Leave No Child Inside – Greater Cincinnati

Do you remember when parents told their children to "Go Outside and Play"?  A time when unstructured play in nature built healthy bodies, encouraged creativity and a sense of wonder, relieved stress, facilitated learning and developed important social skills?

In the relatively short span of thirty to forty years, we have removed our children from the natural environment that so effectively nurtured healthy child development.  When Richard Louv published his book "Last Child in the Woods:  Saving Our Children from Nature-Deficit Disorder" in 2005, he issued a call to action for the parents and mentors of today to return children to the healthy, outdoor lifestyle that has prevailed throughout human history.

In response to Louv's Call to Action, Leave No Child Inside – Greater Cincinnati was formed in 2006 with the mission of educating the community that time spent in nature is essential to the physical, mental and emotional health of all children.  We work to connect children and the community organizations that serve them to the many fine nature programs and facilities in our region, providing them with encouragement, tools and resources.  We were the first collaborative in the country to come together around this issue.  There are now more than 100 across the United States, including five in Ohio.

In 2010, the Ohio Leave No Child Inside Collaboratives worked with the Office of the Governor, the Ohio Department of Natural Resources, other state departments and non-profit organizations to create the Report on Ohio's Initiative to Reconnect Children with Nature and to obtain statewide endorsement for the Ohio Children's Outdoor Bill of Rights.

Nationally the Children & Nature Network is leading a movement to connect all children, their families and communities to nature through innovative ideas, evidence-based resources and tools, broad-bsed collaboration and support of grassroots initiatives like Leave No  Child Inside – Greater Cincinnati.