How do we make sure every child has meaningful access to the outdoors?

In this episode, Bill and Anders sit down with two researchers and advocates who are reshaping how we think about nature and public health: Dr. Carrie Besnette Hauser, President and CEO of the Trust for Public Land, and Dr. Pooja Tandon, a pediatrician and researcher at Seattle Children’s Hospital who also serves as a senior scientist with TPL. Together they bring a rare combination of policy reach and clinical grounding to one of the most urgent questions facing American families: how do we make sure every child has meaningful access to the outdoors?

Dr. Tandon walks through the findings of her landmark systematic review of over 8,000 studies on nature contact and children’s health, with the most compelling evidence pointing to benefits for physical activity and mental well-being. She pushes back on the idea that there is one right way to experience nature, noting that green time can look like a schoolyard garden, a neighborhood walk, or an urban trail, and that what matters most is consistent, nearby access, starting in the communities where children actually live. Dr. Besnette Hauser connects that research to TPL’s on-the-ground work: transforming more than 235 schoolyards in New York City alone, developing urban trail corridors in Atlanta, Dallas, and Queens, and tracking park equity across the country through the annual ParkScore index.

The conversation raises a deeper question that runs throughout the episode: what does it mean to bring wild nature to people, rather than waiting for people to come to wild nature? With 100 million Americans living more than a ten-minute walk from a park, and with school yards representing 2 million acres of largely underused civic land, both guests make a persuasive case that the opportunity to change those numbers is already in front of us. The challenge is political will, funding, and the recognition that access to green space is a matter of public health equity.

In this episode:

• The research on nature and children’s health: Dr. Tandon describes her systematic review of more than 8,000 studies, with the strongest evidence linking nature contact to improved physical activity, mental health, and children’s vision and stress regulation.
• Screen time versus green time: With American children averaging fewer than 10 minutes outdoors daily while spending more than seven hours on screens, Dr. Tandon explains what that displacement costs developmentally and why nature offers benefits that other offline activities do not fully replicate.
• There is no one right way to experience nature: Both guests challenge the assumption that outdoor connection requires hiking or camping, emphasizing that urban parks, schoolyard gardens, and neighborhood trails can be equally powerful starting points.
• Equity as the foundation of TPL’s work: One in three Americans, including 28 million children, lacks easy access to a park or green space. Dr. Tandon and Dr. Besnette Hauser explain how TPL uses geospatial mapping to identify access gaps and prioritize investment in underserved communities.
• Transforming schoolyards at scale: TPL has redesigned more than 235 schoolyards in New York City, creating climate-resilient, community-designed spaces that improve attendance, reduce behavioral challenges, and function as learning landscapes. Similar work is underway in Dallas, Seattle, and with tribal schools.
• Urban trails as green infrastructure: From the High Line in New York and the 606 in Chicago to a proposed 100-mile Chattahoochee River corridor in Atlanta, Dr. Besnette Hauser traces how trail systems simultaneously expand nature access, connect communities, and reduce car dependence.
• The ParkScore index: TPL releases annual rankings of park systems in the 100 largest U.S. cities, measuring access, equity, investment, acreage, and amenities. The 2026 rankings are scheduled for release on May 20. The underlying database is publicly available and includes integrated health data from the CDC.
• Quantifying the unquantifiable: The conversation explores what gets lost when conservation outcomes are translated into market terms, and why participatory design processes, where students help shape their own schoolyards, may produce civic and educational benefits that resist easy measurement.
• TPL’s founding values and present relevance: Dr. Besnette Hauser traces TPL’s origins in the San Francisco Bay Area, including early urban garden partnerships in Oakland, as evidence that the organization’s emphasis on people-centered conservation has been central since its founding more than 55 years ago.
• The Happiest Outside campaign: TPL’s current initiative provides research-backed tips for unlocking the benefits of outdoor time, available at tpl.org/happiestoutside.

Links & Resources

Media & Books

• Digging Into Nature: Outdoor Adventures for the Whole Family — Dr. Pooja Tandon’s book on connecting families and children to outdoor experiences.

Organizations & Initiatives:

• Trust for Public Land (TPL): National nonprofit organization that protects public land and creates parks and green spaces, with a focus on equitable access in urban and rural communities.
• TPL Community Schoolyards Initiative: TPL’s program to redesign public school yards across the country as climate-resilient, community-centered outdoor learning and recreation spaces.
• Great Outdoors Colorado: Colorado lottery-funded program that supports open space, parks, and outdoor recreation.
• Colorado Parks and Wildlife Commission: State body that oversees parks and wildlife management in Colorado.
• American Rivers: National conservation organization focused on river protection.
• Rails to Trails Conservancy: Organization referenced in the context of converting derelict rail corridors into public trail systems.

Places & Landscapes:

• Cumberland Island, Georgia: Barrier island and national seashore referenced by Anders as a personally transformative outdoor experience.
• Grand Canyon and Coconino National Forest, Arizona: Where Dr. Besnette Hauser grew up and developed her relationship with the outdoors.
• Colorado Mountain College: Multi-campus institution in the Colorado Rockies where Dr. Besnette Hauser served as president, training students for outdoor industry and recreation careers.
• Cherokee National Forest, Tennessee: National forest referenced by Bill as the location of a memorable nighttime kayaking experience on Indian Boundary Lake.
• The High Line, New York City: Elevated urban rail-to-trail park cited as an example of successful urban green infrastructure that TPL has been involved with.
• The 606, Chicago: Urban trail system cited as an example of a rail-to-trail project expanding nature access in a major city.
• Atlanta Beltline and Chattahoochee River Lands: A proposed 100-mile trail corridor along the Chattahoochee River in Atlanta, described as a project that would open a major river to one of the most populated cities in the country.
• The QueensWay, New York City: A proposed linear park on a derelict rail line in Queens that would serve 28 schools and bring roughly 250,000 residents closer to green space; TPL lost $117 million in federal grants for this project.
• Tacoma, Washington: Site of a TPL schoolyard project near a highway where tree planting and redesign were evaluated for impacts on air quality, heat mitigation, and children’s learning.
• Salida and Chaffee County, Colorado: Community where Dr. Besnette Hauser lives and where she spoke about TPL’s work and her career at a local Rotary Club.

Government & Policy:

• ParkScore Index (annual): TPL’s national ranking system for park systems in the 100 largest U.S. cities, measuring access, equity, investment, acreage, and amenities; the 2026 rankings will be released May 20.
• ParkServe Database: TPL’s publicly available geospatial database integrating park access data with CDC health metrics including physical inactivity and mental health indicators.
• NYC Community Schoolyards Agreement: Partnership structure between TPL, New York City, and local school districts requiring redesigned schoolyards to remain open to the public after school hours.

People Mentioned

• Bob Marshall: Early twentieth-century conservationist and wilderness advocate, cited by Bill as a figure who worked to create outdoor access for urban communities.
• Mayor Michael Bloomberg: Former Mayor of New York City, credited by Dr. Besnette Hauser with initiating the large-scale schoolyard transformation program in partnership with TPL.

Dr. Carrie Besnette Hauser is president and CEO of Trust for Public Land (TPL), a national nonprofit working to ensure everyone has access to the benefits and joys of the outdoors. TPL partners with communities across the United States to create parks, trails, and schoolyards, and to protect public lands and vast landscapes that strengthen health, climate resilience, and connection to nature.

Dr. Pooja Sarin Tandon is a general pediatrician and health researcher who has dedicated her career to advancing children’s health by promoting healthy behaviors and reducing disparities. In particular, her work has focused on play equity (“play for all children”), and promoting access to physical activity and outdoor recreation. In addition to her role at TPL, she is a Professor of Pediatrics at the University of Washington (UW) School of Medicine, a Professor at the UW School of Public Health, and a researcher at the Seattle Children’s Research Institute.

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