Passport to Texas

This is Passport to Texas

It takes a village to get kids and families outside these days; Jennifer Bristol, coordinator of Texas Children and Nature, is part of the tribe ushering them outdoors.

09— We are a network of organizations around the state of Texas; and we focus on connecting more children and families with the outdoors so they are happier, healthier, and smarter.

Next week, Jennifer tribe and their supporters gather in Bastrop for the Children in Nature Conference, to share ideas, successes, and future plans.

08—To really highlight all the issue and all the solutions that surround why it is important for children and families to have access to nature.

The theme of the conference is “Inspiration to Action”.

13— And it centers around our four concentration areas, which is health, education, community and access. So, we have everybody from architects who focus on bringing the outdoors in, to urban planners, to the health community….

In addition, they devote the first day to technology.

17— We know that we can’t get away from technology. We used to tell people all the time: unplug and get outdoors and things like that. That’s still an important message. But, it’s also important to say, ‘Hey, you know what? What can we do to let them use that smart phone in their hand or tablet in their hand that builds that confidence in the outdoors, too?’

We’ll check in with Jennifer after the conference for an update. Texas Children in Nature is co-hosting the conference with Westcave Outdoor Discovery Center and Children & Nature Network.

For Texas Parks and Wildlife…I’m Cecilia Nasti.