ChicagoWilderness_Strat_Frmwrk_LNCI_101410

Leave No Child Inside

2010-12

Leave No Child Inside is a central initiative of Chicago Wilderness. It is informed by a growing body of research demonstrating that time spent outdoors in nature is critical to the formation of a lifelong concern with the wellbeing of the environment as well as to children’s physical, social, and emotional development.

Strategic Framework

CONTEXT Chicago Wilderness (CW) is a regional alliance that connects people and nature. We are more than 250 organizations that work together to restore local nature and improve the quality of life for all who live here, by protecting the lands and waters on which we all depend. Our four key initiatives—to restore the health of local nature, to implement the Chicago Wilderness Green Infrastructure Vision, to combat climate change, and to leave no child inside—reflect our commitment to using science and emerging knowledge, as well as a collaborative approach to conservation, to benefit all the region’s residents.

Environmental education is a critical element of the alliance’s work and of biodiversity conservation, and Chicago Wilderness recognizes that groups, including elected officials and public landowners, as well as individual citizens, are the past, present, and future of the region’s stewardship efforts. The Chicago Wilderness Biodiversity Recovery Plan, a document developed by hundreds of scientists, land managers, conservation educators, planners, and caring citizens to serve as a blueprint for the alliance’s work, states that: Both formal and nonformal programs in biodiversity education are needed to sustain the citizenry’s interest in conservation and develop the deeper understanding that will lead to the active public support required to ensure biodiversity recovery.i Studies conducted by Louise Chawla (University of Colorado) and other researchers demonstrate that positive childhood experiences in the outdoors constitute one of the key factors in the development of an interest in conservation.ii However, the latest national surveys indicate that children in the United States spend nearly six hours every day watching TV, playing video games, or using a computer outside of schoolwork. In contrast, children today spend only 30 minutes per week in unstructured outdoor activities, such as hiking, gardening, picknicking, or camping.iii Qualitative research points to a temporal factor in this picture: children today seem to have fewer opportunities to engage in unstructured outdoor activities than their parents or grandparents had, particularly in the case of lower-income families.iv A time-series analysis published in the Proceedings of the National Academies of Sciences by Oliver Pergams (University of Illinois) points to a “fundamental and pervasive shift away from nature-based recreation” in American families since the 1980s.v

This is an internal, working document designed to aide Chicago Wilderness members in strategically organizing their collaborative work within this initiative.

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Leave No Child Inside (LNCI) is a central initiative of Chicago Wilderness and is informed by a growing body of research demonstrating that unstructured time spent in nature is critical to the formation of a lifelong concern with the wellbeing of the environment as well as to children’s physical, social, and emotional development. Participation in outdoor activities can increase self-esteem, decrease symptoms associated with attention-deficit-hyperactivity disorder, contribute to emotional growth, and combat obesity in children across the U.S.vi Research also shows that while time spent outside with parents, teachers or other adults is valuable, it is also important that children be encouraged to play on their own, to explore, and to simply be in nature. This unstructured outdoor time fosters creativity, emotional well-being, and problem-solving skills; moreover, it lets kids forge a connection to the place in which they live and, as adults, become its stewards and supporters. It is this unstructured interaction with nature that is at the heart of LNCI.vii

This is an internal, working document designed to aide Chicago Wilderness members in strategically organizing their collaborative work within this initiative.

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THE ROLE OF THE CHICAGO WILDERNESS ALLIANCE AND ITS STAFF The Chicago Wilderness alliance has a fourteen-year track record of proven success in natural resource management, science, environmental education, and sustainability initiatives. Over time, these have been organized into the four key initiatives, one of which is Leave No Child Inside. Individual Chicago Wilderness member organizations also offer families and children across the region structured and unstructured opportunities to experience nature in meaningful and impactful ways. Member organizations and partners active in LNCI work every day to educate families, caregivers, educators and policy-makers on the importance of spending time playing in, and discovering, their gardens, backyards, parks, or forest preserves.

Chicago Wilderness has a small staff that lies at the center of the alliance and plays a critical role in facilitating collaboration, driving region-wide strategies, and leveraging the impact of member institutions. While Chicago Wilderness member institutions will deliver the LNCI programs that offer children meaningful nature experiences, the alliance and its staff will play an indispensable role in unlocking the collective strength of CW members through the development and replication of regional initiatives and the integration of LNCI programming across the region. This plan focuses on the role of the alliance and its staff with respect to LNCI, rather than on the LNCI programming of CW members.

This is an internal, working document designed to aide Chicago Wilderness members in strategically organizing their collaborative work within this initiative.

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SUMMARY OF STRATEGIC FRAMEWORK DOCUMENT This document lays out the region-wide goals and strategic priorities of the Leave No Child Inside initiative for the next three years.

The framework has been developed in consultation with Chicago Wilderness members active in the initiative, the Leave No Child Inside Task Force (a coordinating body formed of member organizations and Chicago Wilderness staff), and Chicago Wilderness leadership.

Chicago Wilderness has identified six strategic activities related to LNCI that cannot be done effectively by any single member.

These will be alliance priorities and will be the focus of Chicago Wilderness staff coordination efforts with leadership by alliance members: 1. Ensure that LNCI goals and activities are well understood by Chicago Wilderness member institutions and that best practices with respect to children’s programming are shared. The member institutions of Chicago Wilderness touch nearly every child in the region. Their collective strength in developing and implementing quality programming for children is formidable and it can be most effectively deployed when communication across the alliance is effective and best practices are shared.

2. Get more children outside in unstructured settings by identifying, incubating and expanding effective models of children’s programming. One of the historic strengths of Chicago Wilderness has been to identify successful approaches to issues ranging from land management to environmental education. Chicago Wilderness has already seen success in replicating effective children programming, such as Mighty Acorns and the Leave No Child Inside Explorer Days, across the region. There is an important opportunity to identify, incubate and replicate other proven children-focused programs. Indeed, opportunities have already been identified.

3. Ensure that programming is offered for children of all ages, from toddlerhood through college, to create progressive opportunities for engagement and the eventual development of the next generation of conservation leaders. It is imperative that once we expose children to the benefits of unstructured time in nature, we build upon that experience.

This is an internal, working document designed to aide Chicago Wilderness members in strategically organizing their collaborative work within this initiative.

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Ensuring that there is no gap in the programming offered to children – in other words, creating a conservation education ladder – will keep children engaged into adulthood when they become environmental leaders and advocates themselves.

4. Train parents, caregivers and educators to develop and facilitate opportunities for children to experience nature in unstructured settings. Adults who work closely with children will be central to ensuring that children have and take advantage of opportunities for unstructured nature experiences offered by Chicago Wilderness members and other organizations. Chicago Wilderness has a long experience in addressing regional conservation priorities and has an important opportunity to do that again with respect to nature programming for children.

5. Engage non-traditional and economically disadvantaged communities in LNCI. To achieve widespread impact, it will be important to engage ethnically and economically diverse communities, as well as non-traditional stakeholders, such as the health, faith, and arts communities, in the work of LNCI. Some successful efforts in this regard have been undertaken and need to be fully exploited.

6. Pursue a targeted policy agenda that advances the goals of LNCI. Local, state and federal policies that support the goals of LNCI can be very important. CW members have had success in pursuing targeted policy priorities (for instance, the declaration by the Illinois Legislature of a Leave No Child Inside Month and its support for the Children’s Outdoor Bill of Rights) and will continue to advance a limited policy agenda in respect to LNCI.

This is an internal, working document designed to aide Chicago Wilderness members in strategically organizing their collaborative work within this initiative.

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GOAL 1: Ensure that LNCI goals and activities are well understood by Chicago Wilderness member institutions and that best practices with respect to children’s programming are shared.

Strategic Priorities 1.1 Promote the benefits, activities and successes of Leave No Child Inside (LNCI) throughout Chicago Wilderness and share best practices across the alliance

Short-Term Actions 1.1.1 Identify and engage Chicago Wilderness member organizations that have children, families and/or educators as a primary constituency to be able to share best practices.

Tasks and Timing

1.1.2 Integrate the priorities of LNCI with the work of organizations active in the other strategic initiatives of CW

1.2 Support the evaluation of LNCI program impact and share best practices across the alliance

1.2.1 Undertake LNCI program evaluations to identify those with a broad and lasting impact on participants.

1.2.2 Integrate LNCI (esp. in relation to the evaluation of LNCI programming) into 2010 and 2012 CW Congresses

Compile a list of active LNCI participants and a list of potential new participants on an annual basis, in order to assess the initiative’s adoption among CW member organizations Produce and distribute informative LNCI newsletters and toolkits and maintain the LNCI website (ongoing) Include LNCI news and announcements in the CW Member Bulletin (ongoing) Present new CW members with materials that show opportunities for leadership and participation in the initiative (ongoing) Identify member organizations that can speak to the priorities of LNCI in the strategic planning meetings of the other initiatives (2011) Ensure that LNCI is represented at CW Coordinating Committee meetings (ongoing) Communicate to members the existence of evaluation tools for early childhood and teen unstructured programming, and encourage their use (ongoing) Secure funding for, develop, and implement an initiative-wide evaluation strategy (2011-2012)

Integrate LNCI priorities into Congress planning and recruit presenters (ongoing: use Congress Planning Committee timeline)

Responsibility and Required Resources Responsibility: LNCI Task Force (oversee) Resources: CW Staff time (Emilian, Michelle U., Michelle M.)

Responsibility: CW members, LNCI and Education Team leadership.

Resources: CW member organizations staff time Responsibility: CW Education Team (lead), CW Science Team (support) LNCI Task Force (oversee), CW Exec.

Director, CW Coordinating Committee (fundraising coordination) Resources: CW staff (Emilian, Melinda) and member time; evaluation costs Responsibility: Congress Planning Committee (lead) Resources: CW & member staff time

This is an internal, working document designed to aide Chicago Wilderness members in strategically organizing their collaborative work within this initiative.

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GOAL 2: Get more children outside in unstructured settings by identifying, incubating and expanding effective models of children’s programming.

Strategic Priorities 2.1 Build upon and expand successful Chicago Wilderness Models for LNCI children’s programming and support the capacity of member organizations to deliver these programs.

Short-Term Actions 2.1.1 Expand the Mighty Acorns program

2.1.2 Document, expand, and communicate lessons learned from other existing collaborative LNCI programs (including June LNCI Month and LNCI Explorer Days)

Tasks and Timing

2.1.3 Establish an internal small grants program to encourage and incubate creative new LNCI programming

2.2 Partner with developers, designers, builders, and community groups to find ways to create safe, naturally-landscaped play spaces for children.

2.2.1 Create CW Criteria and Award for development of open spaces, that includes design and educational outcomes.

Support the expansion of the Mighty Acorns program to new partners (such as faith based organizations) and non-classroom situations (ongoing) Use the LNCI newsletter, Education Team meetings, and CW workshops to communicate successes, challenges, and lessons learned (ongoing) Establish a consistent evaluation strategy (process or outcome-oriented) of collaborative LNCI programs and archive resulting documentation in a systematic manner (ongoing) Cultivate leadership within alliance members to pursue funding, deliver programs, and assess results of collaborative LNCI programs (ongoing) Develop a strategy for pursuing small grant funding sources in consultation with partners in the philanthropic community (2011) Seek and apply for funding sources (by 2012) Engage CW members with experience in play space design to develop criteria (by 2011) Pilot an award program that features playgrounds, gardens, and other public spaces that promote nature play.

Responsibility and Required Resources Responsibility: Mighty Acorns Board Resources: CW Mighty Acorns Board, Education Team, and CW staff time, Program expansion costs Responsibility: CW Education Team and targeted LNCI members (leads): LNCI Task Force (oversight) Resources: CW staff (Emilian) and member organizations time, workshop costs, program delivery and evaluation costs

Responsibility: CW Executive Director, LNCI Task Force Resources: Yearly target amount of $75,000 Responsibility: CW GIV Task Force, CW Education Team (leads), LNCI Task Force (oversight), CW/EPA Conservation & Landscape Awards Task Force (support)

This is an internal, working document designed to aide Chicago Wilderness members in strategically organizing their collaborative work within this initiative.

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Strategic Priorities

Short-Term Actions

2.2.2. Share criteria, materials, and best practices on creative use of open spaces with designers, developers, decision-makers, community groups, etc.

Tasks and Timing

Build on participation and response to Fall 2010 workshop on Nature Play-Oriented Playgrounds to determine next strategies (by 2011)

Responsibility and Required Resources Resources: CW staff (Emilian, Chris), CW member staff Responsibility: CW Education Team and GIV Task Force (leads), LNCI Task Force (oversight) Resources: CW member and staff time, workshop/materials costs

This is an internal, working document designed to aide Chicago Wilderness members in strategically organizing their collaborative work within this initiative.

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GOAL 3: Ensure that programming is offered for children of all ages, from toddlerhood through college, to create progressive opportunities for engagement and the eventual development of the next generation of conservation leaders.

Strategic Priorities

Short-Term Actions

3.1 Identify gaps in existing nature programming “pipeline” (serving ages 2 to 22) and support collaborative programs to fill those gaps.

3.1.1 Facilitate sharing of best practices for “pipeline” models of environmental education and provide regional forums (e.g. Chicago, Lake County, Calumet, etc.) for making connections between members’ existing programs 3.2.1 Work with the Chicago Wilderness Corporate Council to build its internship program.

3.2 Develop links between teens and young adults to CW programs and regional internships where they learn about and practice nature conservation.

3.2.2 Link high school students in CW to existing university environmental and nature education programs and CW member internship programs.

Tasks and Timing

3.2.3 Support the implementation of the Careers goals of the Environmental Literacy for Illinois Plan, which aims to broaden the circulation of information on environmental internship and career opportunities.

Facilitate planning and coordination meetings to establish collaborations that create a continuous programming “pipeline” (ongoing) Work with the Mighty Acorns Board to connect the program to other outdoor/science programs for elementary and middle school students (ongoing) Assist Corporate Council with reviewing its internship goals, guidelines, and implementation strategies (2011)

Develop strategies to link students to internships and job training programs (2011) Build on Youth Session at 2010 Congress to explore the formation of a CW Youth Corps program that assists emerging conservation leaders in their choice of college, internship, job, or volunteering opportunities (2011) Assess the effectiveness of online teen and young adult program directories (such as CZS’s Youth Conservation Blog) to keep youth engaged in conservation work (2011) Link online environmental internship and career listings in the CW region with resources developed statewide for connecting young adults with conservation careers (2011-2012)

Responsibility and Required Resources Responsibility: LNCI Task Force (lead), CW Education Team (support) Resources: CW staff and member time

Responsibility: CW Corporate Council (lead), LNCI Task Force and Education Team (support) Resources: CW member and staff time (Emilian, Pat) Responsibility: LNCI Task Force and Education Team (support), CW high schools (support), Corporate Council (support) Resources: CW staff time (Emilian), CW member staff time

Responsibility: LNCI Task Force (lead), CW Education Team Teens Working Group (lead) Resources: CW and member staff time

This is an internal, working document designed to aide Chicago Wilderness members in strategically organizing their collaborative work within this initiative.

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GOAL 4: Train parents, caregivers and educators to develop and facilitate opportunities for children to experience nature in unstructured settings.

Strategic Priorities

Short-Term Actions

Tasks and Timing

4.1 Train a cadre of professionals who work with children, in the design and implementation of child-led nature programs.

4.1.1 Develop workshops for educators and child-care professionals on the importance of and methods to incorporate nature into childhood experiences.

4.2 Engage parents and caregivers about the need for children to enjoy quality nature experiences that are safe and unstructured.

4.2.1 Provide family events that encourage families to participate in nature activities and model unstructured play outdoors, hosted by both CW and member organizations.

4.2.2 Employ targeted media outreach that leads to coverage on the importance of quality, unstructured experiences in nature

Conduct workshops for CW members and educators on nature and early-childhood education (ongoing) Support CW members in conducting training for relevant constituencies. Ex: publicize workshops, facilitate registration, provide materials, follow up with participants (ongoing)

Responsibility and Required Resources Responsibility: CW Education Team (lead), LNCI Task Force (oversight) Resources: CW staff time, workshop costs, publicity and materials cost

Secure funding for the continuation of the Leave No Child Inside Explorer Days and June LNCI Month events (2011) Encourage member leadership in funding and organizing family events, while providing support as needed (ongoing) Deliver “turnkey� events that provide CW member organizations with an opportunity to share best practices for making families more comfortable with nature play and exploration (annual)

Responsibility: CW Education Team, LNCI Task Force, and CW Exec.

Director

Through CW Communications Work Plan, promote LNCI via media relations community partnerships (ongoing) Encourage and enable LNCI members to promote LNCI programs and messages independently (ongoing)

Responsibility: CW staff (lead)

Resources: Events costs (incl. materials, publicity, etc), CW staff and member time

Resources: Media relations cost, CW staff time (Lucy, Michelle M., Emilian)

This is an internal, working document designed to aide Chicago Wilderness members in strategically organizing their collaborative work within this initiative.

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GOAL 5: Engage non-traditional and economically disadvantaged communities in LNCI. Strategic Priorities

Short-Term Actions

5.1 Develop collaborations to engage non-traditional stakeholders, such as libraries, health agencies, village governments, and faith organizations, in local and regional initiatives to get children outside.

5.1.1 Support, document, and communicate to the broader CW membership the work of collaborative LNCI projects that involve nontraditional audiences in local communities.

Tasks and Timing

5.1.2 Partner with “Building a Healthier Chicago” to connect to the medical community on the importance of time spent outdoors for children’s health.

5.1.3 Energize the faith community around the goals of LNCI

5.1.4 Energize the arts community around the goals of LNCI

5.1.5 Determine and communicate how to engage ethnically diverse and economically disadvantaged groups who do not enjoy easy access to nature and nature programming

Responsibility and Required Resources

Provide support for, and document the successes and challenges of, existing LNCI projects in Barrington, Waukegan, and Calumet (ongoing) Gauge the opportunity to incubate similar efforts in other communities, such as Garfield Park, Pilsen, or Evanston Identify funding sources to support these collaborative LNCI projects (ongoing) Cultivate leadership within CW membership to represent CW and promote the goals of LNCI in the work of health-and-wellness coalitions (ongoing)

Responsibility: CW members (lead), LNCI Task Force (oversight), CW Executive Director and Coordinating Committee (funding coordination)

Assess the progress and sustainability of the Faith-Based Committee (2011)

Responsibility: Faith Committee (lead), LNCI Task Force (oversight)

Clarify purpose and develop a robust project for the LNCI Arts & Culture Committee (2011) Assess the progress of the Arts Committee (Summer 2010) Communicate to the broader CW membership the best practices for reaching diverse families, as identified by the New Allies and Waukegan and Calumet LNCI efforts (2011) Encourage use of these best practices in collaborative and individual member organizations’ programs (ongoing)

Resources: CW members and staff time (Emilian, Melinda)

Responsibility: CW members (lead), CW staff Resources: CW members and staff time (Emilian, Melinda)

Resources: CW member and staff time (Emilian) Responsibility: Arts Committee (lead), LNCI Task Force (oversight) Resources: CW member and staff time (Emilian) Responsibility: LNCI Task Force and CW Education Team Resources: CW member and staff time (Emilian)

This is an internal, working document designed to aide Chicago Wilderness members in strategically organizing their collaborative work within this initiative.

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Goal 6: Pursue a targeted policy agenda that advances the goals of LNCI. Strategic Priorities 6.1 Work in partnership with the Chicago Wilderness Government Relations Committee to develop a local policy environment that is favorable to LNCI goals.

Short-Term Actions

Tasks and Timing

6.1.1 Place a LNCI representative on the CW Government Relations Committee

Identify interested members and recruit for Government Relations committee (2011)

6.1.2 Compile and disseminate a set of best practices for engaging local government in the work of LNCI

Document lessons learned by the Barrington LNCI partners in engaging local governments (2011) Compile a set of resources (LNCI Toolkit, Play Space Award criteria, Children’s Outdoor Bill of Rights resolution) for sharing with local governments Integrate resources and best practices into outreach to local governments conducted by GIV Task Force (2011) Seek leadership from within the alliance to pursue state funds for LNCI Month campaign (2010)

6.2 Work to develop and implement state policies that are favorable to LNCI goals.

6.3 Work to develop a national policy environment that is favorable to LNCI goals.

6.2.1 Work to secure state funding from the Illinois legislature for activities related to June’s Leave No Child Inside month in the future

6.2.2 Replicate the Illinois effort to have state legislatures in Wisconsin and Indiana declare a Leave No Child Inside Month 6.2.3 Encourage LNCI partners in IL, WI, and IN to work with state agencies to implement environmental literacy plans.

6.3.1 Share info about the work of the national NCLI coalition in support of the passage of national legislation and funding support

Reengage Indiana and Wisconsin members to explore feasibility of proposals (2011)

Support the work of CW members who are interested in establishing state environmental literacy plans (2010)

Support CW member organizations aligned with NCLI effort (ongoing) Assess CW’s continued interest and support of national efforts (2011)

Responsibility and Required Resources Responsibility: CW Government.

Relations Committee (lead), LNCI Task Force (support) Resources: CW member time Responsibility: LNCI Task force (lead), Education Team, CW Government. Relations Committee (support), Corporate Council (support) Resources: CW staff time, CW member time, workshop costs

Responsibility: LNCI Task Force (lead), CW members Resources: CW staff (Michelle) and member time Responsibility: CW Government Relations (lead), LNCI Task Force (support) Resources: CW staff time Responsibility: LNCI Task Force (lead), CW members Resources: CW member time, CW staff (Michelle U., Emilian) Responsibility: LNCI Task Force, CW Team Resources: CW staff time

This is an internal, working document designed to aide Chicago Wilderness members in strategically organizing their collaborative work within this initiative.

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Acknowledgments The Chicago Wilderness Leave No Child Inside Leadership Task Force gratefully acknowledges the support offered by the Gaylord and Dorothy Donnelley Foundation, the Morrison Family Foundation, and the Boeing Foundation in the creation of this strategic framework, as well as the time and expertise offered by the following individuals and organizations in developing and updating the framework’s goals and priorities: Teri Bridge, LNCI Consortium of Barrington, Deer Park, and Lake Zurich Robin Cline, Garfield Park Conservatory Alliance John Hayes, Indiana Dunes Environmental Learning Center Andy Howard, Hitchcock Design Group Kevin Ivers, Resurrection Retreat Center Cherie Fisher, U.S. Forest Service Scott McCreary, Lincoln-Way East High School Jo-Elle Mogerman, Chicago Zoological Society John Rogner, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Rafael Rosa, The Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum Laurel Ross, The Field Museum Jennifer Schwarz Ballard, Chicago Botanic Garden Peggy Stewart, Chicago Park District Treenen Sturman, Chicago Botanic Garden Kimberly Swift, Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore Bill Weidner, Forest Preserve District of DuPage County Programmatic support is also provided by the USDA Forest Service and US Fish and Wildlife Service.

This is an internal, working document designed to aide Chicago Wilderness members in strategically organizing their collaborative work within this initiative.

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Endnotes

i

Chicago Wilderness Biodiversity Council. (1999). Chicago Wilderness Biodiversity Recovery Plan, p. 118. Available online at http://www.chicagowilderness.org/resources.php

ii

Chawla, L. (2006). Learning to love the natural world enough to protect it. Barn, 2, pp. 57-58; Wells, N.M., & Lekies, K.S. (2006). Nature and the life course: Pathways from childhood nature experiences to adult environmentalism. Children, Youth and Environments, 16, pp. 1-24.

iii

Kaiser Family Foundation. (2005). Generation M: Media in the lives of 8-18 year olds. Menlo Park, CA: Kaiser Family Foundation; Hofferth, S.L. (2008).

Changes in American children’s time, 1997 to 2003. College Park, MD: Maryland Population Research Center.

iv

Wridt, P.J. (2004). An historical analysis of young people’s use of public space, parks and playgrounds in New York City. Children, Youth and Environments, 14, pp. 86-106; Gaster, S. (1999). Urban children’s access to their neighborhood: Changes over three generations. Environment and Behavior, 23, pp. 70-85.

v

Pergams, O.R.W. & Zaradic, P.A. (2008). Evidence for a fundamental and pervasive shift away from nature-based recreation. Proceedings of the National Academies of Sciences, 105, pp. 2295-2300. vi

Burdette, H.L., & Whitaker, R.C. (2005). Resurrecting free play in young children: Looking beyond fitness and fatness to attention, affiliation and affect.

Archives of Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine, 159, pp. 46-50. Readdick, C.A. & Schaller, G.R. (2005). Summer camp and self-esteem of school-age inner-city children. Perceptual & Motor Skills, 101, pp. 121-30; Faber Taylor, A., Kuo, F.E. & Sullivan, W.C. (2001). Coping with ADD: The surprising connection to green play settings. Environment & Behavior, 33, 54-77; Kellert, S. R. & Derr, V. (1998). A national study of outdoor wilderness experience. New Haven: Yale University. vii

Unstructured play is child-centered, exploratory, imaginative play. Ideally, unstructured play is child-led. Recognizing that many children do not have access to safe outdoor play spaces and are exposed to nature through school-based programming, unstructured play can be one component of a larger curriculum, but should not be constrained by the curriculum.

This is an internal, working document designed to aide Chicago Wilderness members in strategically organizing their collaborative work within this initiative.

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