Texas Children in Nature Network Summit: Kids Need Nature and Nature Needs Kids

December 6-8, 2023 at the C. Baldwin Hotel in Houston, Texas

Presented by H-E-B.

Location: 400 Dallas St., Houston, TX 77002

Registration Opens on August 1, 2023

During this three-day Summit, TCiNN will bring together health, education, built environment, faith, conservation, and community leaders to shape an even brighter future for the children of Texas. Over 300 community leaders from across the state will gather to strengthen the network and develop opportunities and policies that will connect more children and families in nature.

Wednesday

• 12-4: Workshops around Houston
• 6:30- 9:30: Evening Networking Event

Thursday

• 8-5: Concurrent Sessions and Keynote from Parker McMullen Bushman
• 5-6: Poster Sessions
• 6-10: Champions Awards Dinner (Additional Ticket)

Friday

• 8-10: Regional Meetings
• 10-11: Keynote: Dr. Melissa Lem
• 11-12:30: Concurrent Sessions

Keynote Speakers:

• Parker McMullen Bushman: Chief Operating Officer and Co-founder of Inclusive Journeys, and the founder and CEO of Ecoinclusive Strategies. Parker Bushman has been a leader in the conservation, environmental education, outdoor recreation and non-profit fields for 24+ years and has served in top leadership for Marine Science, Environmental Educational, and Cultural Interpretive Facilities. Her current work focuses on helping organizations create dynamic organizational change to cultivate diversity and equity at all levels through strategic activism and education.

• Dr. Melissa Lem: A Vancouver family physician, Clinical Assistant Professor of Medicine at the University of British Columbia and the Founder and Director of PaRx, Canada’s national nature prescription program powered by the British Columbia (BC) Parks Foundation. President of the Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment. She is, an internationally recognized expert on the nature-health connection, recipient of the Canadian Medical Association’s 2020 Joule Innovation Grant and winner of a 2022 Nature Inspiration Award from the Canadian Museum of Nature. Dr. Lem is also a widely published writer, climage change panelist on CBC Radio's Early Edition and in-house medical columnist for CBC TV Vancouver, one of her major prioritites is knowledge translation.

Champions Awards Dinner

Every year Texas Children in Nature Network honors individuals or organizations that have gone above and beyond to improve the lives of children through strengthening their connection with nature. The awards ceremony will be hosted as part of a special dinner at the C. Baldwin Hotel on December 7, 2023. Tickets for this event will be available when registration for the Summit opens.

Summit Session Strands

• Access to Nature
• Community Engagement and Partnerships
• Nature for All
• Formal and Informal Education
• Physical and Mental Health
• Greenspace Conservation and Development

Concurrent sessions will take place on Thursday and Friday of the Summit and are one hour long. TCiNN is looking for sessions to share about programs, research, and industry trends. We are looking for highly interactive sessions and encourage sessions to take place outdoors. For more information about the Request for Proposals process you can log onto a Q&A session on May 26 at 2:00.

The Summit also features a Poster session on Thursday, Dec 7.

Submit a Concurrent Session Proposal

Submit a Poster Session Proposal