Greening Sam and Avery

press conference to promote outdoor play

We had our big press conference event at the capitol today. The WI League of Conservation Voters and the WI Association for Environmental Education both did a great job putting this together and getting a good crowd there.

Sam was very excited to get to share her artwork with the "legislurs" also known as legislators.

While different people were giving speeches they had the kids standing in front with their artwork so that they were in front of the cameras too.

Avery wasn't really interested in the speeches but this fireplace in the Senate Lobby was quite impressive to her!

Then Sam went with a small group of kids to talk with specific legislators and give them the artwork. It was neat to see the kids telling him what they loved to do outside.

We didn't stay for the whole thing because Avery started to get really sick. Sam was very bummed because she had several other drawings that she wanted to deliver. I told her we could mail the pictures to them another day. She likes putting mail in the mailbox so that calmed her down!

It was a great event with a pretty good crowd. I couldn't tell for sure if the cameramen that were there were from news stations of just other groups, but I am sure if it is on the news the League of Conservation Voters will let us know and I will pass along a link to the video.

Keep your fingers crossed for me that this all made enough noise in the capitol to get those representatives to send this to the floor for a vote!

coloring for our legislatures

We are coloring like crazy around here!

Tomorrow is the big press conference at the capitol to go public with the WI Children's Outdoor Bill of Rights and show the legislatures how important this is to the state of Wisconsin. Teachers, students, naturalist and parents will be at the capitol tomorrow to meet with all the legislatures, give them artwork from kids and tell them about the Bill of Rights.

Sam and I talked a lot tonight about what she likes to do outside and some things that she is excited to do when she gets a little bit bigger (like skiing, ice fishing, backpacking and more). My girls are a bit too young to understand legislation and why this message we are trying to make is so important but I still want them to be a part of it tomorrow. It matters to me, A LOT, and so I want them there with me.

Wish us luck for tomorrow. We need to make a big statement tomorrow and make sure that all the legislatures see just how important outdoor play is to our kids. Hopefully we can get enough of them to take notice that they will decide in a few weeks to vote on it. IF we can get it to come to a vote I cannot imagine that they would not pass it! But getting them to see this piece of nonbudgetary legislation as important enough to come together and take a vote on may be the hard part.

Thanks to those that have signed on in support, spread the word to others or visited our page on Facebook!

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The Nitty Gritty!

It is also Avery's 2nd birthday tomorrow! We will be celebrating that as well!  

color to show your support for kids getting outside

If you are a fan of my Facebook page you may have seen me promoting the WI Children's Outdoor Bill of Rights. You may also see that I have a button on my sidebar showing that I'm A Supporter! (Feel free to grab that button to show you are a supporter too!)

There is a press conference coming up on January 5th that will bring parents, teachers, non-formal educators and students in contact with their legislatures to show just how passionate we are about getting the Outdoor Bill of Rights passed.

One thing that we are encouraging children to do is create a piece of artwork to bring with them to the press conference to give to their legislature. The art should show what they love to do outdoors and/or explain what they love about the outdoors. For the children that are too young to create their own picture I have created some coloring pictures that go along with the Bill of Rights.

 https://docs.google.com/document/d/1liqQ1XLsw0UvmmUmCEWWOi4eTw6m6xqFCJXop-y3LaY/edit 

Feel free to download, print, share with others and use these pages in anyway that you would like. AND even if you can't come to the press conference but would like your child to get a chance to have their voice heard feel free to email me (or comment) and I will send you my mailing address so you can send the pictures to me!

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The Nitty Gritty!

We would love to have as many people at the press conference as we can. Showing all the legislatures just how important we all think this is is critical to a vote taking place on this sometime soon.

For all the updates and information about the WI Children's Outdoor Bill of Rights sign on to support at EE in WI.  

Day 258: lobby day

The girls did not come with me today but I am counting today's experience as a green activity for my family. Because it most certainly impacts the future of this family.

I am going to talk politics.  Read on at your own risk. You have been warned!

I joined hundreds of other conservationists and environmental educators today in downtown Madison for the WI League of Conservation Voters (WLCV) Lobby Day. This is a day where we all get together to hear about current political issues that have the potential to change conservation efforts in the state. With the Governor's current budget plans you can believe we had A LOT to talk about today.

The WI Association for Environmental Education also played a big role in today as one of the priorities of the WLCV this year is to get the WI Children's Outdoor Bill of Rights passed as a resolution. This is a bipartisan, non-budgetary piece of legislation that would basically be our state coming together to decide that getting our kids outside is a priority. It establishes that children have the RIGHT to things like clean water for swimming and exploring, trails to walk and bike, a chance to visit a farm, catch and eat a fish, go hunting with a mentor, etc. No, its not establishing a new program or providing funding for anything. It is just a resolution to show that we ALL are on the same page with what is important for our kids and what we value. As a Board member of the WAEE this is very important to me and something that I hope people on both sides of the fence can get behind!

So we all gathered to learn about the issues, the cuts that are in the future of this state, how conservation efforts will be devastated by those cuts and what we can do to help stop or reverse the decisions. I learned a TON. It is great to hear from the experts what is in the budget because the 1300+ pages is so full of jargon that I cannot decipher what most of it actually means. Now, I feel educated and empowered. I wish more parents, teachers, outdoor enthusiasts and general citizens had been there.  

One of my favorite things about the WLCV is that they keep score cards on all the legislatures. They monitor their voting and keep us updated on how each of them votes on EVERY conservation issue. And what amazed me is that the Senator I talked to today knew his score and was concerned that it wasn't perfect; he was asking us if we knew where he had faltered in the past! I love that they know we are watching and that they CARE!

The Monthly Challenge for March is to GET INVOLVED and today made me realize even more that it is so important that we all get active in the political process. It isn't always fun and it isn't always easy but it is important for our future. No matter which side of the aisle you fall on it is important to be educated, active, VOTE, and make your voice heard so that your legislatures truly are REPRESENTING you!

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The Nitty Gritty!

Thanks so much to the WLCV for hosting this incredible event! I truly learned so much about the potential cuts, changes and impacts of those changes from you all today. Though my Senator and Representative are already "on our side" it was so great to meet them face to face and say thank you to them for all their hardwork and dedication.

It is devastating to me that we are fighting the same battles in this state today that we were fighting decades ago; over things like recycling, clean water, clean air and land conservation. But I will continue to fight and make my voice heard! You all have given me the tools and confidence to do that. Thank you.