Spring is the season of Earth Day and Arbor Day, so it's natural that our e-newsletter theme is the environment. On one hand, today's youth are more environmentally conscious than previous generations. On the other hand, there have never been more distractions — from mp3 players to video games to the Internet — to keep youth indoors. This issue features resources that highlight ways to get kids excited about the environment, from simple to complex: an organization and a few books inspiring kids to take the simplest of environmental actions — going outside — and green neighborhood plans of high school students.

"Creating a Green Neighborhood Plan" was the theme of APA's second annual High School Essay Contest for National Community Planning Month. The two winners of the contest are Caroline Eaton Tracey of Denver, Colorado, and Jingkang Gao of Slingerlands, New York.

"What empowers a community where ordinary people create better places, transform their own and others' lives while solving the public problems of the day?" Ramona Mullahey asks in a recent article in APA's The Commissioner newsletter. "Inclusive planning, for starters."

Mullahey takes a tour of notable planning programs that involve youth in a meaningful way: from the City of Baltimore to UC-Berkeley to the National League of Cities to Hampton, Virginia. Maybe your city even has a youth council — or is just waiting for a committed citizen to organize one. The article is a reminder that dedicated youth planning efforts can be found in every corner of the country.

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If you already knew that experiencing the outdoors is good for kids, you may not have known that there is a growing movement behind it. The Children and Nature Network is a clearinghouse for information on connecting youth with the natural world.

"Fifty pages of ideas and activities, four times a year" is a description of Green Teacher magazine, a publication filled with ideas for teaching about the natural world. Green Teacher teaches more than just efficient light bulbs; permaculture, "remystifying" the city, and the cost of the global food system are three examples of past issue themes.

School gardens were connecting urban children with the soil as early as the 1890s.  Today, youth can be found growing fruits and vegetables in urban areas everywhere — even in rundown areas of town with ubiquitous vacant lots. An article in the April issue of The Atlantic Monthly, "A Papaya Grows in Holyoke," profiles a successful garden in a city challenged by crime, unemployment, and obesity.

Not everyone has a national park in their backyard or a network of hiking trails within a five-minute walk of their homes. But even urban areas have diverse natural systems situated among them. Living Lightly in the City, a publication from the National Audubon Society, shows through a variety of activities how the urban environment and natural environment are interrelated.

APA Book Club — Maps and Mapping

Maps and Mapping is an encyclopedic book on maps and mapping activities.  It is featured as the May book in APA's Planners Book Club. Find discussion questions here to get the most out of the book's colorful and engaging maps.

In keeping with this newsletter's theme, here is a review of the Green Map System from the ResourcesZine archive.

Kids living in the city don't need to travel far and wide to find a rich ecosystem. Nature in the Neighborhood finds the plants and animals in and around the buildings and concrete.

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American Planning Association