There were plenty of depressing numbers out there this Earth Day, from dwindling numbers of moose in Minnesota to ongoing honey bee decline.

But to me, this takes the Prozac-frosted cake: a study found that while young people could identify a thousand corporate logos, they couldn’t identify even a handful of plants and animals in their backyards. Will future generations care about protecting the planet if they can’t even pick a starling out of a lineup?

Your support powers solutions-focused climate reporting — keeping it free for everyone. All donations DOUBLED for a limited time. Give now in under 45 seconds.
Secure · Tax deductible · Takes 45 Seconds

Stories like this don’t tell themselves.

Make others like it possible. Your support powers solutions-focused climate reporting — keeping it free for everyone. Give now in under 45 seconds.
Secure · Tax deductible · Takes 45 Seconds

How can we start to change that? The No Child Left Inside Coalition has a simple idea: get ’em outside:

To support our nonprofit environmental journalism, please consider disabling your ad-blocker to allow ads on Grist. Here's How