Sierra Club Leads Launch of New “One Million Kids Outdoors” Initiative to Connect More Children with Nature

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Sierra Club, as a leading member of the Outdoors Alliance for Kids, is excited to introduce the new One Million Kids Outdoors (1MKO) initiative today. The 1MKO initiative is a national movement that aims to get one million kids outdoors over the next year to transform their health and well-being.

Driven by excessive screen time, modern stressors, and systemic inequalities in park access, today's youth face an unprecedented disconnection from nature alongside an escalating mental and physical health crisis. Despite the proven therapeutic benefits of the outdoors, federal investments remain scarce - threatening both the well-being of a generation and the future of conservation.

This national movement is an urgent call to action - through storytelling, advocacy and direct support - to restore the fundamental right of every child to experience joy, healing, and active play in nature.

"At a time when young people are spending more time indoors and facing growing mental and physical health challenges, getting kids outside has never been more important," said Outdoors Alliance for Kids Campaign Manager Julia Hurwit. "Every child deserves the chance to experience joy, play, and connection in nature. The One Million Kids Outdoors initiative is a powerful call to action to ensure that access to the outdoors is treated as essential to every child's well-being and to inspire the next generation of environmental stewards."

"Sierra Club is proud to lead the launch of the One Million Kids Outdoors Initiative to encourage a new generation of children to build a lifelong connection with nature," said Sierra Club Executive Director Loren Blackford. "The memories we make as kids-seeing stars away from city lights, walking through a forest, or discovering a new favorite park-often become the experiences that inspire us to protect these places for years to come. Every child should have the chance to experience America's public lands and waters and grow up knowing these places are theirs to explore and protect, and 1MKO aims to make that happen."

The following groups are supporters of this initiative: Alleghany- Blue Ridge Alliance, American Heart Association, American Hiking Society, Appalachian Mountain Club, Association for Environmental and Outdoor Education (AEOE), Association of Outdoor Recreation and Education (AORE), Avid4 Adventure, Be The Light Global Inc. DBA Black Girls Hike Too, Blue Sky Fund, Boulder Valley Inspiring Connections Outdoors, California Environmental Voters, Celebrate Planet Earth, Chicago Adventure Therapy, Chicago Voyagers, Children & Nature Network, Climate Democracy Initiative, Colorado Alliance for Environmental Education, Conservation Nation, Cottonwood Institute, Detroit Outdoors, Denver Inspiring Connections Outdoors, Denver Urban Gardens, Endangered Species Coalition, Environmental Learning for Kids (ELK), Evanston Child Development Center, Explore Ecology, Friends of the Organ Mountains - Desert Peaks, GirlVentures, Green Schoolyards America, Healthy Parks Healthy Person TN, Healthy Schools Campaign, Hendricks County Garden Club, Hidden Villa, Hitchcock Woods Foundation, Huellas Latinas, Integrity Sustainable Planning and Design, Jefferson Memorial Forest, Joe H. Madrid: Rise!, Justice Outside, KABOOM!, Lake County Parks and Recreation/Get Outdoors Leadville!, Latino Outdoors, Los Angeles Neighborhood Land Trust, Maine Environmental Education Association, Mater Amoris Montessori School, Montana Conservation Corps, The Mountaineers, Muddy Sneakers Outdoor Classroom, MyPath, National Association of State Parks Directors, National Military Family Association, National Park Trust, National Recreation and Parks Association, Nature for All, Nevada Outdoor School, NEXT.cc STEAM by DESIGN ECO WEB, North American Association for Environmental Education, Northwest Youth Corps, NYC Parks - Staten Island Greenbelt, Oakland Goes Outdoors, Ocean Discovery Institute, Outward Bound USA, Palm Beach County Inspiring Connections Outdoors, Railyard Park Conservancy, Refugee Education & Adventure Challenge (REACH), Refugee Women's Network, REI Co-op, Reno Inspiring Connections Outdoors, Restorative Places, Safe Routes Partnership, Salted Roots, Say Yes to Recess, SEI, Sierra Club, Sierra Club Connecticut Chapter, Sierra Club Michigan Chapter, SOS Outreach, Story Walking Radio Hour, SubjectToClimate, Sunny Stella™, Ten Strands, Texas Children in Nature Network, Together for Brothers (T4B), TOTAL NM, Ventura Country Farm to School, Washington Trails Association, Western Hills Garden, Wilderness Louisville, Wilderness Inquiry, The Wilderness Society, Winter Wildlands Alliance, The Woods Project, The Xerces Society, YMCA of the USA.

About the Sierra Club

The Sierra Club is America's largest and most influential grassroots environmental organization, with millions of members and supporters. In addition to protecting every person's right to get outdoors and access the healing power of nature, the Sierra Club works to promote clean energy, safeguard the health of our communities, protect wildlife, and preserve our remaining wild places through grassroots activism, public education, lobbying, and legal action. For more information, visit https://www.sierraclub.org.