This excerpt is reposted here with permission from the Children & Nature Network. Read the full article at https://www.childrenandnature.org/resources/2023-richard-louv-prize-winner-luis-alberto-camargo-creates-transcendent-moments-for-children-in-nature/
Written by Laura Mylan
Luis Alberto Camargo, the founder and Director of OpEPA (Organization for Environmental Education and Protection), a nonprofit organization in Colombia and an active #NatureForAll partner, was awarded the 2023 Richard Louv Prize recipient. For more than 25 years, Luis has been connecting children to the natural world, and this award recognizes his life’s work, which has impacted 130,000 children and youth across the country.
The Richard Louv Prize was created in 2022 to honor the visionary leadership of Children & Nature Network co-founder and celebrated author, Richard Louv. This annual $15,000 cash prize is awarded to individuals doing exemplary work to advance equitable access to nature. The prize is open to any individual, anywhere in the world, and is designed to recognize innovative strategies for creating regular access to the benefits of nature.
Luis was selected from more than 70 nominations from around the world by the Founders’ Council of the Children & Nature Network. He combines nature-based physical, academic, sensory and emotional experiences so that children and youth can fall in love with the natural world around them. His organization provides children and youth with memorable, immersive and life-enriching outdoor experiences, most of them in wilderness settings averaging five days in length.