All Minnesota’s children have a right to:
- Experience Minnesota’s four seasons
- Explore and play outdoors in a safe, welcoming, and culturally affirming place
- Splash, play, or swim in rivers, lakes, ponds, and community pools
- Plant a tree and watch it grow
- Start or participate in an urban, community, or personal garden or farm
- Compost and recycle for a healthy environment
- Bike, ride, or ski a public trail
- Camp under the stars and safely build a campfire
- Catch and eat a fish
- Hike, hunt, or forage on public lands
- Boat or paddle on one of our 11,842 lakes
- Participate in outdoor sports and recreational activities
- Create art and attend outdoor concerts, festivals, and community events centered in nature
- Participate in traditions and culturally specific ancestral practices rooted in nature
- Protect and preserve our environment for future generations
Why does Minnesota need a Children’s Outdoor Bill of Rights?
Time outside provides numerous benefits for children: better mental and physical health, stronger relationships, improved academic performance, increased resilience, and even better conflict management skills. As more children experience these benefits, the more likely they are to become environmental stewards and active community members in the future.
Learn more about the benefits of nature from the Children and Nature Network.
