WEBWISE

The purpose of the Natural Learning Initiative is to promote the importance of the natural environment in the daily experience of all children, through environmental design, action research, education, and dissemination of information.

USCR defends the rights of all uprooted people regardless of their nationality, race, religion, ideology, or social group. We base our work on the belief that once the consciences of men and women are aroused, great deeds can be accomplished, and we are guided by the following principles:

Refugees have basic human rights. Most fundamentally, no persons with a well-founded fear of persecution should be forcibly returned (refouled) to his or her homeland.

Asylum seekers have the right to a fair and impartial hearing to determine their refugee status.

All uprooted victims of human conflict, regardless of whether they cross a border, have the right to humane treatment, as well as adequate protection and assistance.

Refugees International (RI) generates lifesaving assistance and protection for displaced people around the world, and works to end the conditions that create displacement.

Without a roof and without roots … roofless and rootless.” The street children of Mumbai (Bombay), India, think of themselves as marked with the “stamp of the street,” or “sadak chaap.” Thousands of Mumbai’s street children have recently begun to organize for shelter and resources under that name, working through a federation of social-service agencies and community-based organizations.

As part of a loose network, the children of Sadak Chaap (also written as “Chhap”) are collaborating with the local organizations, SPARC (Society for Promotion of Area Resource Centers), NSDF (National Slum Dwellers Federation), and Mahila Milan (“Women Coming Together”), to construct night shelters under pedestrian bridges in the city and provide on-the-spot medical care for their peers, as well as to end police antagonism of street children. The federation aims to preserve the dignity, health and safety of children who choose to live on the street, and to provide opportunities for them to gain education and job training to become legitimately self-sufficient.

Radio documentarian Julian Crandall Hollick produced a series of stories about the children, “Sadak Chhap,” which aired in the spring of 2002 on National Public Radio’s Weekend Edition Sunday. The series is a subset of Hollick’s “Apna Street” stories, which began airing on NPR in 1995. For more information, see also Independent Broadcasting Associates’ Sadak Chhap home page.

Books About Playhouses, Forts, Treehouses, Playgrounds & Play Areas for Kids.

This website is produced and maintained by the Environmental Education and Volunteers Group of the Bureau of Land Management (commonly called BLM). It presents learning opportunities associated with the 262 million acres of public lands that BLM manages for all Americans. We have gathered information for students, teachers and adult learners to use both in the classroom, in informal outdoor settings, or in "virtual" classrooms. We have included resources from many of our field offices scattered mostly throughout the Western United States. Explore this site and send us your comments, questions, and suggestions for improvement.

For some children, free play in natural environments is limited to time spent on school grounds. Learning Through Landscapes exists to ensure that all children have the opportunity to enjoy well-planned and -designed school grounds that foster learning and appreciation of nature. In partnership with its sister organization, Grounds for Learning, LTL promotes the right of children and young people in the United Kingdom to enjoy and benefit from thoughtfully designed, environmentally sound and well-maintained school grounds. This is achieved by undertaking research, giving advice, encouraging action and supporting all those who care about promoting school grounds as important educational environments.

Many teachers are discovering the tremendous rewards of taking their lessons outdoors and developing hands-on learning experiences for their students. A recent study done by Bethel Learning Institute found that students’ retention rate grew with an increase in hands-on activities – learning by doing results in a 75% retention rate, compared to listening to lectures, from which students retain only about 5% of the material presented. When students teach others what they have learned, they retain even more – up to 90% of the information. Learning outdoors presents many opportunities for child-centered activities through which peer-education is possible and encouraged. An elementary teacher created Outdoor Classroom as a resource and information site for teachers who want to develop responsible, functional outdoor learning opportunities for their students. The site offers lesson plans, profiles of successful outdoor learning projects and more.