To help reverse the growing disconnection between children and nature, the Park District of Highland Park, along with Chicago Wilderness and more than 200 organizations, are working together to promote “Leave No Child Inside”. The movement was inspired by author Richard Louv’s 2006 book – Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children from Nature-Deficit.

Leave No Childe Inside promotes a culture in which children enjoy and are encouraged to be outside in nature, and as a result are healthier, have a sense of connection to their place, and become supporters and stewards of local nature.

With Leave No Child Inside, our goal is to promote children’s health through outdoor play and exploration and foster caring for nature and the environment in today’s children and future generations. The Children’s Outdoor Bill of Rights is a list of ten activities that every child should have a right to do, and the Park District works to make it possible that every child has access to outdoor activities. Almost every Heller program fulfills one or more of the Children’s Outdoor Bill of Rights activities.