Read All About It! More Children to See the Outdoors!

Education is the best insurance policy. No Child Left Inside, or HB 2544 in the Capitol, quickly passed out of the Ways and Means Subcommittee on Education yesterday morning, with guaranteed swift passage to the House and Senate Floors. With the harkening of environmental challenges slated for this century, Oregon positions herself yet again as a progressive global leader, this time by investing in her youth.

As we previously discussed, the wonky-sounding Environmental Literacy Task Force bill is prescient in addressing the disconnect recorded in America’s youth. Pioneering research in the field, such as the pivotal studies found in “Last Child in the Woods,” identify the natural world as not only a source of inspiration for young persons, but a necessary sphere for the needed physical and--most importantly--emotional development of our youth.

Decision-makers like Representative Peter Buckley and Senator Sara Gelser grasp the alarming implications of an environmentally illiterate youth and have crafted and shepherded a bill through the tangled political process. No Child Left Inside is astutely oriented to receive likely grant money under Title II and Title V of the federal No Child Left Inside legislation. An influx of federal dollars will breathe life into the program and provide the necessary investment to make a good idea great.

Expect to see HB 2544 up in Ways and Means within the next few days and don’t hesitate in contacting your House and Senate to encourage their ‘Aye’ vote, for No Child should be Left Inside.