At a time when our nation is grappling with complicated environmental issues it is more critical than ever that U.S. schools provide students with environmental education. By engaging students in environmental education both in and out of the classroom, we empower them with the skills, knowledge and resources necessary to ensure a healthy future for our children and our planet.

As Richard Louv argues in his book "Last Child in the Woods", most of our children suffer form "Nature Deficit Disorder." They spend most of their time indoors and their recreational activities are often sedentary ones, which lead to health problems such as obesity and vitamin D deficiency. Additionally, kids who grow up in contact with nature and are taught the value of preserving our ecosystems are more likely to become the environmental leaders of the 21^st century.

Earth Day Network is a globally recognized leader in the field of environmental education. We have partnered with the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) and The Clinton Foundation to green all of America's K-12 schools within a generation.

However, we cannot achieve our goal of ensuring environmental education for all students in the U.S. without federal funding and support. The No Child Left Inside Act will help improve our schools' ability to offer high-quality lessons about the environment. It will provide states with critically needed support to train teachers, develop scientifically grounded programs, and create plans to ensure that students are environmentally literate. Watch students and teachers describing the value of outdoors education in 'Get em Outside' on Earth Day TV's In the Clasroom Channel.

On September 18^th the House of Representatives passed the NCLI Act with strong bipartisan support. It is now more important than ever to take action and show your support for No Child Left Inside as it moves to the Senate. Tell your senator that you want to give schools the resources they need to offer excellent environmental lessons and outdoors education to students.

For more information on the No Child Left Inside Act, visit www.eenclb.org. You can watch an interview with author Richard Louv on Earth Day TV.