Cities Connecting Children to Nature & COBOR Press Conferenc

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Louisa Brinsmade
Posts: 76
Joined: Mon Oct 19, 2015 4:27 pm

Cities Connecting Children to Nature & COBOR Press Conferenc

Post by Louisa Brinsmade »

To my colleagues:

As I mentioned yesterday in our work session, I would like to invite you all to attend the press conference this Thursday at 9:30am to launch two initiatives that our Parks & Recreation Department (PARD) has been working on to connect Austin’s children to nature.

- Cities Connecting Children to Nature Implementation Plan pilot program grant (Item 23 on the January 26th Council agenda)
(Link to document: http://assets.austintexas.gov/austincou ... 141152.pdf )

- Children’s Outdoor Bill of Rights (Item 22)
(Link to document: http://assets.austintexas.gov/austincou ... 131417.pdf )

Here is a link to the press conference invitation: http://assets.austintexas.gov/austincou ... 131152.pdf )

You may know that Austin won a planning grant last year from the National League of Cities to examine ways to better connect our children to our natural resources – our parks, creeks, and trails. The mission is to provide equitable access to nature for our communities in need and our communities of color.

Our Parks Department and 40 participating organizations, including Austin ISD, collaborated over the last nine months to explore more ways connect our children and our families to nature through a comprehensive approach that examined city policy, land use code, education, public health programs, community engagement, data collection, and mapping.

This effort resulted in the “Cities Connecting Children to Nature Implementation Plan.”

Building on that effort, PARD won another $50,000 grant to launch pilot projects to connect our children and their families to nature.


- Item 23 on our agenda allows us to accept the $50,000 in grant funds for the pilot projects. There are no matching funds from the city required here, so there is no operating or capital budget impact.

In partnership with AISD, we will kick that grant off with the Green School Park Pilot Project at Barrington Elementary in the Rundberg area.

Our overall focus for these projects will be to serve communities in the Eastern Crescent, creating “Green School Parks” for the students and the surrounding community and expanding equitable access to nature.



- Item 22 refers to an aspirational statement that emerged from the planning grant work: The Children’s Outdoor Bill of Rights.

Austin treasures its natural resources and environment and we recognize the public health benefits of our natural open spaces and the importance of children and families spending time outside.

The resolution expresses the core tenets of the Cities Connecting Children to Nature initiative and its vision for Austin’s children.


I hope my colleagues will join me in supporting these efforts. I invite you all to the press conference this Thursday at 9:30am on the City Hall plaza to launch these initiatives and show your support.

The press conference has been posted to allow everyone to attend.

Thank you.

Leslie Pool, Council Member District 7
Chief of Staff
Office of Mayor Pro Tem Leslie Pool, District 7