SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
One Yellowknife resident is looking to the future by helping future generations reconnect with nature - and her efforts are attracting national attention.

Chloe Dragon-Smith developed the Nature Playbook with the Canadian Parks Council in 2015. The playbook is guided by seven action-oriented strategies aimed to get Canadians more engaged with the natural world. - Robin Grant/NNSL photo

In 2015, Chloe Dragon-Smith worked with the Canadian Parks Council to create The Nature Playbook. It launched last summer in the Northwest Territories.

The playbook aims to inspire Canadians to spend time outdoors.

The Nature Playbook is guided by seven strategies. These include introducing children to nature at an early age; finding and sharing the fun in nature; using the urban gateway to nature; embracing technology; sharing cultural roots and ancestry in nature; seeking out diverse partnerships and empowering a new generation of leaders.

"It's like we're offering ingredients and we want people to try cooking with them," she said. "We want each reader to create something that is simple and strategic - that works for you and your context, but follows guidelines that can lead to long term success in Canada."

In May, the 27-year-old became the first woman to win Nature Canada's Women for Nature Young Nature Leadership Grant because of her efforts with the project.

"It's humbling for me to think of the awesome line of women who have lead to this Women for Nature award, because I was influenced by my mother and (my grandmother)," she said. "The line continues back."

Dragon-Smith explained the playbook was inspired by a 2014 report released by the Canadian Parks Council, "Connecting Canadians with Nature: An Investment in the Well-Being of Our Citizens."

According to the report, there is a growing disconnect between Canadians and the natural world.

It attributes this to "urbanization and less access to green spaces, competition for leisure time, changing demographics, a more sedentary lifestyle and concerns about safety."

The report also details benefits of spending time in nature, such as improvements in health and well-being, lower blood pressure and stronger immune systems by reducing stress levels and improved sleep quality.

"Connecting with nature, to me, is the best long-term way to conserve the environment," said Dragon-Smith. "Connecting with nature really grounds us and brings us together to a place where we can all realize that we are all human and just one species among many."

As a Metis of Chipewyan descent, she said much of her family are trappers and they live very close to the land, she said.

Dragon-Smith said her passion for the great outdoors took root as a young girl. As a child, her family used to encourage her and her brother to explore nature.

"We have a family cabin out on the Tulsa River where we would go for a few weeks every fall and harvest for the winter and go get moose and ducks and fish," she said.

Dragon-Smith credited this childhood experience as where her passion for the outdoors comes from.

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