The text below is an excerpt from a Museum Studies term paper I wrote at the University of Minnesota. For this assignment, I envisioned a new non-profit called Naturehood and prepared founding documents to propose its establishment. To set the stage, a cover letter addressed to prospective Naturehood trustees states:
"Naturehood’s mission is to connect people to nature. Modeled on the Urban Ecology Center in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Naturehood will be an urban ecology center sited in a public natural area within a densely populated residential area of Minneapolis or St. Paul, Minnesota."
The name "Naturehood" is borrowed from a U.S. Forest Service campaign. The "urban ecology model" draws on writings by Ken Leinbach.
NATUREHOOD (excerpt)
The “Urban Ecology Model”
Urban ecology is the radical notion that nature is everywhere. Nature is not something we only access by traveling to remote “pristine” wilderness areas. Nature is ubiquitous. All we need is to awaken to it. The Urban Ecology Model is about awakening to nature as it exists in the city and sharing that awakening with others.
Naturehood, an urban ecology community center, is not the first of its kind. Naturehood is modeled on the Urban Ecology Center in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, founded and directed by Ken Leinbach. In 2017, Ken wrote a veritable handbook for establishing an Urban Ecology Center in your own city. Ken is an educator by profession, and that was his path to the Urban Ecology Center. Throughout his book, his background is evidenced by the way he honors and listens to youth, the way he sees all of life as learning.
Ken describes three levels of connectedness at the heart of the Urban Ecology Model. These are: connection to self; connection to place; and connection to others. When all three types of connections are nurtured, learning becomes exciting and engaging. Translating that model to our landscape and to the needs of our communities has been our shared work to date. Through this, we have made the model our own, tweaking its various ingredients and proportions. Ultimately, Naturehood will be unique by merit of its location. Community, neighborhood, city, and state will lend Naturehood particular attributes and an evolutionary path that are not yet described or known. That is the essence of ecology—we interact with and are shaped by our environment.
Who Do We Serve?
Naturehood welcomes everyone. Naturehood’s primary goal is to serve a local constituency and to do so in a focused, intensive, and intentional way. Although Naturehood hasn’t yet set down roots at fixed geographic coordinates, we have a plan for where this model will work and who it will serve. Naturehood will be sited in a natural area, perhaps a city park, within a densely populated urban residential area. A large segment of Naturehood’s visitors will be youth who attend schools within two miles of the center. Please refer to pages [12–13*] for more details on the site selection process. We aim to serve a neighborhood where need is greatest. For our purposes, need is defined as limited access to or engagement with nature areas that are safe and publicly accessible.
We acknowledge that people we serve will have needs more urgent than that of accessing nature. Such needs include justice, safety, health, economic stability and opportunity, food sovereignty, education, racial and gender-based equity, and more. At Naturehood, we believe that connecting people to place (and to nature) is integral to, not separate from, the work of addressing these greater needs. Although the work of social equity and justice is not within the scope of our mission, it is urgently important and prompts us to make the following three commitments:
First, we commit to carry out our mission in ways that are aware of and sensitive to these larger patterns of need and the systems of inequality that perpetuate them. Through our mission to connect to and care for our shared environment, we will nurture the natural leadership and gifts of people in our neighborhood. Second, we commit to being a good neighbor by making our spaces free to all as a community gathering space. We currently have no physical structure, but once we do, we plan to follow Urban Ecology Center’s model of freely offering amenities as a way to foster trust, goodwill, and reciprocity with neighbors. Lastly, we commit to seek out and grow partnerships with local agencies and organizations working for social justice. This would include social service and advocacy organizations. See page [20*] for a list of potential partnerships. Directly and indirectly, we see ourselves as part of an upward transformation cycle.
Authentic transformation comes not from outside but from within the community, and often hinges on the well-being and prospects of youth. For this reason, we at Naturehood commit to focus on youth and youth development. Spending time in nature benefits youth in many ways that are well researched. Benefits of outdoor play include physical activity, more creative play, reduced aggressive behaviors, and improved concentration. However, today’s children spend half as much time outdoors as children did twenty years ago. This problem is exacerbated by economic and racial disparities in access to safe, public natural areas.
Why Do Our Programs Matter?
A growing body of research and theory explains the restorative benefits of being in nature (Chan et al. 2016, Kahn 1997, Louv 2008, Wilson 1984). Nature is our primary teacher. Looking to our past, the fundamental learning task is to work with the natural world and with each other. In our contemporary urbanized world, green spaces correlate with wealth, physical and mental health, and social cohesion. Sadly, there is evidence for the inverse pattern, as well: the absence of green spaces is linked to poverty or economic instability, health problems, and social disorganization (Kinzig et al. 2005, Pickett et al. 2008).
Naturehood will have three integrated program types, each with different but interrelated purposes. In order to make it easy for everyone to understand what our programs are about, we will use plain language headings that emphasize the active nature of each program type. “HEAL THE LAND” refers to participatory land restoration and stewardship. These programs leverage public spaces as centers of positive change. The purpose is not only to heal the land, but also to engage communities in the common purpose of caring for our environment. “WALK THE LAND TOGETHER” refers to Naturehood’s community-based environmental education. Facilitated, interactive learning experiences in outdoor settings help people understand not only the pieces and processes of nature, but also the fact that our actions impact the environment. One important goal within this program area is to contract with local public and charter schools as “partner-providers” of science education. In very practical terms, this legitimizes Naturehood by securing our place in the existing educational system. It also brings in a steady income stream in the form of fees. “RESPOND CREATIVELY TO LAND” refers to Naturehood’s socially-engaged artist residencies. The purpose is to bring artists, scientists, and the public together to ask questions, exchange knowledge, and synthesize learning across disciplines. Furthermore, artists are experts at stimulating our imaginative and emotional faculties. That stimulation is fundamental for the social and moral development of youth (Kahn 1997, Kahn and Friedman 1995).
Mission: Naturehood connects people to nature through participatory land restoration and stewardship; community-based environmental education; and socially-engaged artist residencies. We support people’s capacity to interact with nature in ways that are not only intellectual but also affective, aesthetic, social, and fun.
Vision: We do more than solve problems. We create what we want to see in the world and share it with others. We produce conditions under which people develop authentic relationships to landscapes, ecosystems, and biodiversity. We see safe neighborhood parks where people interact with nature in ways that are respectful, thoughtful, playful, and cooperative. We see young people using their connections to nature to reflect and act on injustice in their lives. We see the land and waters being healed. We inspire people to understand and value nature as motivation for positive change.
Value Proposition: Naturehood will restore local ecosystems and grow environmental literacy and agency. Furthermore, we expect to see impacts like those produced by Milwaukee’s Urban Ecology Center, including: reduced crime, increased academic performance of area youth, community pride, and job creation. Naturehood will bring together experts in ecological restoration, education, and social art practices. This three-prong approach to environmental values is critical in our rapidly urbanizing world where people are increasingly disconnected from nature.
Core Beliefs
Core Values
Urban ecology is the radical notion that nature is everywhere. Nature is not something we only access by traveling to remote “pristine” wilderness areas. Nature is ubiquitous. All we need is to awaken to it. The Urban Ecology Model is about awakening to nature as it exists in the city and sharing that awakening with others.
Naturehood, an urban ecology community center, is not the first of its kind. Naturehood is modeled on the Urban Ecology Center in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, founded and directed by Ken Leinbach. In 2017, Ken wrote a veritable handbook for establishing an Urban Ecology Center in your own city. Ken is an educator by profession, and that was his path to the Urban Ecology Center. Throughout his book, his background is evidenced by the way he honors and listens to youth, the way he sees all of life as learning.
Ken describes three levels of connectedness at the heart of the Urban Ecology Model. These are: connection to self; connection to place; and connection to others. When all three types of connections are nurtured, learning becomes exciting and engaging. Translating that model to our landscape and to the needs of our communities has been our shared work to date. Through this, we have made the model our own, tweaking its various ingredients and proportions. Ultimately, Naturehood will be unique by merit of its location. Community, neighborhood, city, and state will lend Naturehood particular attributes and an evolutionary path that are not yet described or known. That is the essence of ecology—we interact with and are shaped by our environment.
Who Do We Serve?
Naturehood welcomes everyone. Naturehood’s primary goal is to serve a local constituency and to do so in a focused, intensive, and intentional way. Although Naturehood hasn’t yet set down roots at fixed geographic coordinates, we have a plan for where this model will work and who it will serve. Naturehood will be sited in a natural area, perhaps a city park, within a densely populated urban residential area. A large segment of Naturehood’s visitors will be youth who attend schools within two miles of the center. Please refer to pages [12–13*] for more details on the site selection process. We aim to serve a neighborhood where need is greatest. For our purposes, need is defined as limited access to or engagement with nature areas that are safe and publicly accessible.
We acknowledge that people we serve will have needs more urgent than that of accessing nature. Such needs include justice, safety, health, economic stability and opportunity, food sovereignty, education, racial and gender-based equity, and more. At Naturehood, we believe that connecting people to place (and to nature) is integral to, not separate from, the work of addressing these greater needs. Although the work of social equity and justice is not within the scope of our mission, it is urgently important and prompts us to make the following three commitments:
First, we commit to carry out our mission in ways that are aware of and sensitive to these larger patterns of need and the systems of inequality that perpetuate them. Through our mission to connect to and care for our shared environment, we will nurture the natural leadership and gifts of people in our neighborhood. Second, we commit to being a good neighbor by making our spaces free to all as a community gathering space. We currently have no physical structure, but once we do, we plan to follow Urban Ecology Center’s model of freely offering amenities as a way to foster trust, goodwill, and reciprocity with neighbors. Lastly, we commit to seek out and grow partnerships with local agencies and organizations working for social justice. This would include social service and advocacy organizations. See page [20*] for a list of potential partnerships. Directly and indirectly, we see ourselves as part of an upward transformation cycle.
Authentic transformation comes not from outside but from within the community, and often hinges on the well-being and prospects of youth. For this reason, we at Naturehood commit to focus on youth and youth development. Spending time in nature benefits youth in many ways that are well researched. Benefits of outdoor play include physical activity, more creative play, reduced aggressive behaviors, and improved concentration. However, today’s children spend half as much time outdoors as children did twenty years ago. This problem is exacerbated by economic and racial disparities in access to safe, public natural areas.
Why Do Our Programs Matter?
A growing body of research and theory explains the restorative benefits of being in nature (Chan et al. 2016, Kahn 1997, Louv 2008, Wilson 1984). Nature is our primary teacher. Looking to our past, the fundamental learning task is to work with the natural world and with each other. In our contemporary urbanized world, green spaces correlate with wealth, physical and mental health, and social cohesion. Sadly, there is evidence for the inverse pattern, as well: the absence of green spaces is linked to poverty or economic instability, health problems, and social disorganization (Kinzig et al. 2005, Pickett et al. 2008).
Naturehood will have three integrated program types, each with different but interrelated purposes. In order to make it easy for everyone to understand what our programs are about, we will use plain language headings that emphasize the active nature of each program type. “HEAL THE LAND” refers to participatory land restoration and stewardship. These programs leverage public spaces as centers of positive change. The purpose is not only to heal the land, but also to engage communities in the common purpose of caring for our environment. “WALK THE LAND TOGETHER” refers to Naturehood’s community-based environmental education. Facilitated, interactive learning experiences in outdoor settings help people understand not only the pieces and processes of nature, but also the fact that our actions impact the environment. One important goal within this program area is to contract with local public and charter schools as “partner-providers” of science education. In very practical terms, this legitimizes Naturehood by securing our place in the existing educational system. It also brings in a steady income stream in the form of fees. “RESPOND CREATIVELY TO LAND” refers to Naturehood’s socially-engaged artist residencies. The purpose is to bring artists, scientists, and the public together to ask questions, exchange knowledge, and synthesize learning across disciplines. Furthermore, artists are experts at stimulating our imaginative and emotional faculties. That stimulation is fundamental for the social and moral development of youth (Kahn 1997, Kahn and Friedman 1995).
Mission: Naturehood connects people to nature through participatory land restoration and stewardship; community-based environmental education; and socially-engaged artist residencies. We support people’s capacity to interact with nature in ways that are not only intellectual but also affective, aesthetic, social, and fun.
Vision: We do more than solve problems. We create what we want to see in the world and share it with others. We produce conditions under which people develop authentic relationships to landscapes, ecosystems, and biodiversity. We see safe neighborhood parks where people interact with nature in ways that are respectful, thoughtful, playful, and cooperative. We see young people using their connections to nature to reflect and act on injustice in their lives. We see the land and waters being healed. We inspire people to understand and value nature as motivation for positive change.
Value Proposition: Naturehood will restore local ecosystems and grow environmental literacy and agency. Furthermore, we expect to see impacts like those produced by Milwaukee’s Urban Ecology Center, including: reduced crime, increased academic performance of area youth, community pride, and job creation. Naturehood will bring together experts in ecological restoration, education, and social art practices. This three-prong approach to environmental values is critical in our rapidly urbanizing world where people are increasingly disconnected from nature.
Core Beliefs
- Nature is valuable and non-substitutable.
- Despite the fact that nature is generative and resilient, it is threatened by non-sustainable behaviors, policies, and systems.
- Nature exists in the city and we can interact with it in places where we work, play, and learn.
- Connecting with nature is integral to well-being, creativity, learning, and community pride.
- People connect with and understand nature through multiple ways of knowing. These can be structured or unstructured, and include science, storytelling, service, art, spirituality, and play.
- All youth deserve safe access to nature. However, our work does not end with access. Contact with nature that is consistent and facilitated by mentors can help children discover who they are, see that they make a difference, and re-imagine the human-nature relationship.
- Mentors who demonstrate respectful behavior toward the environment can influence others to care about the environment. That influence can last a lifetime.
Core Values
- Diversity & Inclusion: We honor and benefit from the richness inherent in difference.
- Service: We strive to be of value to our audiences and the public.
- Ecological Health: We recognize that public health and environmental conditions are linked. We restore ecosystems and model stewardship practices to improve ecological health.
- Environmental Agency: We foster youth capacity to leverage their own environmental connections to reflect and act on injustice in their lives.
- Education: We facilitate and support the exchange of relevant and accurate information.
- Creative Expression: We create platforms for artists to explore ideas and engage audiences. We commission, showcase, and collect art that is place-based and socially-engaged.
- Trust: We listen to our neighbors and act in ways that engender trust and promote goodwill.
Bibliography
Chan, K. M. A., P. Balvanera, K. Benessaiah, M. Chapman, S. Díaz, E. Gómez-Baggethun, R. Gould, N. Hannahs, K. Jax, S. Klain, G. W. Luck, B. Martín-López, B. Muraca, B. Norton, K. Ott, U. Pascual, T. Satterfield, M. Tadaki, J. Taggart, and N. Turner. 2016. Why protect nature? Rethinking values and the environment. PNAS: Vol 113, No. 6: 1462–1465.
Kahn, P. 1997. Developmental Psychology and the Biophilia Hypothesis: Children’s Affiliation with Nature. Developmental Review, 17, pp. 1-61.
Kahn, P., and Friedman, B., 1995. Environmental views and values of children in an inner-city black community. Child Development, 66(5), 1403–1417.
Kinzig, A., P. Warren, C. Martin, D. Hope, and M. Katti. 2005. The effects of human socioeconomic status and cultural characteristics on urban patterns of biodiversity. Ecology and Society Vol 10:1.
Leinbach, K. 2017. Urban Ecology: A Natural Way to Transform Kids, Parks, Cities and the World. Difference Press.
Louv, R. 2008. Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children From Nature-Deficit Disorder. Algonquin Books.
Pickett, S. T. A., M. L. Cadenasso, J. M. Grove, P. M. Groffman, L. E. Band, C. G. Boone, W. R. Burch, C. S. B. Grimmond, J. Hom, J. C. Jenkins, N. L. Law, C. H. Nilon, R. V. Pouyat, K. Szlavecz, P. S. Warren, M. A. Wilson. 2008. Beyond urban legends: an emerging framework of urban ecology, as illustrated by the Baltimore Ecosystem Study. American Institute of Biological Studies Bulletin, Vol 58, No 2, 139–150.
Wilson, E.O. 1984. Biophilia. Cambridge: Harvard University Press.
Kahn, P. 1997. Developmental Psychology and the Biophilia Hypothesis: Children’s Affiliation with Nature. Developmental Review, 17, pp. 1-61.
Kahn, P., and Friedman, B., 1995. Environmental views and values of children in an inner-city black community. Child Development, 66(5), 1403–1417.
Kinzig, A., P. Warren, C. Martin, D. Hope, and M. Katti. 2005. The effects of human socioeconomic status and cultural characteristics on urban patterns of biodiversity. Ecology and Society Vol 10:1.
Leinbach, K. 2017. Urban Ecology: A Natural Way to Transform Kids, Parks, Cities and the World. Difference Press.
Louv, R. 2008. Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children From Nature-Deficit Disorder. Algonquin Books.
Pickett, S. T. A., M. L. Cadenasso, J. M. Grove, P. M. Groffman, L. E. Band, C. G. Boone, W. R. Burch, C. S. B. Grimmond, J. Hom, J. C. Jenkins, N. L. Law, C. H. Nilon, R. V. Pouyat, K. Szlavecz, P. S. Warren, M. A. Wilson. 2008. Beyond urban legends: an emerging framework of urban ecology, as illustrated by the Baltimore Ecosystem Study. American Institute of Biological Studies Bulletin, Vol 58, No 2, 139–150.
Wilson, E.O. 1984. Biophilia. Cambridge: Harvard University Press.
*Full text may be available upon request.