Leading a Movement to Connect all Children, their Families and Communities to Nature

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The NSN provides ideas and resources to help people create successful projects and connect people and projects year-round with a special campaign in the Fall - Serve Outside September (S.O.S.). This is not just a call to action, it is a call for fun! Think of it as a party invitation, and the party location is all the green and living space around us.  

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The Natural Service Network brings together individuals, families, businesses, schools, agencies and organizations who participate in outdoor service projects. The goal is to create a community of shared commitment to service and to inspire, cultivate and nourish a life‐long commitment to nature‐based play and recreation while taking action to benefit the environment—from neighborhoods to community parks to national parks and other public lands.

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The more high‐tech our world becomes, the more we need nature in our lives. Young, old or in between, we can reap extraordinary benefits by connecting – or reconnecting – to nature. Natural Service is a valuable way to weave nature into our everyday lives. It can support our health and act as a bonding agent for families and communities.

– Richard Louv, Founding Chairman, Children & Nature Network and author, "Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children from Nature-Deficit Disorder" and "The Nature Principle"

Natural Service Network Partners & Sponsors

+ Garlic Mustard Pull Grass Lake Sanctuary Ann Arbor/Dexter, Michigan Submitted by Lana Jerome    

REI  and  Grass  Lake  Sanctuary  volunteers  teamed  up  to  tame  the  invasive  garlic  mustard  and  have  some  fun  in  the  tree  house.  

Photo © Tamara Wendt

+ Bellemeade Stream Clean Up REI, Richmond, VA Submitted by Wade Bedell

REI  rallied  volunteers    for  a  stream  clean up  outside  the    Bellemeade  Community  Center.  

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Neighborhood Clean Up Roanoke, VA Submitted by Chip and Ashley Donahue

Star?ng  simply  was  the  key  for  us.    Just  carrying  a  plas?c  bag  and  some  gloves  with  you  when  you  hike  as  a  family  can  lead  to  wonderful  results,  such  as  giving  other  families  the  chance  to  see  nature  naturally.    

Photo © Jon Beard

+ Let’s G.O.! Roanoke Valley Park Clean Up Roanoke, VA

Star?ng  simple  paid  off  –  now  when  the  Donahues  plan  a  family  day  of  service  they  have  lots  of  company.    According  to  the  Donahues,  “It  doesn't  get  any  beIer  than  community  members  making  a  difference,  many  hands  making  light  work,  bright  smiling  faces,  incredible  coffee  and  snacks,  families  filling  bright  orange  bags  with  trail  trash…and  SANTA  CLAUS!”    

Photo © Jon Beard

+ Let’s G.O! Clean Up Men of MODEL and BOLT Team Albany, New York Submitted by Natural Leader, Tyrell Hughes

Soon  to  be  home  of  a  community  raised-­‐bed  garden  with  help  from  our  friends  at  The  North  Face  and  Outdoor  Na?on.  Truly  healing  day...  I  am  thankful  that  we  here  in  Albany  were  able  to  to  par?cipate  in  our  na?onal  ini?a?ve...    TRULY  THANKFUL  …Tyrell  Hughes  

Photo © Bro Yusuf BOLT Team and MODEL

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This  Natural  Teacher  started  an  aVer  school  adventure  club  for  students,  partnered  with  NH  Project  Learning  Tree,  and  gave  students  an  unforgeIable  service  learning  experience.  Students  learned  to  snowshoe  and  use  GPS  to  map  trails  for  the  city  of  Nashua.  What  students  had  to  say:  “The  snow  was  really  deep.  We  got  along  because  we  paid  aIen?on  and  put  aside  our  differences.” “We  made  a  trail  for  other  people  and  I  felt  good  about  helping  other  people.”  

Outside Connections Club Pennichuck Middle School Nashua, New Hampshire Submitted by Marianne O’Connor

Photos © Marianne O’Connor

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Bat and Bee House Build Izaak Walton Boy Scout Conservation Project Spotsylvania, VA Submitted by John Wiltenmuth      Photos © John Wiltenmuth

+ Questa Spring Clean Day Taos County, New Mexico Submitted by Natural Leader, Rosie Williams

 Volunteers  cleaned  and  restored  the  Questa  Park  Community  Park  and  built  a  trail  connec?ng  the  Community  Center  with  the  park.        

Photos © Ariana Delmerico

+ Beacon Bluff Planting Great Rivers Greening St. Paul, Minnesota Submitted by Deborah Karasov

   

Volunteers  transformed  the  new  Beacon  Bluff  Business  Center  with  na?ve  plants  to  support  the  Port  Authority's  work,  which  was  highlighted  by  the  Environmental  Protec?on  Agency  as  a  na?onal  case  study  and  won  the  2011  Sustainable  Communi?es  Award  from  the  Minnesota  Environmental  Ini?a?ve.    

Photo © Great River Greening

+ The Pine Mountain Trail Association Work Day Pine Mountain, Georgia Submitted by Jim Hall Volunteers are working hard to rebuild trails damaged by tornados in April 2011. Thanks to these dedicated volunteers, the trails will be ready for the North Face Challenge run in October 2011.

+    Service Learning Day Nature's Friends Victoria, Virginia Submitted by Rev. Marjani Dele     Lunenberg  4-­‐H  team  leaders,  master  gardeners,  foresters  and  members        of  the  Southside  VA  Herb  Society  created  a  day  of  service,  learning        and  fun  for  girls  and  boys  across  the  county.        

Photos © Bambi Beahn  

+ Earth Day Clean Up Edwin B. Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge Galloway, New Jersey Submitted by Sandy Perchetti, USFWS

Boy  and  Girl  Scouts,  high  school  students  and  home  schoolers  came  together  for  the  Earth  Day  Clean  Up  and  enjoyed  ?me  playing  outside.  Everyone  received  a  free  lunch  and  tree  to  plant.    

+ Rakow Branch of the Gail Borden Library District Ladybug Release Party, Elgin, Illinois Submitted by Anne Bedard and Margaret Peebles

The  library  and  the  Elgin  Community  Garden  Network  hosted  three  ladybug  release  par?es  at  the  Rabow  Branch.  Families  were  invited  to  learn  more  about  these  insects  and  learn  how  ladybugs  can  improve  a  garden.                      

Photo  ©  Gail  Borden  Public  Library  District,  Anne  Bedard    

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    Lipscomb Elementary School Real School Gardens Dallas, Texas Submitted by Scott Feille      

School  garden  construc?on  inspires  community  spirit  as    parents,  teachers  and  community  members  work  alongside  each  other  to  install  their  outdoor  classroom.    •   

Photo © Scott Feille

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Back to School Family Event, Camp Bayou Ruskin, Florida Submitted by Dolly Cummings

Families  play,  serve,  learn  and  celebrate  at  Camp  Bayou.  A  donated  Bucs  backpack  brought  a  big  smile  to  this  lucky  winner.      

Photo  ©  Dolly  Cummings  

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Robert Hughes demonstrates how cattail plants assist in naturally treating abandoned mine drainage.

Photo © Miguel de la Cueva/iLCP (International League of Conservation Photographers)

Cleaning up Mine Drainage Eastern Pennsylvania Coalition for Abandoned Mine Reclamation Newport Township, Luzerne County, PA Submitted by Robert E. Hughes

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Let's G.O.! Spring Family Coast Walk Nature Rocks Homer, South Central Alaska Submitted by Carmen Field Our  youngest  Coast  Walker  was  a  3-­‐year-­‐old  who  found  all  sorts  of  ?ny  pieces  of  styrofoam  and  plas?c  that  adult  eyes  would've  missed.  We  documented  every  piece  of  trash  found  and  removed  over  110  pounds  of  marine  debris.    

Photo © Carmen Field

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Let’s G.O.! Nashua Clean Up Mines Falls Park Nashua, New Hampshire Submitted by Natural Leader, Rebecca Martin

Natural  Leaders,  Mine  Falls  Park  CommiIee  members,  Girl  Scouts,  and  community  members  worked  together  to  clean  up  Mine  Falls  Park.    

Photo © Roger Blanchette

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Nature Explorer Family Night Head Start/Early Childhood Merrill, Wisconsin Submitted by Joan Krohn

Our  goal  is  to  encourage  the  families  of  our  low  income  and  special  needs  three,  four  and  five  year  olds  to  get  out  into  the  natural  areas  and  enjoy  nature    together  as  a  family.  In  this  photo  three  genera?ons  explore  together!    

Photo © Laurie Jacoby

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 Schoolyard Planting Portland Elementary Louisville, Kentucky Submitted by Brenda Stokes

Students  work  together  to  prep  raised  garden  beds  for  their  theme  garden  project.    

 

Photos  ©  Brenda  Stokes  

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Aldama Elementary School Beautification Los Angeles, CA Submitted by Natural Leaders, Lizbeth Williams and Andrew Anderson

Natural  Leaders  partnered  with  Playworks  and  Americrops  in  a  collabora?ve  effort  of  pain?ng,  plan?ng  and  a  good  ?me  outdoors.    Children  played,  smiled  and  par?cipated  in  giving  their  campus  a  much  needed  fresh  look.    

Photo © Amir Nia

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Intergenerational Monarch Butterfly Release RidgePointe Senior Apartments Minnetonka, MN Submitted by Paula Frakes, M.A.

Photos © Paula Frakes, M.A.

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Rain Barrel Installation National Association for American Indian Children & Elders (NAAICE) Seattle, Washington Submitted by Uri Israel

NAAICE  purchased  two  rain  barrels  for  a  local  residence  on  a  Na?ve  American  reserva?on  near  SeaIle  that  currently  has  no  water.  The  rain  barrels  will  help  provide  water  for  hand  washing,  boiling  for  other  needs  and  watering  their  gardens.          

Photo © Understanding Uri Israel, M.A. Ed.

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Canyonlands Service Project Point of View Nature Tours San Diego, California Submitted by Crystal DeSoto

Students  from  Roosevelt  Middle  School  are  helping  restore  a  weed  lot  into  an  amazing  na?ve  plant  garden.

Photo © Local Point of View Nature Tours

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It  takes  teamwork    to  remove  the  huge  English  ivy  from  trees  and  dig  up  invasive  blackberry  roots.    

Natural Resource Restoration and Research Crews MidCoast Watersheds Council Beaver Creek Natural Area Newport, Oregon Submitted by Virginia Tardaewether

Photo © Natural Resource Restoration Crews-MidCoast Watersheds Council/Lincoln County Community Services Consortium/OSU Extension

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Nature Playce, Hidden Oaks Nature Center Annandale, VA Submitted by Suzanne Holland    

This  natural  play  area  hosts  hours  of    free  play  in  nature.  Only  the  poison  ivy  is  removed.  

Photo © Don Sweeney, Fairfax County Park Authority

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Oregon Inventory of Historical Sites Dayville, Oregon Submitted by Dave Sandersfeld This  site  is  a  na?ve  American  ancient  "paint  factory”  for  making  Pictograph  pictures.  

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C.J. Ross, Leave No Trace Master Educator, Camp Tolochee, Brunswick, Georgia Jennifer McCoy, River Rendezvous, Rottenwood Creek Watershed, Marietta, Georgia Jean-Jacques Credi, Chattahoochee Nature Center Earth Day Kids' Fest, Roswell, Georgia Joan Krohn, Nature Explorers Family Night, Council Grounds State Park, Merrill, Wisconsin Susie Hobart, Lake View School Green Team, Madison's Northside, Madison, Wisconsin Anne Bedard, Ladybug Release Party, Rakow Branch of the Gail Borden Library District, Elgin, IL  

Thanks to these amazing people and organizations, empty lots became native gardens; trails were mapped, created and improved; plants were inventoried; watersheds were cleaned; and ladybugs and butterflies were raised and released. The world is a little bit brighter.  

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Chris Kuntz, Goodman-Armstrong Creek BioBlitz, Goodman-Armstrong Creek School Forest, Goodman, Wisconsin Taiji Nelson, Panther Hollow Extravaganza, Schenley Park, Oakland, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Melody Wilkes, A Walk in the Woods - EcoWild Exploration Stations, Waxhaw, Charlotte, and Concord, North Carolina Samantha Hartzell, Beacon Bluff Planting Event, St. Paul, Minnesota Brenda Stokes, Schoolyard Planting, Portland Elementary Environmental Studies, Louisville , Kentucky Erica Quigley, Schoolyard Work Day, John D. Philbrick Elementary School, Roslindale, Massachusetts Keith Hall, National Kids to Parks Day, Eastwood Park, El Paso, Texas    

Thanks to these amazing people and organizations, empty lots became native gardens; trails were mapped, created and improved; plants were inventoried; watersheds were cleaned; and ladybugs and butterflies were raised and released. The world is a little bit brighter.  

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Anne Conway, SOEC, Marion Street School Vegetable and Fruit Planting during Health and Wellness Week, Lynbrook, New York Dolly Cummings, Family Naturalist Hour, Camp Bayou Outdoor Learning Center, Ruskin, Florida Laura Getz, Summer Gardening Club, Friday morning garden maintenance, Indianapolis, Indiana Cristina Watson, Lost Creek Tree Planting, Elijah Bristow State Park, Dexter, Oregon Lorana Jinkerson, National Trails Day, Elliott Donnelley Wilderness, Marquette, Michigan Rev. Marjani Dele, Nature's Friends Day, Nature's Friends Exhibition Site, Victoria, Virginia Angela Spry, Colts Pride Campus Clean Up, Cape Fear High School, Fayetteville, North Carolina

Thanks to these amazing people and organizations, empty lots became native gardens; trails were mapped, created and improved; plants were inventoried; watersheds were cleaned; and ladybugs and butterflies were raised and released. The world is a little bit brighter.  

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Paula Frakes, Monarch Butterfly Project, Ridge Pointe Senior Apartments, Minnetonka, Minnesota Jill Bluhm, Grow Native Plant Sale, Highlands Center for Natural History, Prescott, Arizona Rosie Williams, Taos Rivers and Lands Day Clean Up and Trail Restoration, Taos County, New Mexico George Hawkins, Palmetto Multi-Sensory Trail, Houston Arboretum & Nature Center, Houston, Texas Michele del Castillo, Forest School of Minnesota, Linden Hills, Minneapolis, Minnesota Adrienne Bottoms, Courtyard Garden Designed for Therapy and Relaxation, Lexington Place Healthcare, Houston, Texas Suzanne Holland, Nature Playce, Hidden Oaks Nature Center, Annandale, Virginia    

Thanks to these amazing people and organizations, empty lots became native gardens; trails were mapped, created and improved; plants were inventoried; watersheds were cleaned; and ladybugs and butterflies were raised and released. The world is a little bit brighter.  

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Uri Israel, Family Garden Time at Home, Arlington, Washington Laura Childers, Trail Blazing Bonanza, Homer Ranch Preserve, Visalia, California Crystal De Soto, Florida Canyon Youth Service Project, Balboa Park, Florida Canyon, San Diego, California Robert Hughes, Macro-Mayhem in Mine Drainage Impacted Streams, Wilkes-Barre's Solomon Creek and Plains Township's Mill Creek, Wilkes-Barre, and Plains Township, Pennsylvania Janet Shriner, Jr. Ranger Camp Out, Joseph D. Grant County Park, San Jose, California Sue Ellen Lyons, Wetlands Tree & Aquatic Grass Plantings, Big Branch Marsh; Islenos Nature Center; LA Nature Center, New Orleans, Louisiana

Thanks to these amazing people and organizations, empty lots became native gardens; trails were mapped, created and improved; plants were inventoried; watersheds were cleaned; and ladybugs and butterflies were raised and released. The world is a little bit brighter.  

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Jane-Ann Carroll, Community Garden Project, SDSU Children's Center, San Diego, California Dawn Mak, OLE, Project Enlightenment, Raleigh, North Carolina Marianne OConnor, Outside Connections Club-Map Making Session, Roby Park, Nashua, New Hampshire Gail Randolph, Elk River Clean Up , Elk River in Lincoln County, Fayetteville, Tennessee Nicole Little, Cub Pack 30 Trash Pick-Up, 11 Mile Canyon, Lake George, Colorado Dave Sandersfeld, Portland's Oregon Nature Examiner, Dayville, Oregon Cindy Murdough, Native Plant Planting Event, Conrad Weiser Middle School, Robesonia, Pennsylvania

Thanks to these amazing people and organizations, empty lots became native gardens; trails were mapped, created and improved; plants were inventoried; watersheds were cleaned; and ladybugs and butterflies were raised and released. The world is a little bit brighter.  

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Marguerite Dorgan, Friends of Black Hill Programs Native Plant Sale, Ridge Rd, Boyds, Maryland Leandra Darden, Yreka Creek Clean Up, Yreka, California Ernie McLaney, Creek ReLeaf, Various locations around Charlotte, North Carolina John Wiltenmuth, Izaak Walton - Boy Scouts Conservation Projects, Spotsylvania, Virginia Virginia Tardaewether, Natural Resource Restoration and Research Crews, Beaver Creek Natural Area, Newport, Oregon Nataly Marchuk, Replaced Home Lawn with a Native Plant Garden, San Jose, California Amanda Speer, Bat Box Build, Lake Oroville, California Tara Von Dollen, Savanna Prairie Planting in Backyard, Madison, Wisconsin

Thanks to these amazing people and organizations, empty lots became native gardens; trails were mapped, created and improved; plants were inventoried; watersheds were cleaned; and ladybugs and butterflies were raised and released. The world is a little bit brighter.  

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Lizbeth Williams and Andrew Anderson, Natural Leaders, Aldama Elementary School Beautification, Los Angeles, CA   Rebecca Martin, Natural Leader, Let’s G.O.! Nashua Clean Up, Mines Falls Park, Nashua, New Hampshire Lana Jerome, Earth Steward, Garlic Mustard Pull, Grass Lake Sanctuary, Ann Arbor/Dexter, Michigan Chip and Ashley Donahue, Family Club Leaders, Kids in the Valley Adventuring Neighborhood Clean Up, Roanoke, VA   Tyrell Hughes, Natural Leader, Men of MODEL, and Brother Yusuf, BOLT Team, Let’s G.O! Clean Up, Albany, New York   Carmen Field, Family Club Leader, Let's G.O.! Spring Family Coast Walk Nature Rocks Homer, South Central Alaska

Thanks to these amazing people and organizations, empty lots became native gardens; trails were mapped, created and improved; plants were inventoried; watersheds were cleaned; and ladybugs and butterflies were raised and released. The world is a little bit brighter.  

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“I believe that it is through nature that we find we are most connected to each other and our communities. The power of nature as a facilitator for empowerment cannot be underestimated. It is out there where trees don’t care what race you are but still they share their shade, the river will not check your FICO score before quenching your thirst. Every day is filled with a chance to make a difference. We invite you to join us in the simple act of rolling up sleeves and digging within our hearts to build the new nature movement.” Juan Martinez, Natural Leaders Network

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Partners  &  Sponsors  

THANK YOU

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How  to  par?cipate  

 

n  Join  the  Natural  Service  Network  at:  hIp://childrenandnature.ning.com/group/naturalservicenetwork    

n  The  Natural  Service  Network  Tool  Kit  was  created  with  generous  support  of  REI.      [+]  Download  the  NSN  Tool  Kit      hIp://childrenandnature.ning.com/group/naturalservicenetwork    

n  Organiza?ons  and  agencies  that  would  like  to  par?cipate  in  the  Natural  Service  Network,  please  contact  C&NN  at  serve@childrenandnature.org.  

Natural Service comes in all shapes and sizes: community gardening, river clean ups, trail maintenance, habitat restoration, people getting other people outside—however and wherever you get outside to serve in nature, we want to hear about it! Share your plans, photos and stories on C&NN Connect.