Tennessee’s “Every Child Outdoors” Coalition
Mission: To promote and support opportunities that encourages children to engage with and experience the outdoors.
ECO-Tennessee:
“Connecting Children and Families with Nature”
Goals, Objectives, and Actions
Goal I: Healthy Children: Improve children’s health through outdoor experiences.
1. Develop partnershipswith formal entities, including schools (the Coordinated School Health Program) and the medical/health community to promote outdoor activities.
a. Provide teacher training on how to integrate outdoor activities into the curriculum to promote academic improvement and healthy children. Include information on how outdoor activities each day can increase immunity, exposure to sunlight and Vitamin D, reduce stress and decrease illness.
b. Support a policy requiring 120 minutes of activity each school week with a recommended percentage of it taking place outdoors.
c. Work cooperatively with the Department of Health and Tennessee’s Obesity Task Force to develop these programs.
2. Develop partnerships with informal entities, including parents, nature clubs, sports organizations, scout groups and others (Active Lifestyles, Get Fit Tennessee).
Work cooperatively with the Department of Health and Tennessee’s Obesity Task Force to develop these programs.
Goal II: Healthy Communities: Planning infrastructure and development.
Develop healthy communities by expanding access to the outdoors for children through infrastructure planning, development and policy.
1. Promote pedestrian access to schools and parks so children can walk to school and experience nature through interconnected greenways, etc. to schools, parks, churches, restaurants, and shopping (an example of this is the Complete Streets program).Develop and publicize public transportation routes to parks and natural areas.
2. Promote policies to encourage new and existing development to include green/open space that is available for walking and exploration, i.e. not forbidden or prohibited areas (installing walking trails, etc.).
Tables 1-5 show the results of a random digit dial telephone survey of over 600 Tennessee residents 18 years of age and older conducted in 2009 by the Human Dimensions Research Lab in the Department of Forestry, Wildlife, and Fisheries at The University of Tennessee. The survey was conducted for the 2010 Tennessee State Recreation Plan “Tennessee 2020: Vision for Parks, People, and Landscapes” (forthcoming).
Table 2. Do you support or oppose requiring new developments to include open space for neighborhood access to nature and recreation?N / %
Oppose / 41 / 7.3
Neither / 80 / 14.3
Support / 441 / 78.4
Total / 562 / 100.0
Average = 4.11
Table 3. What percent of the development should be set aside as open space for access to nature and recreation?
N / %
3% / 27 / 6.4
5% / 76 / 18.0
10% / 128 / 30.4
15% / 75 / 17.9
20% / 115 / 27.4
Total / 421 / 100.0
3. Promote policies to create, protect, sustain and increase access to open space and natural areas, including:
1
Parks
Forests
Farms
Arboreta
Trails
Natural Areas
Wildlife Refuges
Greenways/Blueways
PublicGardens
Private Lands
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Table 4. Do you think the amount of public land designated for outdoor recreation in the county where you live is…n / %
Not enough / 240 / 40.0
About the right amount / 353 / 58.9
Too much / 7 / 1.1
Total / 600 / 100.0
a. Identify grant opportunities to support these endeavors, e.g. encourage TDEC to develop a policy to promote the development of new parks within walking distance of residential developments (especially older neighborhoods) through their granting programs.
b. Strengthen the Recreational Use Statute to further reduce liability issues on use of private lands for recreational purposes.
4. Identify and promote new funding mechanisms for agencies to increase access to open space and natural areas. Examples are shown in Table 5 on the following page.
GoalIII: Formal Education: Increase outdoor learning opportunities through formal education.
1. Review, evaluate, and promoteTennessee’s Environmental Literacy Plan. Develop an implementation plan and a plan for assessing the state’s environmental literacy.
2. Work cooperatively with educators to incorporate outdoor learning into Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM).
3. Work with school systems to increase access to nature for which there is strong public support.
a. Develop and provide information about the significance and design of outdoor classrooms. Develop standards to maximize windows in classrooms.
b. Promote cooperation between school systems and parks and recreation departments to develop a minimum standard for park and open space land around schools for nature education, especially in new facility development.
Table 1. Support for recreation programs involving school and park partnershipsTo what extent would you support/oppose a policy that requires: / Oppose / Neither / Support
n / % / % / %
Tennessee’s teaching standards include using outdoor nature and environmental education to learn math, science, reading and writing / 562 / 6.2 / 7.7 / 86.1
Your local parks department to create areas in their parks with native plants and wildlife habitat for use as outdoor classrooms / 560 / 6.5 / 12.3 / 81.3
Your community to have a school/park agreement that allows the two programs to use each other’s existing facilities / 551 / 10.3 / 9.7 / 80.0
New schools be built with windows that allow every child to see outdoors from their classroom / 556 / 13.4 / 10.8 / 75.8
Schools to create areas on their school grounds with native plants and wildlife habitat for use as an outdoor classroom / 559 / 13.0 / 13.1 / 73.9
New schools and school renovations be built with public park and recreation facilities so the schools and the public can use the facilities / 556 / 18.7 / 14.9 / 66.5
4. Work with businesses developing cross-curricular materials for Tennessee classrooms (seek corporate sponsorship opportunities in support of these endeavors) to incorporate active, inquiry, place-based environmental education in their teaching materials.
Goal IV: Non-formal Education: Increase outdoor opportunities through non-formal education.
1.Network with state agencies, such as TDOT, TWRA, TDEC and DOH - local, state and federal parks, nature centers, camps, and wildlife management areas, to provide outdoor experiences and placed-based education and recreation programs.
2.Network with non-profit organizations, such as churches, scout groups, garden clubs, watershed groups, UT 4-H), Farm Bureau (Ag. In the Classroom)and others, to provide outdoor experiences, placed-based education, and recreation programs.
3.Network with corporate/business interests,such as REI, paddling liveries, Binks, Dicks, outdoors stores and others, to provide outdoor experiences and placed-based education and recreation programs.
4.Develop ECO-Center models/programs whose specific mission will be to teach outdoor recreation skills and knowledge to children, parents, and trainers, e.g. ParisLandingState Park.
5. Create a state-wide ECO-Master program (train the trainers).
GoalV: Promotion of ECOTN: Develop a media campaign promoting “Every Child Outdoors.”
1. Work to have the governor’s office to commit to a Governor’s Summit on “Every Child Outdoors.” (DONE)
2. Obtain a domain name of ECO-Tennessee. (DONE)
3. Create an ECO-Tennessee logo. (DONE)
4. Work to pass a State resolution for the “Children’s Outdoor of Rights.” (Almost Done)
5.Create a website and a one page flyer/brochure that tells who we are, what we are doing and why we are doing this.
6. Develop checklists of the ECO dozen to include in media aspart of the campaign. Develop different checklists for different age groups.
7. Work to have the Governor establish a “Go Outside and Play Day” and have him announce it at the ECO Summit –like TWRA’s free fishing day—set this day to be sometime during “Great Outdoors Month in June” (National Trails Day is June 6). Work with partner groups to schedule outdoor events/opportunities in conjunction with “Go Outside and Play Day” statewide.
8. Make and implement a plan for holding public viewings ofWhere Do TheChildren Play?” at different venues throughoutthe state.
9.Create PSA’s and other media that will provide awareness forthe importance ofoutdoor/unstructured play for allTennesseans including the importance of outdoor activities for children’s health.
10. Develop and launch a comprehensive meta-web site for ECO-information with linkages to Recreation One-Stop as outlined in Chapter 4 of the 2010 State Recreation Plan. Set up ECO Coalition pages on social networking sites (Facebook), etc.
a. Include links to a variety of relevant, existing Web sites including health, education,parks and recreation, agriculture, natural resources,transportation, planners, developers, religious organizations,non-profit children’s agencies, youth groups (e.g., 4-H, scouts)and related NGO’s.
b. Identify grant, foundation and corporate sponsorships to support the design, development and maintenance of the website.
c. Serve as a clearing house of directors of resources (teachers, scout leaders, church leaders, park administrators, community center leaders, boys/girls club leaders) (for EE and opportunities across the state via the ECO website.
d. Provide and disseminate materials for schools and formal educators through the ECO Web site. Include service learning opportunities.
e. Provide and disseminate materials for families and informal educators through the ECO Web site.
Table 5. Recreation Funding Options to Support Conservation GoalsOppose / Neither / Support
n / % / % / %
Dedicating 7% of the state sales tax rate on the sale of equipment purchased for outdoor recreation / 299 / 12.9 / 18.4 / 68.8
Dedicating 1/8 of 1% of all state sales tax revenue / 284 / 11.5 / 19.9 / 68.6
Dedicating 1 cent of the 20-cent per gallon gasoline tax / 310 / 21.2 / 12.5 / 66.3
Increasing the tax on the removal of coal, gas and oil from land in Tennessee / 289 / 26.2 / 20.0 / 53.8
Increasing fees for solid waste disposal / 290 / 22.6 / 26.8 / 50.7
Dedicating 15 cents of the 20-cent per gallon gasoline tax on gas used only for outdoor recreation pursuits, such as motor boating and off-highway vehicle riding / 276 / 30.2 / 19.3 / 50.5
Adding 1/8 of 1% to the state sales tax on all taxable items / 296 / 36.4 / 18.4 / 45.2
A surcharge of 3% on the purchase of outdoor recreation equipment, such as binoculars, canoes, cameras, tents, sleeping bags, etc. / 290 / 37.1 / 20.9 / 42.0
Goal VI. ECO Funding: Identify and pursue funding sources and in-kind resources.
1. Fundraising Activities: Special Events, sell t-shirts, bumper stickers, buttons, etc.
2. Foundations: Identify, contact, and write proposals.
3. Federal Grants: Identify, contact, and write proposals.
4. State Grants: Identify, contact, and write proposals.
GoalVII: ECO Achievement: Evaluate and Recognize ECO leadership and accomplishments.
1. Create an ECO-certification type system for schools, churches, NGO’s, etc. Include the ECO Center concept.
2. Create an ECO-reward program for youth (similar to that offered by WarnerParkNatureCenter ala the Junior Naturalist Program).
3. Use other certification models (e.g. TRPA/NRPA, NAAEE, NAI,to develop ECO certification processes.
Potential ECO Slogans:
“Healthy Children and Healthy Communities”
“Connecting Children and Families with Nature”
“Lean and Green”
ECO Children are “Lean and Green.”
Tennessee 2020: A Vision for “Every Child Outdoors”
(This theme stems from the title of the new State Recreation Plan)
Expected Outcomes from the ECO Goals and Objectives
Through their outdoor experiences children will have:
- Fun.
- An outdoor place that holds special meaning.
- Nurtured connections with family and friends.
- Special memories of their experiences in the outdoors.
- Better social interaction skills.
- Greater independence and self-reliance.
- Improved physical health.
- Improved mental health.
- Growth in spiritual awareness.
- Developed a greater knowledge of nature.
- More understanding of our relationship to nature.
- Become good stewards of nature.
- Learned to communicate the importance of stewardship to others.
- Increased academic performance.
Send comments and suggestions to:
J. Mark Fly
Professor, Department of Forestry, Wildlife and Fisheries
Director, Human Dimensions Research Lab
The University of Tennessee
Institute of Agriculture
274 Ellington Plant Sciences Building
Knoxville, TN37996-4563
865.974.7979 (office)
865.591.9303 (cell)
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