Welcome to the 2024 Texas Children in Nature Network Summit held in Waco, Texas!
After registering for the Summit and making your Wednesday Workshop selection, you will be enrolled in your selected workshop by TCiNN staff. You will see your workshop on your schedule after you have been enrolled.
You do not need to select and add your workshop to your schedule.
All workshops are "frozen" and only staff can manage enrollment.
If you do not see a workshop option on the registration form that is listed on the workshop PDF, that means it is full and no longer available.
Regular registration ends November 30.
Late registration begins December 1.
Once late registration begins, any cancellations will not be refunded.
What is possible when nonprofit organizations work together to increase youth access to nature? How can a mindset of collaboration and abundance, rather than competition and scarcity, support their missions and benefit the community? Three Austin groups (Austin Sunshine Camps, Shield Ranch Foundation’s Camp El Ranchito and Westcave Outdoor Discovery Center Girls+ Outside) share their collaborative approaches to improving youth lives and opportunities to explore, grow and connect outdoors. Session participants will hopefully spark their own ideas of how together we can enhance youth well-being by leveraging opportunities for them to connect with their resilience, each other, and the natural environment.
Which describes your nature activity journal best: 1) Uninspiring, 2) Non-existent, or 3) Capable of changing a child’s life? Self-guided activity booklets are a cornerstone of effective nature education and one of the most cost-effective. When done right, they can change a child’s life as they prompt families to explore, connect with, and protect nature. This session covers the essentials of interpretive planning, creating engaging and educational content, and effective design. Learn from real-world examples and participate in hands-on demonstrations to develop your own booklet ideas. Leave with practical strategies to develop self-guided experiences for your site or program.
Presenters: Jenny Larios - Texas Children in Nature Network, Justin Fleury - Texas Parks and Wildlife, Marinda Griffin
The Texas Healthy Parks Plan and associated Decision Support Tool have been designed to help communities by creating a tool to assist in planning for parks and greenspace to strategically address community health disparities, increase park access for socially vulnerable communities, and incorporate greenspaces. The presentation will provide a walkthrough of the Texas Healthy Maps project, showcasing both the mapping tool and the research that links parks to health outcomes. This is a valuable resource you can use when you return to your community, helping you advocate for increased park access and understand the connection between parks and community health. Make sure to bring your laptop!
