National headlines, health and wellness reports, and Congressional investigations all suggest that our once accepted playful exploration of the natural world is all but lost for today’s children.
Inactivity and a lack of contact with nature are increasingly recognized as contributing to a looming national health crisis—one that Richard Louv, author of the bestseller Last Child in the Woods, calls “nature deficit disorder.”
The Montana Children and Nature Summit aims to develop cooperative strategies to reconnect youth to Montana’s outdoors to improve the health and well being of our citizens and our communities.
At the summit, you’ll work with local, state and federal land and recreation resource managers, health professionals, educators, and representatives of non-profit groups and private industry, who will gather in Helena to discuss the importance of nature to our children.
Our collective challenge is to work together to cure the symptoms associated with nature deficit disorder—to combat childhood obesity, diabetes, attention disorders, and other mental and physical maladies resulting from a lack of outdoor exercise, play, and contact with nature.
We hope to welcome you at the Montana Children & Nature Summit! For more information, please call (406) 444-3750, or register online at: www.mtrpa.info/summit.php The conference fee is $30 and includes lunch.
Summit Information
When:
September 23, 2008
8:30 a.m.–5:00 p.m.
Where:
Best Western Helena Great Northern Hotel
835 Great Northern Boulevard | Helena, MT 59601
Phone: (406) 457-550 | Fax (406) 457-5501
From North: Follow Interstate 15 south, Exit 193 on Cedar Street. Turn right onto Cedar Street. Travel for approximately two miles. Turn right on 14th Street (land mark is the Forget Me Not Flower Shop) to the Best Western Helena Great Northern Hotel.
From South: Follow Interstate 15 north, Exit 193 on Cedar Street and turn left. Travel for approximately two miles. Turn right on 14th Street at the stop sign.
From East: Take Highway 12 west(turning right onto Montana Ave from Prospect Ave) through town following Highway 12. Turn left on Getchell Street (land mark is the Brewhouse) travel for one block. Turn left on 14th Street at the stop sign.
From West: Take Highway 12 east. Turn right on Getchell Street (land mark is the Brewhouse). Turn left on 14th Street at the stop sign.
Goals of the Summit:
- Raise awareness of Montanans of the importance of “nature play and exposure” to healthy children.
- Engage families, health care providers, lawmakers, public education, community planners, natural resource professionals, youth development specialists and others in a conversation about nature deficit disorder.
- Engender commitment among a wide range of partners to work together to address and cure nature deficit disorder.
- Develop and offer specific and tangible ideas, strategies and actions for Montana children and families to address nature deficit disorder.
- Develop an approach for promoting nature-based recreational and education programs within the context of nature deficit disorder.
"Kids who have the opportunity to explore the natural world thrive. They have reduced stress, better concentration and better creative problem solving skills." -- Governor Brian Schweitzer [Read story]
