Our Collective Dreams for the Working Forum on Nature Education for Young Children...and Beyond

My dream is...

...for all organizations participating here (in the Forum) to become excited about working together in the future

...to create an organic process that encourages local communities to consider international "best practices" as they increase access to outdoor early learning opportunities in public spaces and educational settings

...that parents, teachers, and caregivers naturally and routinely understand and celebrate their roles in connecting young children with nature

...that this experience will help us all to come closer to figuring out the challenges of our time. The idea of connecting children with nature will guide us all to the right path and put the pieces of the future together in the best way. I will share this with my community.

...to create a world in which the following concepts are celebrated throughout the lifespan: respect, wonder, curiosity, the natural world, natural ways of learning, recognition that what we nurture in the young will result in what is valued by the adult

...that we might discover how early we can commune through sound, and that this might open doorways for us to other universal ways we can relate to each other, and that we might become more creative in providing contexts in which children express their universal and natural wonder

...to make meaningful connections with people that will advance our work as we develop a greater understanding of the power of nature to transform children's lives, and to translate those connections to collaborative action that tells a powerful story to the world

...to help parents understand that interaction with nature is more than just "a good thing to do," but is vital to their children's overall health and well-being

...that all of the groups represented here -- landscape architects and community planners, environmental educators and organizations, and early childhood educators -- will find ways to make deeper connections and work together on an on-going basis --- perhaps by speaking at each other's conferences, writing books together, or some even grander way that no one has envisioned yet

...that all children have the opportunity to play and learn through nature

...that research on the impact of connecting children with nature will translate to policy action, that natural areas will be planted at every early education program, and that parents and early educators will learn to honor the benefits and value of connecting children with nature, and the out-of-doors will become a part of the every day life of all young children

...to create natural spaces where people on different pathways meet and connect so that the potential grows. To support people to find their motivational button to go outside.

...that in this gathering we will begin a powerful movement that will make kidscaping (e.g. naturalistic landscapes designed and intended for children's nature play) the accepted norm for individual yards, neighborhood parks, early childhood centers and K-12 schools

...that we will find our voice and develop strategies for that voice to be heard and listened to -- to stimulate thinking so people pay attention and remember to act and do what they can (in big and small ways) to reconnect children with nature

...that children and adults will learn to become integral members of the larger earth community (lofty dream), and that we explore how music can link people with nature (music as metaphor for wildness...spontaneity, deep wisdom and instincts) (specific dream)

...that we have a nature/experience-based preschool in every nature center in the world

...that we require child development components as part of all interpretive and environmental education certification programs

...to create an inter-disciplinary community to promote nature education for children and adults that will draw on the infinite resource we collectively represent. This community will form a world-wide movement and mobilize to influence policy change, research, educational practices, and raise awareness world-wide about the value and importance of the natural world and our relationship to it

...to include nature education experience training in every early childhood pre-service teacher program

...that our local/state/national leaders world-wide will visit model early childhood programs and realize what could be possible for youth in their regions!

...that commerce will support and promote nature...at shopping malls there should be a nature area so that kids can connect with it. Why should nature activities always be with schools? Let's think beyond schools.

...that the global loss of connection with nature can be reversed and that the children who suffer through armed conflict, natural disaster, over-population, urbanization can once again be "free" to explore, experience and feel the peace that nature provides

...that we develop specific, affordable designs and ideas for nature centers to make available...that the communities can pick up and use and say..."We can do this -- we know how to begin!"

...that there will be more care and consideration for the environment...in the broader sense, and that we will use the power of collaboration in order to make more connections between the environment and nature for future generations

...that this collaborative will form a group who can successfully begin a movement toward nature and the outdoors...and find ways to give all children the opportunity to spend time in the natural world and eventually have an effect on changing the direction of curriculum in educational settings from purely academic to creative, inspiring, and fun

...to act as a carrier pigeon, a messenger, a vessel, carrying the distilled wisdom of this group across the Pacific, back to our isolated home, there to spread the message..."Re-unite our children with nature!"

...to listen, learn, understand, bring knowledge, transfer that knowledge, teach

...form a world-wide organization to create a chance for all children to connect with nature, a chance for children's development to include wild, open land, and for all schools to have nature in their outdoor classroom, and for parents and governments to understand this. We need PR through books, radio, tv, advertising, web, government lobbying, sharing of resources, studies (research) to usher in this new movement.

...a world in which compassion outpaces consumption, that our capacity for noble acts of conservation emerges as a stronger force than selfish acquisition

...that I will be able to use the resources available to me to build/create a wonderful interpretive forest for the use of the next generation -- that it will provide the information and experiences that will infuse reverence, love, respect and responsibility for the natural resources that exist, and can be renewed and sustained

...to efficiently share successes and failures of our approaches to education for conservation results with a global constituent using established media channels

...that young children become again present and celebrated in the community, that their healthy development becomes an international priority, and their need for outdoor, direct experiences of nature's materials and processes is accommodated in the every nook and cranny of every day life

...parents and children make connection...physical connections...with nature

...we spread awareness of the need and benefits of connecting young children with nature to improve their development and the care of the earth

...to educate those who are not yet aware of all that we have learned over the past couple of days

...that we can help parents, politicians, teachers understand how important this is and REALLY believe in it and act on it

...to create links with other special interest groups between nature education, spiritual education, animal rights…etc.

...that we all write down our early/middle childhood nature stories and memories and then publish them in local newspapers to remind the upcoming generation what is possible

...that we advocate and collaborate actively with policy makers, town/city planners, and environmentalists for the young children of Fiji, the South Pacific, and the world, connecting our rich cultures and heritage to outdoor spaces that are truly enriching

...more research

...that we move forward toward the future -- hope-filled as we bring children outdoors. May the children lead us to be connected with nature!

...that the sense of wonder born in us will live on and on in us, because of ...and in spite of...us

...that we find our way to a peaceful world and joy for all creatures through our connections with nature

...to use all the knowledge I have gained from the Forum to educate young children and to advocate to people of all ages

...to use children to raise awareness of nature and the environment. To influence adults through children. To have more collaboration with like-minded organizations.

...that all preK-12 grade schools use the environment (nature) as an integrating context. That children have the opportunity to explore and play outside and that it is a base of their education

...that we can collaborate worldwide to get every grown-up (parents, educators, politicians) to understand that it is our responsibility to give children good relations to nature as the important fundament to their lives

...that we remember lessons from children's books ("Front yards are boring; Backyards tell stories" from "Backyards" James Stevenson, '98)

...that the nature from which we come will be recognized as the life-giving and life-sustaining wellspring to which we must return in order to ensure a future of hope for our children

...that we will collaborate together to find ways to realize a dream…that all children be in awe of nature and will live and experience a culture of stewardship

...that someday everyone will recognize and honor children's innate "one-ness" with nature, and learn from them to reconnect with each person

...that the passion of this group may help us get children back into Eden -- maybe they'll take us with them!

...that schools and teachers could understand and feel the power of nature to educate

...that every child throughout the world have a connection in and with nature -- that they learn to love, respect and appreciate our natural world -- and through this appreciation they care about and protect the environment

...to impart creativity and imagination back into the reality of college students' lives so that they will help the younger generation investigate with a sense of wonder

...to make a difference in the lives of children and adults through all the knowledge I have learned here

...to make the world a safe place for children to play

...to create a place where little children and our oldest adults are cared for together in a setting filled with nature

...to empower children to trust nature, trust themselves, trust each other, and to dream of a peaceful world. Let's plant the seeds of stewardship and activism now.

...that from policy makers to individual early learning providers, a universal citizenship arises as members in community, where child/family involvement in partnership with professionals from many fields join together in the creation of sustainable communities with natural habitats, a child's birthright on planet earth. Within our authentic relationships, creativity must be nourished so that we are able to fulfill this vision within the confines of our futures.

...for joy, blooms, beauty, and belief!

...to walk in grace and live in peace together

...that world-wide we establish a powerful movement connecting diverse organizations and initiatives that work with issues affecting children starting at birth. These issues include: Connecting children to nature and the environment; child health; early learning; the design of outdoor play spaces; understanding the natural sciences. These organizations and initiatives are effectively collaborating and leveraging their combined strength in a way that is positively and dramatically transforming the lives of children in each of their respective disciplines world-wide.

...that all our dreams posted here do not stay as dreams but that they become a reality for all to enjoy

...that we find ways to use nature to enhance and improve education and vice versa...find ways to use "good" education to conserve and protect the environment (using early childhood personal experiences as the "bridge")

...that we have the tools to provide life-long experiences for a generation that lives and acts based on a conservation stewardship ethic that is sustainable for now and ever

...to launch a generation of creativity to transform world society for a sustainable future! (End gloom and doom and be proactive!)

...to replace plastic with natural elements in children's playgrounds

...to provide resources and training for all early childhood providers concerning education about the environment (nature)

...to share my experiences as a landscape architect and to gain new understandings of the spectrum of possibilities for designing and developing environments that enable and enrich the early years of childhood...and to impart this to future landscape architects

...to collaborate with others to create a critical mass that will become the tipping point of restoring, sustaining and nurturing human connections and bonds with earth and all her species. Joy, awe, and respect of nature for all!

...to look after animals, respect them as animals and not treat them like "performing monkeys." I dream of a worldwide ban on the circus. Let's stop glorifying the misuse of animals in a circus.

...to support children in their natural inclinations toward nature, to help them learn to love and appreciate the wonders of nature through their sense of creativity, imagination and active learning

...that out of this Forum a cohesive message that members can take to their Departments of Education, Parliaments, etc. will come forth. That which cannot be measured (hope, connections, capabilities, passions) will be given value by policymakers. I dream that we will develop research that validates experiences that feed the soul (nature) with high-level thinking and development and problem-solving. Donald Trump or a huge science-based corporation will get on board, putting money into policy so that everyone will have the power to make this a reality!

...justice for children to know their rights, then they can fulfill their needs. Institutionalize the importance of connecting children with nature.