Headlands Institute Hosts Children & Nature Network's Youth Leaders Summit

In July, Headlands Institute's  Conference  and  Retreat Center welcomed teens, college students, and young people to the first Natural Leaders Network Summit.   An initiative of the Children & Nature Network, the Natural Leaders Network is comprised of youth from across North America dedicated to increasing the presence of nature in the lives of people and actively campaigning against nature-deficit disorder.

According to Juan Martinez, C&NN’s Natural Leaders Network coordinator, “Often we find that the people who are talking about connecting youth with nature are not so young, so the Natural Leaders Network seeks to connect all the youth who are already doing so and those who want to but don’t know where to look for a support system."

Youth voice is the heart of the Natural Leaders Network, and the June summit has been hailed as a landmark in the movement to reconnect children with nature. It was heartwarming to hear from Martin LeBlanc, the Sierra Club's National Youth Education Director, that having the Summit at Headlands made a difference:

“Thank you so much for having us here at Headlands Institute. Everything has been great. The place is incredible, the food is fantastic, the host, absolutely everything. It would have been a different workshop in another place. To have them out in this setting, with the ocean right there, it's just been incredible. If it had been in some hotel room, they wouldn't have gotten this.” 

Summit presenter and author of “The Last Child in the Woods”, Richard Louv said, “This is a fantastic place, a gorgeous place.”

photo: Richard Louve, author of "Last Child in the Woods" visting the  Headlands Institute.