ABOUT THE NATURE GENERATION
The Nature Generation (NatGen) is an environmental nonprofit that inspires and empowers youth to make a difference. We reach our nation’s youth through innovative environmental stewardship programs in literature, science and the arts.
A Letter from Our Board Chair and President, Ian Kline
When it comes to protecting our planet for our children and for all future generations, we are living in a time of great urgency and tremendous hope. Global climate agreements and new policies and legislation here in the United States have given renewed energy to our efforts to combat climate change and create a cleaner, healthier, and more sustainable future.
Brief History
Our Roots
Established in 2004, the Newton Marasco Foundation—later The Nature Generation or NatGen—was created to fill a gap in environmental stewardship awareness and literature. In partnership with Salisbury University, NatGen created the Green Earth Book Award (GEBA) in 2005. This national award acknowledges and rewards authors and illustrators who inspire the next generation to be environmental stewards and encourages young people to reflect on the beauty, resiliency, and fragility of our natural world.
Budding History
In our first decade, we tested a variety of ideas and youth programs, from scholarships to poster and photo contests, to sponsorship of a touring play about the life of global environmental pioneer, scientist and writer, Rachel Carson. Our purpose and focus—to engage young scientists, artists, and writers—finally took shape.
A New Leaf
NatGen determined to hone its anchor program, and with the generosity of its donors, expanded GEBA—the United States’ only environmental stewardship book award honoring those who write and illustrate stories for children and young adults. Hundreds of books now compete for this prestigious national recognition annually.
NatGen leadership and donors asked us to turn the messages of GEBA books into catalysts for on-the-ground projects for youth. In 2018, we inaugurated STEM Seed Grants for youth groups, schools, libraries, and educational organizations to put environmental stewardship into action.
Goals for Growth
After two decades, it is clear that the mission of fostering environmental stewardship is ever paramount. “There is no planet B” is a reality that resonates with all generations. All our activities dovetail with our mission to Read Green, Teach Green, and Act Green.
Going forward we are committed to our national book program and celebrating winning authors annually. We continue to expand diversity in author participation and in the range of stories we spotlight. With donor support, we will expand STEM Seed Grants so more organizations can receive funding to educate and inspire the next generation. We are currently designing a program that will assist storm ravaged communities in restocking school and public library book shelves after hurricanes and other natural disasters.
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Since its founding, The Nature Generation has achieved significant milestones in inspiring and empowering youth through environmental stewardship, education, and creative engagement.
Meet Our Partners
On Point Communications
On Point is a DBE-SWaM certified public relations and marketing agency specializing in public involvement and communications for infrastructure, transit, and transportation projects. On Point develops and manages results-driven public relations strategies focused on community outreach, virtual and direct stakeholder engagement. On Point assists NatGen by providing graphic design and communications support pro bono.
The Excalibur Group
The Excalibur Group is a Washington D.C. based company dedicated to and focused on adding value to local, state, and federal programs with staff augmentation, training, and program management in the Defense, IT, Workforce, Environmental, and Legal industries. Excalibur has served in advisory capacity to The Nature Generation for a decade.
The Lewes Public Library
The Lewes Public Library in Lewes, Delaware provides access for a variety of educational, informational and recreational materials to all members of the Lewes community through traditional resources and emerging technologies. The Lewes Public Library is an independent public library member of the Delaware Library Catalog. The library assists NatGen in facilitating our annual Green Earth Book Award Celebration and in communication and outreach activities related to our GEBA program.
The Salisbury University
The Department of Early and Elementary Education at Salisbury University’s Seidel School of Education is a leading education university and has been our partner in literacy since 2005. Salisbury works with NatGen to administer the Green Earth Book Award process. The Seidel School operates the Ernie Bond Curriculum Resource Center which maintains an extensive collection of children’s literature including GEBA books.
A Letter from Our Board Chair and President
Dear Friends,
The Nature Generation is proud to celebrate over 20 years of inspiring the next generation of environmental stewards. Ours has been and continues to be a story of unrelenting hope. Hope borne from the belief that we can create real and lasting change to protect our planet if we amplify others’ voices, if we share with children and young adults the important and powerful stories being told by authors, scientists, poets, illustrators, teachers, and many others. While our activities and programs have evolved over the past two decades, we have focused our efforts in three critical program areas: Read Green, Think Green, and Act Green.
Read Green includes our flagship program – The Green Earth Book Award. As the nation’s first environmental stewardship award for Children and Young Adult books, the program has helped to identify and raise the profile of the best environmental fiction and non-fiction books and their authors for almost two decades. Just as critically, we have worked hard to get these amazing books into the hands of children and young adults, where their powerful stories have the most impact.
Think Green provides invaluable free resource guides and tools focused on environmental stewardship that provide educators with ideas and lesson plans that can augment existing curricula. These resources are also fantastic tools that parents and guardians can use at home with their kids.
Act Green is driven by our STEM Seed Grants, which support efforts to engage children and young adults on issues related to STEM and environmental literacy. These grants can be used to fund small-scale start-up efforts or ongoing projects that are focused on environmental stewardship. NatGen’s Seed Grants support organizations of all kinds, including schools, museums, libraries, military or veterans’ groups, or other non-profits.
In our twenty-second year, ours is now also a story of multiple generations, cascading across families and communities, extending the reach of the voices and stories that we’ve worked so hard to magnify. Kindergarten students who read our first Green Earth Book Award-winning Picture Books are graduating from college, starting their first jobs, and making decisions as adults that will lead to a better, brighter future for our planet. High school students who participated in our earliest programs and read our first Green Earth Book Award-winning Young Adult Books are now in their mid- to late 30s, some of whom are now inspiring their own kids with books carrying the Green Earth Book Award seal. This is the power of storytelling, echoing across generations to drive impact and to ensure that each new generation reaffirms and strengthens our commitment to protecting the Earth.
Finally – THANK YOU. NatGen is a donor-funded organization. All of our programs are made possible through corporate sponsorships and individual donations from our wonderful supporters. Nothing we’ve accomplished in the past two decades would have been possible without our committed volunteers and donors. We’d love for you to join us as a donor or volunteer over our next 20 years as we seek to inspire even more children and young adults to become a part of The Nature Generation.
Warm Regards,
Ian Kline, Board Chair & Amy Marasco, Founder and President