Get Outdoors, Anchorage!
Working Summit

December 10-11, 2008
8:00 am – 4:30 pm
Dena’ina Civic and Convention Center
Anchorage, Alaska

Speakers Notes
Reports

Richard Louv, author of Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children From Nature-Deficit Disorder, has sparked a national dialogue and call to action to reconnect kids with the outdoors. Join a growing group of youth and outdoor advocates at the first ever “Get Outdoors, Anchorage! Working Summit.” Add your voice to the conversation on how to foster a new vision for Anchorage and our children.

The Summit will include keynote speakers from Richard Louv’s Children and Nature Network, a panel of local stakeholders, and breakout sessions to identify challenges and actions that can be taken to create an Anchorage community that values time spent in the outdoors and facilitates outdoor activity for children and families. It will culminate with the signing of an “Anchorage Children’s Outdoor Bill of Rights” facilitated by Anchorage Mayor Mark Begich.

Participants in the summit will:

1. Learn about the trend that children are spending less time in nature than ever before and the health, social, intellectual, and environmental benefits of youth spending time outdoors in natural settings.

2. Network with one another to learn about current successes and identify opportunities to engage children in nature.

3. Identify challenges for connecting kids with nature in Anchorage.

4. Visualize an Anchorage community that provides what is necessary to connect its youth with nature.

5. Identify individual and collective actions to be taken (next steps) that will result in getting Anchorage’s youth connected with nature.

Speakers

The Broken Bond Between Children and Nature: Why It Matters, What We Can Do (December 10)

Martha Farrell Erickson, Ph.D. Marti is a Senior Fellow at the University of Minnesota, where she is Director of the Irving B. Harris Training Programs in the Center for Early Education & Development and Co-Chair of the President's Initiative on Children, Youth & Families. A developmental psychologist specializing in parent-child attachment, child abuse prevention, and children's mental health, Marti is a well-known speaker and author in those fields and has been honored by state and national organizations for her outstanding contributions to psychology.

With an interest in translating research for general audiences, Marti also appears weekly on Twin Cities television and hosts a weekly radio show, "Good Enough Moms," with her daughter, Erin Erickson Garner. Marti is passionate about the role of nature in children's development and hopes to spur not only a movement to reunite children with the natural world, but also more rigorous, extensive research on this critical topic in human development. Marti is a founding board member and senior advisor for Children & Nature Network.

We're In This Together: Understanding Nature Deficit Disorder (December 10)
Panel discussion moderated by Brad Dunker, Municpal Creeks Coordinator for the Municipality of Anchorage.

Panelist Biographies

They Have to Live It!: A Grassroots Strategy for British Columbia (December 11)

Bob Peart (BSc, MEd) is a registered professional biologist, with a background in biology and education, and is Director of The Kesho Trust. He has worked for the past 30 years in parks planning and advocacy as well as public conservation education. He has worked at both professional and senior management levels within government agencies including Parks Canada, the Canadian Wildlife Service, and the BC Ministry of Aboriginal Affairs. Bob has also held Executive Director positions with conservation NGOs such as the BC Outdoor Recreation Council and the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society as well as serving on many other conservation organization boards.

In the area of public education he has similar senior level experience having served as the Assistant Director of the Royal BC Museum. Drawing on his diverse experience, he also served as Executive Assistant to BC Cabinet Minister the Honourable John Cashore in the portfolios of both Environment and Aboriginal Affairs. His work has been extensively linked to aboriginal communities especially in British Columbia. Bob is a senior associate for Children & Nature Network.

Speaker Notes

Reports

Final Report
Summit Agenda
Survey from King Career Center Students

Registration

* Online registration has closed. Onsite registration will be available. *

$125 Early Bird Registration Fee (through November 21, 2008)

$185 Full Registration Fee (November 22-December 11, 2008)

The “Get Outdoors Anchorage Working Summit” is sponsored by the Get Outdoors Anchorage Steering Committee. Members of the Steering Committee include: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Alaskans Promoting Physical Activity, U.S. Forest Service-Chugach National Forest, Municipality of Anchorage Parks and Recreation, U.S. Bureau of Land Management, National Wildlife Federation, National Park Service, Alaska Division of Public Health, Alaska Geographic, Alaska Department of Fish and Game, and the Friends of Campbell Creek Science Center.

For More Information

Contact Shari Showalter by email or by calling (907) 240-2557.