Grassroots Conservation Campaign
Leopold Education Project - Goal: $3.625 million
What is it?
The No Child Left Indoors™ Initiative is PF and QF's response to a national movement to get youth unplugged from electronics and turned on to the outdoor world and nature. It is our effort to address the concern for "nature deficit disorder" in today's youth before we lose a generation that no longer cares about being outdoors. The No Child Left Indoors™ Initiative will involve youth and their families in habitat projects, community events and activities and outdoor skills programs. Part of this initiative is also our popular Leopold Education Project (LEP), a professional education and training curriculum based on the teachings of Aldo Leopold, the father of wildlife management. The Leopold Education Project strives to develop ecologically conscious and connected citizens who understand and appreciate the value and beauty of the land. Opportunities to experience the outdoors are a birthright and an investment in conservation consciousness that will pay rewards far into the future. We cannot just acquire land, we must also enrich the minds of the next generation and enlist them to protect the habitat long after we're gone.
Why is it important?
We have to teach it if we're going to reach it. We need education that ensures No Child Left Indoors™. Research tells us that youth today spend an average of 6 ½ hours per day on electronic equipment during their free time (Kaiser Family Foundation). We must educate the future stewards of the land if we are to pass a natural wildlife legacy on to future generations. Pheasants Forever has achieved 25 years of outstanding habitat work. If our gains are to last, we must develop, teach and inspire the next generation of guardians who will carry on our traditions and advance our ideals and hard work. It is essential that we instill a personal land ethic as a way of life, that we open the world's eyes to the importance of open space land and that we communicate the key role nature plays in our lives.
How will we achieve it?
Reach and teach, train and gain and work together. Through the No Child Left Indoors™ Initiative, PF and QF will work with members, chapters, educators, youth organizations and conservation partners to engage youth and instill a land ethic. We will offer training in best practices to youth education chapter chairs; workshops for teachers and other educators; activities to community nature centers, zoos and parks and opportunities to youth organizations like FFA, 4-H and Scouts. We will increase the number of state coordinators involved with the Leopold Education Project and their ability to deliver "Lessons in a Land Ethic."