The No Child Left Inside (NCLI) program is a project designed to partner students in the Teacher Education Program with local teenagers and reconnect them with our natural world.
The project, started in the 2010 Spring semester, it’s organized and overseen by MATC Instructor Eva Hagenhofer. One of the purposes behind the project is to help reduce “Nature Deficit Disorder”.
Nature Deficit Disorder is the result of countless hours spent by teenagers in front of a television set or computer without any exercise or outdoor activity.
It can lead to problems such as obesity, short term attention span and lack of knowledge about nature. Recent studies concluded that interaction with nature reduces stress and helps individuals perform better at school and work.
The NCLI project not only allows Teacher Ed students to work as mentors to teens but also help them interact with nature to discover the beauty undistracted by TV monitors and IPods. MATC partnered with the Urban Ecology Center, Our Next Generation, and Pathfinders for the Fall 2010 semester.
The NCLI project gave students the opportunity to complete ten service hours alongside the youth from Pathfinders and Our Next Generation.
The project involved having the students and teens weeding the paths, picking up the garbage around the park, planting seeds, etc.
As the Project progressed, students developed an interest in the Urban Ecology Center and continued to attend even after their required hours were completed.
The brightest spot of the project came midway through the semester when the Pathfinders staff committed to the project by offering to shuttle the teenagers to and from the Urban Ecology Center.
This action greatly increased the participation of the teenagers and the students greeted them with open arms.
As the project neared its end, nothing but positive remarks continued to generate from students and teens as well as staff at the organizations.
The NCLI program culminated with a grand tour of MATC in December in which the teenagers toured the Downtown campus in hopes of gaining their enrollment in the near future.
The participants of the project were also recognized and awarded Learn and Serve certificates for their participation. There was food and drinks accompanied with many laughs and greets during this two hour get-together.
Jeanette Nowak, a Teacher Education Track student, commented on her experience in the NCLI project: “I really enjoyed this experience and because of it I am continuing to volunteer every other Saturday at the Washington Park location. I felt the most connected there and enjoy the energy the kids have.. I felt this was an awesome opportunity and not just mandatory attendance.. Thank you for giving me this rewarding experience that I will forever carry with me.”
Joel Springsteen, an Urban Ecology Center staff who worked closely with the project posted the following on the NCLI Facebook page:
“Thanks for all your help this semester everyone. Your contribution will have a ripple effect on the whole community -kids, adults, forests, prairies, animals, river, lagoon etc.”
There is no doubt that this program is having a good impact not only on the neighborhoods but it’s also allowing the MATC students the opportunity to get a glimpse of the out of school lives of urban teenagers and kids.
The ultimate goal is to promote nature interaction, and with the positive results so far, the goal is generating results.
You can follow the No Child Left Inside Project on Facebook:
Search for the phrase “Pathfinder Generation.