The LNCI initiative brings to the broad community the awareness of a very important children's health issue, that being time spent outdoors in nature is critical to a child's healthy cognitive, physical, social and emotional development.

We are very fortunate in the greater Barrington and Lake Zurich area to have so many local natural venues and conservation organizations, all of which have some part of their missions to connect children with nature.

Whether its looking, listening, smelling or touching nature through simply play outdoors or learning about nature through child-friendly nature activities, we owe it to our children and the future of our environment to connect them together. Children and nature growing healthier together is what the Consortium is all about.

Getting Kids Outdoors and Into Nature - Leave No Child Inside

Why is connecting children with nature so important? It's because the bond between a child and nature is good for the child's overall healthy development... physically, mentally, socially, spiritually and intellectually.

The voices behind this message are those of physicians, psychologists, researchers, educators, religious leaders, business people and conservationists.  Those voices have created an international, national, regional, state and local movements to get childeren outdoors and connected with nature.  The movement is often called "Leave No Child Inside".  The impetus for this movement was the 2005 national bestseller Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children from Nature-Deficit Disorder by Richard Louv in which he brought to the nation's awareness the well-researched concept that a connection with nature benefits a child's overall healthy development.

What You Will Find at FunOutside.org

National and Regional News

There are links to articles and other informative websites that speak to the research and professional opinions about the benefits of giving children regular, unstructured playtime in nature.

Local News

You'll be kept up-to-date on our new local Leave No Child Inside initiative. It's goal is for the idea of connecting children with nature to be recognized as a core value of the broader Barrington and Lake Zurich community areas.

You'll have one-stop-shopping access to information about the wealth of nature-based programs and activities available to families in the broader geographic areas comprising school districts 95 and 220.

Message from Us

For our Leave No Child Inside initiative to succeed we need for parents, children and all sectors of the communities to understand the importance of the child/nature bond and to actively encourage that bond.  You are invited to join us in this adventure in childhood and nature.  We hope you find FunOutside.org helps you add a new dimension to your family experience--helping your child (and you) reap the healthy benefits of being connected with nature.

The Leave No Child Inside Initiative for the Greater Barrington and Lake Zurich Area.