional skills, nd academic outcomes- as well as inspiring environmental
stewardship.
The CCCN
Rochester initiative focuses on confronting the marked disparities in access to
nature that run along economic and racial lines. For greatest impact, it is
crucial that city leaders hold equitable access to nature for all their
residents as the first and foremost tenet of their efforts.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l8ibjPEyacI
The National
League of Cities and the Children & Nature Network selected Rochester as
one of 18 US cities to join the Cities Connecting Children to Nature (CCCN)
initiative. CCCN helps cities increase equitable access to nature and improve
the wellbeing of children.
Rochester,
through the CCCN initiative, receives technical assistance, grants and peer
learning designed to help implement nature connection strategies so that
Rochester’s children experience the many benefits of nature.
A closer look at Rochester’s CCCN Initiative:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DtXIxDXtgY8&feature=youtu.be
Strategies to Connect Rochester Kids
to Nature:
Strategy 1: Increase out-of-school time environmental programming.
Increasing environmental programing through our R-Centers and
after school programs is one of the ways in which we hope to increase nature
engagement among out city youth. Our long standing Earth Explorers program
expanded to include more centers and more educators, as well as adding long
lasting infrastructure to provide continued, quality environmental education
for children.
Strategy 2: Develop a Children’s Outdoor Bill of Rights.
In collaboration with the
Mayor’s Youth Advisory Council, Youth Voice One Vision (YVOV), the City is
working towards adopting a Children’s Outdoor Bill of Rights (COBOR) into City
legislature. If passed, this will help guide priorities and decisions regarding
access to nature and funding. It will also help get youth involved in the
conversation around why nature connection is important for everyone, and what
we can do to increase access to nature in our neighborhoods.
Strategy 3: Launch the Maplewood
Nature Center.
Located
along the Genesee River and adjacent to the historic Maplewood Rose Garden,
Maplewood Nature Center (MNC) will include an exhibit/learning center, the
Gardenwood Preschool, teaching gardens and nutrition center. This center will
help bring together key stakeholders and providers of environmental and nature-based
programming from across the community.
Get connected:
Sign up for CCCN
news at https://www.nlc.org/news-insights/newsletters/
and follow #citykids2nature.
For more
information, please contact Stephanie Benway at Stephanie.Benway@CityofRochester.gov