William Crain, Reclaiming Childhood: Letting Children Be Children in Our Achievement-Oriented Society, Henry Holt Owl Books, 2003.

 

Tim Gill, No Fear: Growing Up in a Risk Averse Society, Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation, 2007.

 

Elizabeth Goodenough, editor, Where Do the Children Play? study guide to the documentary by the same name (currently out of print; available in spring/summer 2009).

 

Elizabeth Goodenough, editor, A Place for Play, a companion volume to the documentary “Where Do the Children Play?” National Institute for Play, distributed by University of Michigan Press, 2008.

 

Richard Louv, Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children from Nature-Deficit Disorder, Algonquin Press, 2005.

 

David Sobel, Children's Special Places: Exploring the Role of Forts, Dens, and Bush Houses in Middle Childhood, Wayne State University Press, 2001.

 

Van Noy, Rick, A Natural Sense of Wonder: Connecting Kids with Nature Through the Seasons, University of Georgia Press, 2008.

 

 

“Where Do the Children Play?”– A 57 minute documentary prepared by Michigan Television.  DVDs are available for purchase for $19.95 from University of Michigan Press (www.press.umich.edu/).

 

“Wetlands and Wonder” – A 12 minute documentary by the EPA. For a free copy of this DVD (Product Number EPA 980-V-08-002) you may contact the National Service Center for Environmental Publications at 800-490-9198 or go to www.epa.gov/nscep or view online at www.epa.gov/owow/wetlands/education/wetlandsvideo.

 

 

 

Alliance for Childhood: www.allianceforchildhood.org

 

American Association for the Child’s Right to Play: www.ipausa.org

 

Arbor Day Foundation, Nature Explore: www.arborday.org/explore

 

Children’s Environments Research Group: web.gc.cuny.edu/che/cerg/index.htm

 

Children and Nature Network: www.childrenandnature.org

 

Ecology Global Network includes Kids Korner: www.ecology.com/kidscorner

 

Hooked on Nature: www.hookedonnature.org

 

KaBoom!, playgrounds and play: www.kaboom.org

 

National Institute for Play: www.nifplay.org

 

National Recreation and Park Association, Teens Outside: www.nrpa.org/content/default.aspx?documentId=5223

 

National Wildlife Federation, Green Hour: www.greenhour.org

 

Natural Learning Initiative, playground design: www.naturalearning.org

 

No Child Left Inside: www.nclicoalition.org

 

Playborhood, advocating for neighborhood play, http://playborhood.com

 

The Trust for Public Land, playgrounds: www.tpl.org

 

Wild Zones, natural play areas: www.wild-zone.net

 

Bureau of Land Management, “Take It Outside”: www.blm.gov/pgdata/content/wo/en/prog/more/Children_and_Nature.html

 

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, “Let’s Go Outside”: www.fws.gov/letsgooutside

 

U.S. Forest Service: “More Kids in the Woods”: www.fs.fed.us/recreation/programs/woods

 

 

Parks, schools, museums and other organizations planning outdoor events for children can gain momentum and media coverage by linking up with national events.

 

September:

Take a Child Outside Week: September 24- 30, 2009: www.takeachildoutside.org

(Screen) Turn-off Week, September 20-26, 2009: www.screentime.org

World Wide Day of Play, last Saturday in September: www.nick.com/shows/worldwidedayofplay/index.jhtml

 

 

 

Arbor Day, April 30, 2010: www.arborday.org/arborday/index.cfm

(Screen) Turn-off Week, April 20-26, 2009: www.screentime.org

Week of the Young Child, April 19-25, 2009: www.naeyc.org/about/woyc

 

June:

National Trails Day, June 6, 2009: www.americanhiking.org

Great Outdoors Week, June 7-13, 2009: www.funoutdoors.com

National Get Outdoors Day, June 13, 2009: www.nationalgetoutdoorsday.org

Great American Backyard Campout, June 27, 2009: www.nwf.org/backyardcampout