The Wisconsin No Child Left Inside Coalition is a statewide coalition of over 100 businesses, health, youth, faith, recreational, environmental, conservation, and educational groups representing approximately 90,000 people in Wisconsin.  Coalition member groups, organizations, and individuals share the belief that all people, in particular young people, need the opportunity to connect with nature in order to learn and grow into healthy, responsible, and engaged community citizens. The entire list of Coalition members is available here.  Please join us!

Get Outside
If you are an educator or parent looking for ideas to get your students or kids outside right now you are in the right place! The Wisconsin NCLI Coalition’s home page is housed on Wisconsin’s own environmental education clearinghouse web site, EEinWisconsin.org.  This web site organizes the abundant array of environmental education resources and information available in our state into a searchable database. You can search for events based on geographic location or topic, grants, teaching resources, contests, jobs, and more. Check out the “What’s New” tab at the top of the page for the latest information.

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No Child Left Inside
The No Child Left Inside (NCLI) movement is a response to a growing convergence of research indicating that all people, in particular young people, need the opportunity to connect with nature in order to learn and grow into healthy, responsible, and engaged community citizens. Richard Louv’s book, Last Child in the Woods, consolidated research from a variety of disciplines that indicated the existence of what he called, “nature deficit disorder.”  Louv’s work has sparked a national movement to holistically address the related issues of time spent in nature, child health and well being, and sustainability.

Children are spending more time indoors ‘plugged in’ to electronic media and less time outdoors than ever before.  Studies show that this shift to a more indoor and sedentary lifestyle is having dramatic health effects on the mental and physical well being of young people.  Research also indicates that time spent learning and playing outdoors can produce health benefits for children such as reducing incidence of obesity, reducing symptoms of ADHD, and reducing stress in general.

Education for environmental literacy and sustainability provides the opportunity to connect with nature and develop the understandings needed to be healthy adults, active citizens, and environmental stewards. Integration of this education provides a proven way to link outdoor experiences and environmental learning with the standards and benchmarks schools already teach. This approach also adds local relevance to help students connect to the places in which they live and learn.

No Wisconsin Child Left Inside
“Wisconsin’s Plan to Advance Education for Environmental Literacy and Sustainability in PK-12 Schools” (Plan) provides a road map for statewide strategic collaboration to ensure all students graduate from high school environmentally literate and ready for college and careers in the 21st century. It outlines a comprehensive strategy to provide teachers and students in Wisconsin with opportunities to connect with nature and advance the health of our youth through strong interdisciplinary curricular connections that focus on education for environmental literacy and sustainability. Wisconsin’s Plan aligns with the pending national No Child Left Inside Act.  Having a Plan in place will position Wisconsin to be eligible for new funding annually to support Plan implementation through this federal initiative. 

• "Wisconsin’s Plan for Environmentally Literate and Sustainable Communities" considers educational needs and responses for the whole community and support sustainable practices at home, at work, at school, and at play. The PK-12 Plan is a part of this larger Plan. It provides a detailed set of recommendations related to efforts in PK-12 Schools. 

Wisconsin NCLI Coalition: Get with the Plan! - Posted 12/2011 “Wisconsin’s Plan to Advance Education for Environmental Literacy and Sustainability in PK-12 Schools” (Plan) was released on November 4th, 2011. The Plan provides a road map for statewide strategic collaboration to ensure all students graduate from high school environmentally literate and ready for college and careers in the 21st century.

President’s Budget Request Includes Environmental Education - Posted 2/2011 The NCLI Coalition and supporters of environmental education have reason to celebrate. The Obama Administration released its proposed budget for fiscal year 2012. It once again includes environmental education as a subject eligible for funding within a proposed $246.1M competitive grants program entitled “A Well-Rounded Education”.

Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act Provides Funding for Farm-to-School Programs - Posted 12/2010 This legislation provides $40 million over five years in mandatory funding for farm-to-school programs, ensuring that more children are able to eat local, healthy produce, create school gardens, and use more local foods.

Moving Outdoors in Nature Act - Posted 11/2010 The National Wildlife Federation announced that Congressman Ron Kind (D-WI) introduced the Moving Outdoors in Nature Act (MONA) in the United States House of Representatives! MONA's focus on health and recreation solutions will be an excellent complement to the No Child Left Inside (NCLI) Act's systemic approach of getting environmental education back into our nation's schools.

Related Organizations FIELD Edventures   FIELD Edventures provides professional development to educators who are interested in getting students outside by using the environment as a context for learning to develop environmental literacy while increasing academic achievement.