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December 2009
Get Outdoors Florida! is working with Children's Week to have a variety of events around the state in April 2010 that promote not only Children's Week, but also Free Freshwater Fishing Weekend, and the Week of Young Children.
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Fishing fun for everyone
Florida kids with the Governor and Cabinet

Welcome to the Get Outdoors Florida! Web site.  The Get Outdoors Florida! coalition is the product of a wide array of partners coming together to address societal needs including public well-being, health issues, and natural resource conservation.  Our mission is:  "Engaging communities, families and individuals in outdoor experiences to achieve healthier lifestyles and sustain Florida’s natural resources." 

Get Outdoors Florida! was endorsed by a resolution passed by the Governor and Cabinet of Florida on March 24, 2009, which also includes a Children's Outdoor Bill of Rights.

Backyard birding

The Get Outdoors Florida! coalition is an union of public and private partners that include federal and state land managers; state conservation, health, and education agencies; educators; healthcare providers; non-profits, and businesses. These groups realize an imperative need to reconnect communities, families and individuals with nature to address health and societal issues, including sustaining fish, wildlife and their habitats, in the face of unprecedented development. Richard Louv, in his seminal book “Last Child in the Woods,” termed the growing disconnect between people and the outdoors and the resulting mental and physical health problems “Nature Deficit Disorder.” Many of the groups and individuals that are most excited about the coalition have been actively creating programs to get Floridians back to nature and are looking for ways to become more effective due to the scope of these concerns.

The Get Outdoors Florida! coalition brings them together by engaging communities, families and individuals in outdoor experiences to achieve healthier lifestyles and sustain Florida’s natural resources. Because an array of social issues can be connected with our nature deficit, Get Outdoors Florida! ambitiously aspires to be more than a champion of kids enjoying the outdoors. While getting people back into nature remains the common purpose, the partnership came together and continues to grow because of the shared knowledge that by connecting our communities with nature, we enhance opportunities for greater environmental education, public health, child welfare, increased tourism, fish and wildlife conservation and ongoing land management. This partnership of public and private entities understands the intersection between our communal disconnect with nature and the variety of social challenges affecting our communities’ senses of well-being.

More Information (Governance Plan- 4 mb)

Exercising while relaxing

The coalition is planning for a symposium including the initial 40-plus conservation and youth mentoring groups who are currently involved along with potential new partners. The summit will provide planning workshops to get partners more involved and to refine our organizational structure.  This will include developing a brand with consistent messages and guiding principles and the means to communicate between partners and with the public, so we can fulfill our mission and get more children and families back to nature in a safe and sustainable way.

Ultimately, Tier-1 programs are planned as half to full-day programs that can readily, by encompassing existing partner programs, reach 100,000 youth annually with the Get Outdoors Florida! message. The initiative will culminate in Tier-2 weekend nature immersion programs or week-long day camps for thousands of youth and mentors, at various conservation camps around the state. Youth ages 8 to 16 will be the focus of both Tier-1 and Tier-2 events and materials, but partners will not be excluded who want to reach a slightly broader audience. It is our intent to be entirely open to all children regardless of gender, ethnic background, physical/mental challenges or family income. The focus is on getting children with a nature-deficit condition exposed to nature and taking them through a progression of stages to become outdoor enthusiasts and conservationists, who benefit from the associated mental, physical and societal advantages that come from being close to nature.

More Information (The Original Back to Nature Initiative describing the Tier approach more completely)
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