I really like these quotes from the article and wanted to share them here:

Stress levels fall within minutes of seeing green spaces…even filling a home with flowers and plants can improve concentration and lower stress.

If children haven’t had contact with nature, they never develop a relationship with natural environment and they are unable to use it to cope with stress…

Studies have shown that people deprived of contact with nature were at greater risk of depression and anxiety. Children are getting less and less unsupervised time in the natural environment.

They need time playing in the countryside, in parks and in gardens where they can explore, dig up the ground and build dens.

To that end, The Conservation Fund in 2007 started The National Forum on Children and Nature, a 54-member Forum consisting of corporate CEOs, three mayors, four governors, parks officials and others dedicated to reconnecting kids with nature.

The Fund held a kick-off meeting in June 2007 at the Evermay House, an historic 3.5 acre estate in Washington D.C. In Sept. 2008 it was put on the market for $49 million dollars. I was invited to photograph the event.

Larry Selzer, CEO of The Conservation Fund and Director of The Forum on Children and Nature, addresses the group.

Richard Louv, author of Last Child in the Woods, and Honorary Co-Chair of the Forum.

The Everymay house is simply stunning inside and I loved the light that was flowing through the hallway in these next two shots.

As most photographers shooting a large group know, it’s difficult to gather everyone together and get their attention; this group was no exception. After having to raise my voice a bit to get everyone listening, they managed to organize themselves into a respectable looking group. Still, this was a challenging shot. I was standing on a wobbly chair (I would have preferred a ladder for additional elevation), the fountain was still flowing and there was a lot of contrast, but in the end this turned into a decent group shot.

Many thanks to The Conservation Fund for inviting me to spend an afternoon with an amazing group of people. I wish you much success in this great initiative.

The event is held at the National Geographic headquarters in Washington D.C., and while I may never become a National Geographic photographer, I at least had the opportunity to take photographs in their hallowed halls.

I’ve attended this event in previous years and this one by far was the most fun and entertaining. The Fund rented a long green carpet and Kodak, one of the key sponsors, hung a backdrop against the wall.

I was asked to photograph the guests and participants as they arrived at the event and Kodak would print out 4×6 images on a mobile print kiosk they brought along. Many of the attendees were happy to mug for the camera, like this group of lovely ladies.

After taking over a hundred photos of the guests, I turned my attention to the awards ceremony and was faced with a tricky glass background that tended to make the heads of dark haired individuals disappear.

Adjusting the angle helped a bit, but the background was a little busy. Here, Mary Bomar, Director of the National Park Service, discusses the importance of greenways.

Finally, I’m so impressed with the sharpness of both my new Nikon 50mm 1.4D lens and Nikon D700 camera, as shown by the photo of these two Conservation Fund staffers. Editorial note: names have been slightly blurred on the name tags.

Located just behind and to the right of these ladies is a gallery in the National Geographic headquarters where top quality photography and other exhibits are featured. I highly recommend a visit here to see what’s on display.