By Vanessa Bullwinkle

Will your students be participating in an outdoor activity to celebrate Arbor Day and Earth Day?  Are you planning an environmental education event with a school in your community during the month of April?

If the answer if ‘yes,’ please consider joining Project Learning Tree (PLT) in a national effort to highlight the importance of environmental education.  PLT is a lead member of the No Child Left Inside Coalition that, since 2006, has been working to alert Congress and the public to the value of environmental education, and the need to provide more training, resources, and support to schools and teachers wanting to provide quality environmental education, without adding any new tests or mandates on school systems.

In a special effort to draw attention to the benefits and need for environmental education, the NCLI Coalition is organizing a No Child Left Inside Days campaign in April 2009 that gets students out of the classroom and into the outdoors to explore, learn about and enjoy the environment.

What Can You Do?

• Create a NCLI Day event to showcase the importance of connecting students with nature.  Invite students to participate in existing activities in April (including Arbor Day, Earth Day and National EE Week activities), or invite your community to learn about the work that you are doing in schools and on schoolyards, and with environmental service-learning projects, such as a PLT GreenWorks! project.

• Get resources from the NCLI Coalition by accessing a NCLI Days online toolkit.  You can also find out how to get a copy of a Get ‘Em Outside DVD and other materials for your event.

• Invite your Members of Congress to participate in your event and learn how valuable and engaging environmental education experiences can be.

• Invite the local media to learn more about your program and cover your event.

• Share your event with your community and with the National NCLI Coalition. After posting your event on the website, share your successes by forwarding an account, press clippings, and photos that we can post online.  Send information to Vanessa Bullwinkle vbullwinkle@forestfoundation.org.

The goal of these events is to highlight environmental education and make sure that the media and members of Congress know about a critical piece of legislation, the No Child Left Inside Act, which would vastly expand and improve environmental education in our public schools.

(IMPORTANT NOTE: We do not intend that students be involved in advocating for the goals of the coalition, but you could use a NCLI Days event in conjunction with PLT activities like “Democracy in Action” and “There Ought to Be A Law” to teach students about how government works.)

No Child Left Inside Days Action Packet
Use our suggestions for Outdoor PLT Activities that are particularly visual and good to use during an event to which you have invited the press, Members of Congress, or local officials. 

In addition, the “No Child Left Inside Days Action Packet” provides tools to develop a lesson plan, generate press coverage, and educate Members of Congress about the benefits of outdoor environmental education in your area.

The packet includes:
*  Tip sheet for reaching out to the media or Congress.
*  Template media advisory to send out before the event to generate press coverage.
*  Template press release to hand out to reporters covering the event.
*  Overview of the No Child Left Inside legislation.

Research has shown the value that environmental education can bring to schools.  Studies show students are more engaged in learning, they achieve higher test scores, and getting outdoors to learn helps them become more active and lead healthier lives.

Please support our efforts to raise awareness and support for environmental education and take part in “No Child Left Inside Days.”  For more information and assistance, please contact Vanessa Bullwinkle with the national office of Project Learning Tree, vbullwinkle@forestfoundation.org.

Status of No Child Left Inside Act
We expect No Child Left Inside Bills to be introduced in both the House and Senate in the coming weeks.  Project Learning Tree staff have been working to secure original cosponsors on this legislation and we'll be asking for your help soon.

Please stay tuned for our action alert on this issue.