Leading a Movement to Connect all Children, their Families and Communities to Nature

The NSN provides ideas and resources to help people create successful projects and connect people and projects year-round with a special campaign in the Fall Serve Outside September (S.O.S.). This is not just a call to action, it is a call for fun! Think of it as a party invitation, and the party location is all the green and living space around us.

The Natural Service Network brings together individuals, families, businesses, schools, agencies and organizations who participate in outdoor service projects. The goal is to create a community of shared commitment to service and to inspire, cultivate and nourish a lifelong commitment to naturebased play and recreation while taking action to benefit the environmentfrom neighborhoods to community parks to national parks and other public lands.

The more hightech our world becomes, the more we need nature in our lives. Young, old or in between, we can reap extraordinary benefits by connecting or reconnecting to nature. Natural Service is a valuable way to weave nature into our everyday lives. It can support our health and act as a bonding agent for families and communities.

Richard Louv, Founding Chairman, Children & Nature Network and author, "Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children from Nature-Deficit Disorder" and "The Nature Principle"

Natural Service Network Partners & Sponsors

Garlic Mustard Pull Grass Lake Sanctuary Ann Arbor/Dexter, Michigan Submitted by Lana Jerome

REI and Grass Lake Sanctuary volunteers teamed up to tame the invasive garlic mustard and have some fun in the tree house.

Photo Tamara Wendt

Bellemeade Stream Clean Up REI, Richmond, VA Submitted by Wade Bedell

REI rallied volunteers for a stream clean up outside the Bellemeade Community Center.

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Neighborhood Clean Up Roanoke, VA Submitted by Chip and Ashley Donahue

Star?ng simply was the key for us. Just carrying a plas?c bag and some gloves with you when you hike as a family can lead to wonderful results, such as giving other families the chance to see nature naturally.

Photo Jon Beard

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Lets G.O.! Roanoke Valley Park Clean Up Roanoke, VA Star?ng simple paid o now when the Donahues plan a family day of service they have lots of company. According to the Donahues, It doesn't get any beIer than community members making a dierence, many hands making light work, bright smiling faces, incredible coee and snacks, families lling bright orange bags with trail trash and SANTA CLAUS!

Photo Jon Beard

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Let s G.O! Clean Up Men of MODEL and BOLT Team Albany, New York Submitted by Natural Leader, Tyrell Hughes
Soon to be home of a community raised-bed garden with help from our friends at The North Face and Outdoor Na?on. Truly healing day... I am thankful that we here in Albany were able to to par?cipate in our na?onal ini?a?ve... TRULY THANKFUL Tyrell Hughes
Photo Bro Yusuf BOLT Team and MODEL

Outside Connections Club Pennichuck Middle School Nashua, New Hampshire Submitted by Marianne O Connor

Photos Marianne O Connor

This Natural Teacher started an aVer school adventure club for students, partnered with NH Project Learning Tree, and gave students an unforgeIable service learning experience. Students learned to snowshoe and use GPS to map trails for the city of Nashua. What students had to say: The snow was really deep. We got along because we paid aIen?on and put aside our dierences. We made a trail for other people and I felt good about helping other people.

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Bat and Bee House Build Izaak Walton Boy Scout Conservation Project Spotsylvania, VA Submitted by John Wiltenmuth

Photos John Wiltenmuth

Photos Ariana Delmerico

+ Questa Spring Clean Day

Taos County, New Mexico Submitted by Natural Leader, Rosie Williams

Volunteers cleaned and restored the Questa Park Community Park and built a trail connec?ng the Community Center with the park.

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Beacon Bluff Planting Great Rivers Greening St. Paul, Minnesota Submitted by Deborah Karasov

Volunteers transformed the new Beacon Blu Business Center with na?ve plants to support the Port Authority's work, which was highlighted by the Environmental Protec?on Agency as a na?onal case study and won the 2011 Sustainable Communi?es Award from the Minnesota Environmental Ini?a?ve.
Photo Great River Greening

+ The Pine Mountain Trail Association Work Day

Pine Mountain, Georgia Submitted by Jim Hall
Volunteers are working hard to rebuild trails damaged by tornados in April 2011. Thanks to these dedicated volunteers, the trails will be ready for the North Face Challenge run in October 2011.

Service Learning Day Nature's Friends Victoria, Virginia Submitted by Rev. Marjani Dele

Lunenberg 4-H team leaders, master gardeners, foresters and members of the Southside VA Herb Society created a day of service, learning and fun for girls and boys across the county.
Photos Bambi Beahn

+ Earth Day Clean Up

Edwin B. Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge Galloway, New Jersey Submitted by Sandy Perchetti, USFWS
Boy and Girl Scouts, high school students and home schoolers came together for the Earth Day Clean Up and enjoyed ?me playing outside. Everyone received a free lunch and tree to plant.

Rakow Branch of the Gail Borden Library District Ladybug Release Party, Elgin, Illinois Submitted by Anne Bedard and Margaret Peebles
The library and the Elgin Community Garden Network hosted three ladybug release par?es at the Rabow Branch. Families were invited to learn more about these insects and learn how ladybugs can improve a garden.

Photo Gail Borden Public Library District, Anne Bedard

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Lipscomb Elementary School Real School Gardens Dallas, Texas Submitted by Scott Feille

School garden construc?on inspires community spirit as parents, teachers and community members work alongside each other to install their outdoor classroom.

Photo Scott Feille

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Back to School Family Event, Camp Bayou Ruskin, Florida Submitted by Dolly Cummings

Families play, serve, learn and celebrate at Camp Bayou. A donated Bucs backpack brought a big smile to this lucky winner.
Photo Dolly Cummings

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Cleaning up Mine Drainage Eastern Pennsylvania Coalition for Abandoned Mine Reclamation Newport Township, Luzerne County, PA Robert Hughes demonstrates how cattail plants assist in naturally treating abandoned mine drainage. Submitted by Robert E. Hughes

Photo Miguel de la Cueva/iLCP (International League of Conservation Photographers)

Photo Carmen Field

Let's G.O.! Spring Family Coast Walk Nature Rocks Homer, South Central Alaska Submitted by Carmen Field
Our youngest Coast Walker was a 3-year-old who found all sorts of ?ny pieces of styrofoam and plas?c that adult eyes would've missed. We documented every piece of trash found and removed over 110 pounds of marine debris.

Natural Leaders, Mine Falls Park CommiIee members, Girl Scouts, and community members worked together to clean up Mine Falls Park.

Let s G.O.! Nashua Clean Up Mines Falls Park Nashua, New Hampshire Submitted by Natural Leader, Rebecca Martin

Photo Roger Blanchette

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Nature Explorer Family Night Head Start/Early Childhood Merrill, Wisconsin Submitted by Joan Krohn

Our goal is to encourage the families of our low income and special needs three, four and ve year olds to get out into the natural areas and enjoy nature together as a family. In this photo three genera?ons explore together!
Photo Laurie Jacoby

Schoolyard Planting Portland Elementary Louisville, Kentucky Submitted by Brenda Stokes

Students work together to prep raised garden beds for their theme garden project.

Photos Brenda Stokes

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Aldama Elementary School Beautification Los Angeles, CA Submitted by Natural Leaders, Lizbeth Williams and Andrew Anderson
Natural Leaders partnered with Playworks and Americrops in a collabora?ve eort of pain?ng, plan?ng and a good ?me outdoors. Children played, smiled and par?cipated in giving their campus a much needed fresh look.
Photo Amir Nia

Photos Paula Frakes, M.A.

Intergenerational Monarch Butterfly Release RidgePointe Senior Apartments Minnetonka, MN Submitted by Paula Frakes, M.A.

Rain Barrel Installation National Association for American Indian Children & Elders (NAAICE) Seattle, Washington Submitted by Uri Israel
NAAICE purchased two rain barrels for a local residence on a Na?ve American reserva?on near SeaIle that currently has no water. The rain barrels will help provide water for hand washing, boiling for other needs and watering their gardens.

Photo Understanding Uri Israel, M.A. Ed.

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Canyonlands Service Project Point of View Nature Tours San Diego, California Submitted by Crystal DeSoto
Students from Roosevelt Middle School are helping restore a weed lot into an amazing na?ve plant garden.

Photo Local Point of View Nature Tours

Natural Resource Restoration and Research Crews MidCoast Watersheds Council Beaver Creek Natural Area Newport, Oregon Submitted by Virginia Tardaewether
It takes teamwork to remove the huge English ivy from trees and dig up invasive blackberry roots.

Photo Natural Resource Restoration CrewsMidCoast Watersheds Council/Lincoln County Community Services Consortium/OSU Extension

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Nature Playce, Hidden Oaks Nature Center Annandale, VA Submitted by Suzanne Holland
This natural play area hosts hours of free play in nature. Only the poison ivy is removed.

Photo Don Sweeney, Fairfax County Park Authority

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Oregon Inventory of Historical Sites Dayville, Oregon Submitted by Dave Sandersfeld
This site is a na?ve American ancient "paint factory for making Pictograph pictures.

C.J. Ross, Leave No Trace Master Educator, Camp Tolochee, Brunswick, Georgia Jennifer McCoy, River Rendezvous, Rottenwood Creek Watershed, Marietta, Georgia Jean-Jacques Credi, Chattahoochee Nature Center Earth Day Kids' Fest, Roswell, Georgia Joan Krohn, Nature Explorers Family Night, Council Grounds State Park, Merrill, Wisconsin Susie Hobart, Lake View School Green Team, Madison's Northside, Madison, Wisconsin Anne Bedard, Ladybug Release Party, Rakow Branch of the Gail Borden Library District, Elgin, IL

Thanks to these amazing people and organizations, empty lots became native gardens; trails were mapped, created and improved; plants were inventoried; watersheds were cleaned; and ladybugs and butterflies were raised and released. The world is a little bit brighter.

Chris Kuntz, Goodman-Armstrong Creek BioBlitz, Goodman-Armstrong Creek School Forest, Goodman, Wisconsin Taiji Nelson, Panther Hollow Extravaganza, Schenley Park, Oakland, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Melody Wilkes, A Walk in the Woods - EcoWild Exploration Stations, Waxhaw, Charlotte, and Concord, North Carolina Samantha Hartzell, Beacon Bluff Planting Event, St. Paul, Minnesota Brenda Stokes, Schoolyard Planting, Portland Elementary Environmental Studies, Louisville , Kentucky Erica Quigley, Schoolyard Work Day, John D. Philbrick Elementary School, Roslindale, Massachusetts Keith Hall, National Kids to Parks Day, Eastwood Park, El Paso, Texas

Thanks to these amazing people and organizations, empty lots became native gardens; trails were mapped, created and improved; plants were inventoried; watersheds were cleaned; and ladybugs and butterflies were raised and released. The world is a little bit brighter.

Anne Conway, SOEC, Marion Street School Vegetable and Fruit Planting during Health and Wellness Week, Lynbrook, New York Dolly Cummings, Family Naturalist Hour, Camp Bayou Outdoor Learning Center, Ruskin, Florida

Thanks to these amazing people and organizations, empty lots became native gardens; trails were mapped, created and improved; plants were inventoried; watersheds were cleaned; and ladybugs and butterflies were raised and released. The world is a little bit brighter.

Laura Getz, Summer Gardening Club, Friday morning garden maintenance, Indianapolis, Indiana Cristina Watson, Lost Creek Tree Planting, Elijah Bristow State Park, Dexter, Oregon Lorana Jinkerson, National Trails Day, Elliott Donnelley Wilderness, Marquette, Michigan Rev. Marjani Dele, Nature's Friends Day, Nature's Friends Exhibition Site, Victoria, Virginia Angela Spry, Colts Pride Campus Clean Up, Cape Fear High School, Fayetteville, North Carolina

Paula Frakes, Monarch Butterfly Project, Ridge Pointe Senior Apartments, Minnetonka, Minnesota Jill Bluhm, Grow Native Plant Sale, Highlands Center for Natural History, Prescott, Arizona

Thanks to these amazing people and organizations, empty lots became native gardens; trails were mapped, created and improved; plants were inventoried; watersheds were cleaned; and ladybugs and butterflies were raised and released. The world is a little bit brighter.

Rosie Williams, Taos Rivers and Lands Day Clean Up and Trail Restoration, Taos County, New Mexico George Hawkins, Palmetto Multi-Sensory Trail, Houston Arboretum & Nature Center, Houston, Texas Michele del Castillo, Forest School of Minnesota, Linden Hills, Minneapolis, Minnesota Adrienne Bottoms, Courtyard Garden Designed for Therapy and Relaxation, Lexington Place Healthcare, Houston, Texas Suzanne Holland, Nature Playce, Hidden Oaks Nature Center, Annandale, Virginia

Uri Israel, Family Garden Time at Home, Arlington, Washington Laura Childers, Trail Blazing Bonanza, Homer Ranch Preserve, Visalia, California

Thanks to these amazing people and organizations, empty lots became native gardens; trails were mapped, created and improved; plants were inventoried; watersheds were cleaned; and ladybugs and butterflies were raised and released. The world is a little bit brighter.

Crystal De Soto, Florida Canyon Youth Service Project, Balboa Park, Florida Canyon, San Diego, California Robert Hughes, Macro-Mayhem in Mine Drainage Impacted Streams, Wilkes-Barre's Solomon Creek and Plains Township's Mill Creek, Wilkes-Barre, and Plains Township, Pennsylvania Janet Shriner, Jr. Ranger Camp Out, Joseph D. Grant County Park, San Jose, California Sue Ellen Lyons, Wetlands Tree & Aquatic Grass Plantings, Big Branch Marsh; Islenos Nature Center; LA Nature Center, New Orleans, Louisiana

Jane-Ann Carroll, Community Garden Project, SDSU Children's Center, San Diego, California Dawn Mak, OLE, Project Enlightenment, Raleigh, North Carolina

Thanks to these amazing people and organizations, empty lots became native gardens; trails were mapped, created and improved; plants were inventoried; watersheds were cleaned; and ladybugs and butterflies were raised and released. The world is a little bit brighter.

Marianne OConnor, Outside Connections ClubMap Making Session, Roby Park, Nashua, New Hampshire Gail Randolph, Elk River Clean Up , Elk River in Lincoln County, Fayetteville, Tennessee Nicole Little, Cub Pack 30 Trash Pick-Up, 11 Mile Canyon, Lake George, Colorado Dave Sandersfeld, Portland's Oregon Nature Examiner, Dayville, Oregon Cindy Murdough, Native Plant Planting Event, Conrad Weiser Middle School, Robesonia, Pennsylvania

Marguerite Dorgan, Friends of Black Hill Programs Native Plant Sale, Ridge Rd, Boyds, Maryland Leandra Darden, Yreka Creek Clean Up, Yreka, California Ernie McLaney, Creek ReLeaf, Various locations around Charlotte, North Carolina John Wiltenmuth, Izaak Walton - Boy Scouts Conservation Projects, Spotsylvania, Virginia Virginia Tardaewether, Natural Resource Restoration and Research Crews, Beaver Creek Natural Area, Newport, Oregon Nataly Marchuk, Replaced Home Lawn with a Native Plant Garden, San Jose, California Amanda Speer, Bat Box Build, Lake Oroville, California Tara Von Dollen, Savanna Prairie Planting in Backyard, Madison, Wisconsin

Thanks to these amazing people and organizations, empty lots became native gardens; trails were mapped, created and improved; plants were inventoried; watersheds were cleaned; and ladybugs and butterflies were raised and released. The world is a little bit brighter.

Lizbeth Williams and Andrew Anderson, Natural Leaders, Aldama Elementary School Beautification, Los Angeles, CA Rebecca Martin, Natural Leader, Lets G.O.! Nashua Clean Up, Mines Falls Park, Nashua, New Hampshire

Thanks to these amazing people and organizations, empty lots became native gardens; trails were mapped, created and improved; plants were inventoried; watersheds were cleaned; and ladybugs and butterflies were raised and released. The world is a little bit brighter.

Lana Jerome, Earth Steward, Garlic Mustard Pull, Grass Lake Sanctuary, Ann Arbor/Dexter, Michigan Chip and Ashley Donahue, Family Club Leaders, Kids in the Valley Adventuring Neighborhood Clean Up, Roanoke, VA Tyrell Hughes, Natural Leader, Men of MODEL, and Brother Yusuf, BOLT Team, Let s G.O! Clean Up, Albany, New York Carmen Field, Family Club Leader, Let's G.O.! Spring Family Coast Walk Nature Rocks Homer, South Central Alaska

I believe that it is through nature that we find we are most connected to each other and our communities. The power of nature as a facilitator for empowerment cannot be underestimated. It is out there where trees don t care what race you are but still they share their shade, the river will not check your FICO score before quenching your thirst. Every day is filled with a chance to make a difference. We invite you to join us in the simple act of rolling up sleeves and digging within our hearts to build the new nature movement.

Juan Martinez, Natural Leaders Network

Partners & Sponsors

THANK YOU

Join the Natural Service Network at: hIp://childrenandnature.ning.com/group/ naturalservicenetwork The Natural Service Network Tool Kit was created with generous support of REI. [+] Download the NSN Tool Kit hIp://childrenandnature.ning.com/group/ naturalservicenetwork Organiza?ons and agencies that would like to par?cipate in the Natural Service Network, please contact C&NN at serve@childrenandnature.org.

How to par?cipate
Natural Service comes in all shapes and sizes: community gardening, river clean ups, trail maintenance, habitat restoration, people getting other people outsidehowever and wherever you get outside to serve in nature, we want to hear about it! Share your plans, photos and stories on C&NN Connect.
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