By Michael Casaus
Sierra Club
The Sierra Club is thrilled to announce the passage of the New Mexico Outdoor Classroom Initiative-Educación al Aire Libre during the 2007 legislative session. We congratulate the New Mexico state Legislature, especially Sen. Cynthia Nava, D-Las Cruces, and Rep. Jimmie Hall, R-Albuquerque, for championing outdoor education for our state's youth.
The New Mexico Outdoor Classroom Initiative— the first of its kind in the nation— is an effort to increase outdoor education across the state utilizing our beautiful state parks, federal public lands, ranches, nature centers and other locations.
This Initiative is a collaboration between the Public Education Department and New Mexico State Parks and provides strategies to get schools to parks and parks to schools. It will have four components: teacher training institutes and curriculum development, transportation grants, educational materials for students and service learning. A recent study administered by the California Department of Education, funded by the Sierra Club, found that this type of outdoor, interactive education can increase student standardized test scores, especially in math and science; reduce discipline problems; increase teacher job satisfaction; increase enthusiasm for learning and build resource stewardship.
We also applaud Gov. Bill Richardson for showing bold, national leadership on this issue. His leadership is propelling New Mexico to the top tier of states engaging children in the outdoors. The passage of this initiative means thousands of underserved children in New Mexico will be able to have an outdoor education experience that they would not have been able to have otherwise.
The Land of Enchantment offers unique opportunities for its youth to experience the wonders of nature. Unfortunately, though, too many New Mexico children never have the opportunity to experience and enjoy the outdoors. Children are watching more television, playing more video games and eating more junk food then ever before. The average American youngster now spends more time watching television (1,023 hours per year) than in school (900 hours per year). Studies show that watching over 10 hours a week negatively affects kids' academic achievement. In addition, studies show a link between "screen time" (watching television or playing video games) and childhood obesity, both nationally and locally. According to the New Mexico Department of Health, 22 percent of N.M. children between ages 2 and 5 and 23 percent of high school students are overweight. The percentage of American children who are seriously overweight has risen from 5 percent in 1964 to 15 percent in 2003.
In an effort to counter these trends and increase exposure of New Mexico's youth to the outdoors, the Sierra Club recently launched a statewide Building Bridges to the Outdoors (BBTO) program, the goal of which is to ensure that every New Mexico youth is provided an outdoor experience. The passage of the New Mexico Outdoor Classroom Initiative is a positive first step in achieving that goal.
Building Bridges to the Outdoors is committed to ensuring that local communities are empowered to help connect their children with nature. Building Bridges to the Outdoors is working with a wide range of partners including educators, faith-based communities, health organizations, community-based organizations 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.
The program also aims to engage New Mexico decision makers to provide funding to help outdoor education and recreation programs become sustainable. Currently in New Mexico, there is no place for these types of programs to go to get state funding to become sustainable. Our goal is to establish a statewide Leave No Child Inside Fund. This fund will reach new organizations and will help them incorporate environmental education curriculums that meet state science standards. The grant program will also encourage partnerships and private matching funds so that these programs do not rely solely on the grant program for sustainability.
Additionally, Building Bridges to the Outdoors is providing young people with leadership and campaign skills to go back to their community and create positive social change through our summer Environmental Leadership Training. Young people will participate in an intensive, educational and energizing weeklong residential program, designed to provide participants with grassroots advocacy and organizing training.
For additional information on the Building Bridges to the Outdoors program and the Environmental Leadership Training, go to: www.sierraclub.org/youth.
Connecting children with nature is a community investment for all of us. By working together, no child will be left inside.
Michael Casaus is the Sierra Club's New Mexico Youth Representative and coordinator of the Building Bridges to the Outdoors program.
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