USFWS is offering the Natural Leaders Network grant to empower youth leadership and foster connections with nature.

The primary focus of C&NN’s Natural Leaders Network is to empower youth leadership and strengthen the bond between children and nature. Natural Leaders are young people whose childhood is grounded directly in nature. They can inspire other s to get outside and advocate experiences that connect youth and children to the outdoors, introducing them to healthy, active lifestyles.

Through support of the Natural Leaders Network, the youth leadership will be able to coordinate outreach efforts on a national level and accomplish the numerous activities planned for 2010 including: expanding the core group of Natural Leaders, holding regional summits and attending conferences, creating a Natural Leaders Tool Kit, expanding social networking and multi-media tools and developing a mentoring matrix.

The Natural Leaders Network will help motivate young people by putting them in leadership roles to help shape the children and nature movement. They will be able to coordinate activities and outreach efforts to children and youth of all environments, from rural to urban, and all economic and ethnic groups. Empowering young people to engage and educate diverse audiences is in alignment with the Secretary of the Interior’s vision to inspire the next generation of conservation professionals.