Second-graders from Capitol Hill School visiting the Audubon Society of Portland (2010)
Recently the Friends of Tryon Creek hosted an event featuring guest speaker Traci Price from the Freshwater Trust. Traci's Mission: To educate the public about new state legislation known as the No Oregon Child Left Inside (NOCLI) Act.
In July 2009 Governor Kulongoski signed the No Oregon Child Left Inside Act into law and noted that “…the ‘No Oregon Child Left Inside Act’ will provide our youth with classroom instruction about our vital natural resources and an opportunity to conduct field investigations in an outdoor learning setting. This experience is fundamental to our children and will help them develop a sense of stewardship towards Oregon
Governor Kulongoski's words added a new dimension to Oregon's longstanding commitment to environmental protection: The importance of providing educational opportunities for children in order to ensure their exposure to the outdoors and positively influence their knowledge and understanding of the natural world. Countless studies have demonstrated that children thrive when given such opportunities. It is heartening to learn that Oregon is championing environmental advocacy, this time in the arena of children's outdoor education.
The NOCLI Act is intended to work in conjunction with federal No Child Left Inside legislation (No Child Left Inside currently has 84 sponsors in the House of Representatives including Representative David Wu and Representative Earl Blumenauer). The partnership of these acts seeks to ensure that funds will be available at the state level for outdoor education programs for children.
This is excellent news for the Friends of Tryon Creek. Our organization, in partnership with the Oregon Parks and Recreation Department, currently provides a multitude of classes, workshops and camps for the purpose of engaging children in the Great Outdoors. The No Oregon Child Left Inside Act recognizes the importance of such opportunities.
(Here is the link for more information on the No Oregon Child Left Inside Act: http://friendsoftryoncreek.blogspot.com/2010/11/no-oregon-child-left-inside.html)
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