Building Bridges to the Outdoors Programs
The Sierra Club believes that every child has a right to have a special place in nature. The Sierra Club’s Building Bridges to the Outdoors Project is moving towards its long-term commitment to give every child in America an opportunity to have an outdoor experience by:
•Promoting the positive benefits of outdoor experiences on children’s academic achievement especially science and math. A Sierra Club funded study by the California Department of Education showed a 27% increase in students’ science test scores after a week-long outdoor experience.
•Working with a diverse set of coalition partners including educators, health organizations, law enforcement officials and outdoor recreation groups, to showcase that outdoor experiences are critical in helping children acquire leadership skills, gain respect for themselves and the environment, and develop positive relationships with their peers and community members.
•Providing children who have outdoor experiences with leadership and campaign skills to go back to their community and create positive social change through our Youth Leadership Trainings.
Connecting children with nature is a neighborhood investment for all of us and by working together no child will be left inside.
Here in Charlotte we are making this a reality through youth engagement programs that offer engagement opportunities such as hikes, healthy eating, energy efficiency education, basic environmental education and much more. If you are interested in getting involved in changing the future by working with a great group of young people please contact lead volunteer Ellyn Kirschner at bestressless@carolina.rr.com
