Giving Compass' Take:

• Ithaca Children's Garden in upstate New York is innovative in its efforts to engage children with our natural world. The park's goal is to cultivate the importance of nature by creating memorable outdoor experiences so our children are more likely to become adults that will prioritize the environment.

• How can funders donate to our park systems and create areas that education our youth on the importance of our natural world? How can we encourage our children to respect our environment?

• Learn why getting kids outside is so important. 

For kids, play is serious business. It’s not “just about having fun, but taking risks, experimenting, and testing boundaries,” states the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) in a recent clinical report called The Power of Play. According to the AAP, play yields all sorts of benefits in relation to a child’s brain development, learning, and stress reduction.

And when a garden is designed to encourage play, something truly magical happens. We see that magic every day at Ithaca Children’s Garden (ICG) in upstate New York. Here, young visitors find limitless opportunities to engage in interactive explorations of the natural world.

By providing a safe place for children to connect to abundant and diverse life forms right in the city, “ICG is about wonder and curiosity,” says Erin Marteal, ICG’s executive director. Marteal says it’s important for kids to slow down during a time when all the visual chatter and data can overwhelm and dull the senses. “It’s about connecting with what’s real, here, and now, and educating the senses of the whole person, beyond what any screen can provide,” she adds.

Read the full article about the importance of connecting children to nature by Katherine Somerville at Children & Nature Network.