A Letter from the
Executive Director of
Chicago Wilderness,
Melinda Pruett-Jones

Photo: Courtesy of Chicago Zoological Society/Jim Schulz

Recently I took a neighbor’s 12-year-old along with me to a bird census in a forest preserve along the Des Plaines River. My own two boys would have considered it a major imposition to be dragged out of bed before 5 a.m. on a Saturday, but Vassily was completely engaged. He spotted birds that many adults in the party missed, not to mention deer, frogs and other animals. He loved being out in the woods, and having donuts at the break.

My outing with Vassily illustrates several things we know about children and nature:

• Kids need nature. Whether their habitat is urban, suburban or rural, they need to make contact with the riches of their natural environment. Two generations of children have lost that connection, and it’s affecting them physically, developmentally, and emotionally.
• It’s not enough just to push them outside and expect them to automatically disengage from their screens—TV, videogame, or computer—and see the wonders around them. We have to go with them, whether it’s a camping trip, a day at the beach, or a simple walk around the block.
• It doesn’t have to be parents doing the escorting—in fact, it’s often better if it isn’t. You can be (or hand your child over to) a friend, neighbor, scout leader, teacher, camp counselor, aunt, or grandparent.
• As long as the adult lets the child — toddler or teen — take the lead, and is there to encourage, nurture and share, everyone will come back enriched and refreshed.

Leave No Child Inside is a Chicago Wilderness initiative to reconnect children with nature. We derived the name from the national “No Child Left Inside” movement, as have more than 30 other organizations nationwide in the past three years, but the Chicago Wilderness effort is currently the largest, and includes programs offered by several forest preserve districts, the Chicago Park District, Brookfield Zoo, The Morton Arboretum, the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore, and many other organizations. “Reclaiming the Outdoors” describes some of those activities.

The Chicago Wilderness alliance envisions a region where nature is accessible and valued by all. Our more than 240 nonprofit and corporate organizational members agree that in addition to promoting conservation and preserving biodiversity, it is just as important to help grow the next generation of ecologists, field biologists, and volunteer stewards — as well as people who simply stop and listen when they hear a cardinal in the spring, and who will care enough to support natural area protection.

To leave no child inside is the right thing to do for both the natural world and our children. We know that being outside is good for kids. Research shows, for example, that children who have their classes outside score better on tests.

Scientists are doing more research to understand why kids need nature, but we’re taking action. Please join us. Whether you participate in an official Chicago Wilderness Leave No Child Inside program, or just invite a child out for a walk, we hope you’ll do whatever you can to give your children, or the children you know, the gift of knowing nature.

Melinda Pruett-Jones
Executive Director
Chicago Wilderness