Initiatives

Youth Outdoors Policy Playbook
The Outdoors Alliance for Kids is in its third year participating in an exciting partnership coordinated by the Meridian Institute with partners at the North American Association of Environmental Educators (NAAEE), Children & Nature Network (C&NN) and the National Caucus of Environmental Legislators (NCEL). Click here to learn more about the Youth Outdoor Policy Playbook, a tool to help legislators and community leaders advance state policies that support getting kids outdoors.

All Kids Outdoors Contest
The Outdoors Alliance for Kids and Scholastic have partnered to give kids in 4th – 6th grade the opportunity to lift their voices and do their best persuasive writing about why the outdoors matter. We know kids care about the outdoors and we want them to have a forum for sharing their views, all the while competing for terrific prizes. Check out all the details of our All Kids Outdoors Contest.

Every Child Health Outdoors (ECHO) Across America Toolkit: State and Community Action Resources
OAK’s ECHO Across America Toolkit contains the tools you need to organize a meeting of leaders of organizations in your state or city, conduct an assessment of your state or city’s existing children, youth and families and the outdoors policies and initiatives, set goals for policies and initiatives that your governor or mayor can adopt, and launch a campaign to get your governor or mayor working on an ECHO agenda. Additional ECHO Resources support community leaders in moving forward their action plans.

Every Kid in a Park
The Obama administration launched the Every Kid in a Park initiative to inspire a new generation to get outside and to become stewards of our nation’s cultural and natural heritage. Through this new initiative, every fourth grader in America can obtain a pass for free entry for them and their families into more than 2,000 federally managed lands and waters nationwide for an entire year, starting September 1, 2015.

Let’s Move! Outside – 50 cities
To help advance First Lady Michelle Obama’s Let’s Move! Outside initiative, YMCAs are joining with community partners in 50 city-wide summits to facilitate engagement with public land management agencies and other community organizations. The summits aim to increase coordination, collaboration and communication among service providers, and develop strategies to increase awareness of and participation in outdoor programs for youth. OAK is supporting these events by engaging members and partners in each city to get involved. Contact a participating Y to connect with the initiative in your city.

Cities Connecting Children to Nature
The Cities Connecting Children to Nature initiative (CCCN) helps city leaders and their partners develop and expand strategies to provide abundant and equitable access to nature. The three year initiative is managed by the National League of Cities Institute for Youth, Education and Families and the Children and Nature Network, in partnership with OAK and Wilderness Inquiry.