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Nevada organization calls for greater Latino engagement in politics; Gov. Gavin Newsom appears to change course on transgender rights; Nebraska Tribal College builds opportunity 'pipelines,' STEM workforce.'

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House Republicans deadlock over funding days before the government shuts down, a New Deal-style jobs training program aims to ease the impacts of climate change, and Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas appeared at donor events for the right-wing Koch network.

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An Indigenous project in South Dakota seeks to protect tribal data sovereignty, advocates in North Carolina are pushing back against attacks on public schools, and Arkansas wants the hungriest to have access to more fruits and veggies.

Adding Nature to Kids' Play Boosts Education, Health

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Tuesday, March 23, 2021   

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. -- Plastic- and rubber-dominated playgrounds in Colorado Springs have added winding pathways with tall grasses, gardens, "mud kitchens" and other ways for kids to explore the outdoors.

It's part of a program to expand health and learning opportunities for children by helping them connect with the natural world.

Kelly Hurtado, early childhood program director at the Alliance for Kids, a hub for El Paso County's Early Childhood Council, said outdoor learning environments can transform the way children play.

"It can boost energy; it increases movement," Hurtado outlined. "It can actually boost the immune system. It helps inspire a different type of play that encourages creativity."

The National Wildlife Federation's Early Childhood Health Outdoors (ECHO) program partnered with Hurtado's group to distribute nine micro-grants of $500.

Led by landscape designers and early childhood experts, ECHO works with community child-care programs to add pollinator gardens, boulders, logs, native plants and other natural elements to outdoor play areas.

Liz Houston, ECHO partnerships manager for the Federation, said a key goal of the ECHO program is to reach communities of color and lower-income neighborhoods that have historically not had access to healthy and safe green spaces.

She argued all kids should be able to dig in the dirt, build forts, follow butterflies and watch plants grow.

"We all just come alive outside," Houston asserted. "With exploration, it's that ever-changing, always dynamic, always interesting, always beautiful environment that brings out kids' curiosity, their creativity."

Houston added she hopes lessons learned in El Paso County can be shared in neighborhoods across the country.

Since its inception in 2017, ECHO has reached more than 10,000 children and trained more than 2,300 early-childhood professionals to expand natural play options in their communities.

Disclosure: National Wildlife Federation contributes to our fund for reporting on Climate Change/Air Quality, Endangered Species and Wildlife, Energy Policy, Environment, Public Lands/Wilderness, Salmon Recovery, and Water. If you would like to help support news in the public interest, click here.


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