Thematic Vice Chair, People and Parks/Nature for All.
Email: karen.natureforall@gmail.com.
An ecologist by training, Karen has over thirty years’ professional experience in the environmental field ...
IUCN CEC/WCPA NatureForAll Intercommission

Overview and description
A global movement to inspire, celebrate and restore love of nature. Share your love of Nature!
- Description:
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IUCN CEC NatureForAll Specialist Group leads the #NatureForAll global initiative in a continued partnership with the World Commission on Protected Areas (WCPA) to connect people with nature and ...
Group leadership
Ms Karen KEENLEYSIDE
Dr Cheryl CHARLES
#NatureForAll Co-Chair
Email: cheryl@childrenandnature.org
Cheryl Charles is an innovator, entrepreneur, educator, author and organizational executive. Throughout her career, Cheryl has focused on ...
#NatureForAll is a global movement to inspire, celebrate and restore love of nature. It is not an entity but rather a community of interested organizations and individuals who are inspired to work together to effect positive change. At its core is a very simple idea: the more people connect with, learn about and share their love, the more support and action there will be for its conservation.
#NatureForAll aims to foster enabling environments to reduce barriers and connect people with nature in different regions, contexts and realities. Through partnership, we share knowledge, strategies, and actions – amplifying our collective reach and impact to engage new audiences.
#NatureForAll aims to facilitate the development of communities throughout the world where partners connect and learn with the shared purpose of facilitating a love and actions for nature in urban and other environments. This includes the creation of communities (communication spaces/conversation circles/action pools, etc.) where partner organisations and individuals can facilitate action. #NatureForAll helps connect people with nature so that the future is one in which everyone, everywhere, loves and cares for nature.
Objectives
- Raise awareness of nature and its important values and benefits
- Deepen understanding of the relationships between nature conservation and climate resilience
- Increase the numbers of people with empathy, care and connectedness with nature, across the diversity of human cultures where connections have been lost
- Inspire opportunities for all peoples to experience and connect meaningfully with nature, in ways rooted in their cultures and languages
- Help drive policy and support action that enables safe access and enjoyment of nature on a daily basis, inclusive of the full diversity of communities
- Grow a cohesive community of shared commitment, collaboration and action worldwide
Thematic Areas

Children, education and nature
Regular time outdoors is essential for children’s healthy development. However, today’s youth are less connected to nature than ever before. #NatureForAll promotes nature as a setting for fun and adventure. Nature promotes health and wellbeing, acts as a laboratory for endless scientific exploration, and connects young and old generations to cultural roots. When young people forge personal connections to nature, the benefits to individual and societal health are lasting and they lay a foundation for lifelong support of nature conservation.

Urban Nature
There is a growing global consensus that open green and blue spaces in our urban centers are critical in supporting people’s mental, physical, and social wellbeing, as well as increasing economic opportunities. These “urban nature” spaces assist in tackling pressing environmental challenges such as storm water management, pollution reduction, and climate resilience. Additionally, the shift to an increasingly urbanized population has contributed to negative health outcomes, like obesity, diabetes, anxiety and depression.

Parks and Protected Areas
Personal experiences and connections with nature provide powerful benefits for individual and societal health, well-being, and resilience and are also the foundation of a lifelong support for nature conservation, including parks and protected areas, and the achievement of biodiversity and sustainable development goals and targets. #NatureForAll brings together a diversity of players to share actions, collaborate, and amplify our collective reach to engage new audiences to connect with and fall in love with nature, and ignite action for conservation.

Health & Nature
Nature-derived health services have irreplaceable potential to individuals and society. #NatureForAll partners are actively working with the health sector and other key partners to make access to nature and its benefits available to all. Connecting with nature is a potential public health strategy that is accessible and affordable for many populations, with research demonstrating not only protective values but restorative benefits as well. Personal experiences and connections with nature provide powerful benefits for individual and societal health, well-being, and resilience.
#NatureForAll Resources



How to get involved?
Weaving communities is about focusing on building the community with existing partners while welcoming new partners, especially those not traditionally part of the conservation sector. In order to do that, #NatureForAll supports the global dissemination of tools that partners already have or are working on collaboratively, and promotes existing platforms to facilitate knowledge sharing within and outside the #NatureForAll community.
IUCN Commission members are already doing their part for #NatureForAll by inspiring others to connect with, experience and ultimately fall in love with nature. Members are invited to:
- Promote #NatureForAll by using the hashtag on social media.
- Share personal stories of inspiring love of nature as a blog or a video.
- Participate in thematic or regional #NatureForAll communities.
- Organise #NatureForAll activities in their community or region.
- Share resources and events on the #NatureForAll Discovery Zone.
- Play, and promote, the #NatureForAll Trivia Game.
- Share nature sounds through the Sounds of Your Park platform.
- Use and share the various resources and toolkits available for free.
- Become a #NatureForAll social media creator.