The History of the Nature Action Collaborative for Children

Children in today's world are being adversely affected by their growing disconnection from the natural world. During the World Forum on Early Care and Education in Montreal, Canada in May, 2005, Wil Maheia from Belize, Monique Sweeting from the Bahamas, and John and Nancy Rosenow from the United States gave a presentation entitled "Helping Children Learn to Love the Earth Before We Ask Them to Save It." During the Forum, others from around the world discussed the need for adults to help children re-connect to the joys of nature and to shield children from frightening environmental concerns before they are developmentally ready to understand them.

After the Montreal Forum, a planning group came together to create a Working Forum on Nature Education. Bonnie and Roger Neugebauer from the World Forum Foundation, John Rosenow from the Arbor Day Foundation, Nancy Rosenow from Dimensions Educational Research Foundation, and Eric and Elyssa Nelson from Child Educational Center/Caltech JPL Community served as the initial organizers of the Working Forum on Nature Education for Young Children, held in October, 2006 at Arbor Day Farm in Nebraska City, Nebraska, USA. The Forum brought together, for the first time, people from three diverse disciplines - landscape architects and community planners, environmentalists, and early childhood educators - to share information and plan for future collaborative efforts. Participants from 25 nations as diverse as Swaziland, Denmark, and Belize came together to learn from and with each other. One of the major outcomes of the Forum was the creation of the Nature Action Collaborative for Children (NACC).

Learn more about the 2006 Working Forum on Nature Education

After the 2006 Working Forum, a global regional representative structure was developed for NACC, which will include up to three regional leaders for each of the six regions of the world. The initial group of regional leaders has been selected to provide as much representation as possible for each of the three disciplines. The NACC Leadership Team convened for the first time at the World Forum on Early Care and Education in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, in May, 2007. Leaders, and others who had attended the 2006 Working Forum, presented the following sessions during the Forum: A “Town Hall” meeting session that gave participants a chance to discuss nature education ideas and challenges; A session on the value of the three professions working together; A poster session that displayed nature education projects throughout the world. The NACC Leadership Team also set plans in motion for the Working Forum on Nature Education 2008.

The Arbor Day Foundation once again invited the Nature Action Collaborative for Children to its magnificent conference center in the midst of great natural beauty to participate in the 2008 Working Forum on Nature Education: New Tools for Connecting the World's Children with Nature. 280 delegates from a wide range of professions from six continents gathered at the Arbor Day Farm in Nebraska.

Delegates participated in the exploration of center and play yard transformations, gained tools for advocacy, and new ideas and new perspectives. In addition, they participated in outdoor art, music, and photography experiences.

At the 2009 World Forum on Early Care and Education, members of the NACC Leadership Team planned their upcoming "Action Forum on Connecting Children with Nature" to take place at the Arbor Day Farm, Lincoln City, Nebraska in October 2010.