No Child Left Inside Grant Program

Washington Native Plant Society Appreciate, Conserve, and Study Our Native Flora 6310 NE 74th St., Ste 215E, Seattle, Washington 98115 (206) 527-3210 March 22, 2021 House of Representatives Washington State Legislature To the Following Legislators: Brad Klippert Drew Stokesbary Timm Ormsby Joel McEntire Penny Lipsou Drew Macewen Mia Gregerson Eileen Swarthout Chris Corry Bruce Chandler Kelly Chambers Lisa Callan April Berg Jessica Bateman Peter Abbarno RE: Please support $4 million in funding for the No Child Left Inside Grant Program On behalf of the Washington Native Plant Society and dozens of other recipients of grants from the No Child Left Inside (NCLI) program, I am writing to request your support for an increased investment of $4 million in the 2021-23 biennium operating budget to support the program. As we work together to recover from the COVID pandemic, funding for this program would provide critical opportunities for youth across the state to come together, reconnect, and experience the healing powers of nature. Funding this program at the $4 million dollar level would allow the program to fund more than 60% of applications for nearly 70 organizations, serving more than 50,000 students and resulting in 1.3 million hours of much-needed outdoor activity in the 2021- 23 grant cycle. These programs serve youth across the state in rural and urban communities alike and provide immeasurable benefits that are so needed now. Revitalized in 2015 by the Governor’s Blue Ribbon Task Force on Parks and Outdoor Recreation, NCLI is now a signature program that connects youth and families to the outdoors across the state. Since 2015, the program has served more than 50,000 youth, creating an incredible legacy of learning and connection with nature. This popular program is now being modeled in other states including California, Minnesota, Hawaii, New Mexico, and Nevada. In Washington, the program has served a wide diversity of populations based on geography, socioeconomics, race, ethnicity, and ability across the state and the public funding has been matched by private funds dollar for dollar. In the 2019-2021 grant cycle, the Recreation Conservation Office (RCO) received over $8 million in grant applications for $1.5 million in available funds; in 2021-23, the program has received nearly $7 million grant requests. This demand demonstrates the need across Washington and showcases the public’s interest and engagement in this popular program. For the Washington Native Plant Society, NCLI grant funding will allow us to develop our "Youth Ecology Education Through Restoration" curriculum for middle school students. With this curriculum, which meets Next Generation Science Standards, students will learn about healthy native habitats and apply what they learn to restore degraded habitats near their schools. It is a hands-on program that engages the students with real world problems that they can solve. During our first year of this program, we will be working with middle schools in Shelton, Quilcene, Patterson, Mattawa, and Pasco. With NCLI support, we can prove the value of this program so it can be expanded to include more schools statewide. We know that current trends are not in our favor. According to the Center for Disease Control, children spend more than 6 hours in front of screens per day; this screen time has only increased due to the virtual learning environment this year. Hunting and angling participation has decreased by 22 percent since 2009. And, 1 in 10 Washington youth ages 10-17 are obese. These statistics provide a snapshot of a changing environment for youth. With your help, we can provide more children with the opportunities to connect to nature. We respectfully request your support of a $4,000,000 investment in the 2021-23 operating budget to support the No Child Left Inside grant program to open access to tens of thousands of youth to outdoor educational programming that can change their lives. We know that test scores improve and a life-long connection to the environment can be ignited by these kinds of programs. Please make a sound and smart investment for the future of Washington’s children by increasing the state’s investment in the No Child Left Inside Program. This is a down payment for future leaders, innovators, and advocates of our communities across the state. Thank you for your leadership and commitment to connecting children to Washington’s great outdoors. Sincerely, Keyna Bugner WNPS President Washington Native Plant Society .

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