2023 Richard Louv Prize winner Luis Alberto Camargo creates transcendent moments for children in nature

For more than 25 years, Luis Alberto Camargo has been connecting children to the natural world. On June 15, Luis was named the 2023 Richard Louv Prize recipient, in recognition of his life’s work, which has impacted 130,000 children and youth across Colombia.

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.

“I firmly believe that nature is essential to children’s well-being. Nature embraces us in many ways and allows transcendent experiences to be part of our learning to connect and become better ancestors,” said Luis upon receiving the award.

“As the wisest of teachers, we must recognize nature’s immense value and make every effort to learn from, be inspired, and activate our regenerative capacities to heal and restore ourselves, our communities, and our planet,” continued Luis.

Luis was selected from more than 70 nominations from around the world by the Founders’ Council of the Children & Nature Network. During the award presentation, Founders’ Council co-chair and selection committee member Dr. Cheryl Charles said, “For more than two decades,  Luis Alberto Camargo has engaged and inspired children, youth and people of all ages with direct experiences in nature through the non-profit organization he founded, OpEPA, the Organization for Environmental Education and Protection. Luis epitomizes the criteria for the Richard Louv award: his work is innovative, it has significant reach, and it has proven to be both sustainable and replicable by others.”

“Luis is also a philosopher for the nature connection movement,” said Richard Louv when presenting the award. “Emphasizing the importance of regenerative thinking, Luis often says that life creates the conditions for life, and the health of nature is based on collaboration more than competition. He emphasizes the importance of creating networks that combine institutions, people and places directly with land and lives, both human and other-than-human.”

Luis 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. While his focus has been on children ages 8 to 12, his organization also offers leadership development for educators, young adults, and increasingly, policy makers in cities and nations. To date, Luis and the team at OpEPA have worked with more than 6,000 educators, teachers and administrators, and 4,000 public officials. A nature-based education network that Luis started in Bogotá has been replicated in 13 other Colombian cities in cooperation with the Ministry of the Environment. 

“Luis movingly describes how, when taking children into the natural world, he watches for that instant when the light in a child’s eyes suddenly changes,” continued Richard Louv. “This is the transcendent moment when a child deeply connects with the natural world. Sometimes for the first time.”

“Most importantly, while his vision is large, healing and transformative, Luis matches that vision with authentic and meaningful work directly with young people and their teachers in the outdoors, immersed in nature,” said Cheryl Charles.

As the second-ever recipient of the Richard Louv Prize, Luis expressed his thanks. “First, I want to thank Mother Earth for holding all life and for being so magical a teacher,” he said. “I want to thank Richard Louv. His work gifted OpEPA with the necessary language to articulate our cause clearly. His inspiring writings have motivated us to remain steadfast in our goals, take action and provide children with opportunities to experience nature’s wonders, happiness and healing abilities.”

“My lifelong passion for connecting children with nature has driven my personal life and career, and I’m grateful for the support of my family and colleagues,” Luis continued. “My wife and daughters are an immense source of inspiration and the best partners for nature experiences. The OpEPA Colombia team has been crucial to our program’s success, and I’m proud to work with them.”

“And, I am deeply grateful to the teachers and students who have participated in our programs. Their unwavering hope for the future of humanity and the planet has further strengthened my own,” continued Luis.

Luis concluded with an invitation: “Join me in my mission to bring nature into education and education out into nature. Our shared responsibility is to ensure the well-being of children and the health of our planet. Given our current environmental and social challenges, this mission is more crucial than ever. Together, we can create a world where every child experiences nature’s wonders, happiness, and healing power.”

OpEPA encourages nature connection and environmental action

In 1993, after completing his masters degree studying the growing environmental crisis, Luis realized that the root cause of the global climate  predicament was the disconnection between humans and nature. “I pondered why I had such a strong connection to nature while others did not,” he said. “I discovered that it was due to the opportunities I had growing up, to be surrounded by nature experiences – and the influence of key educators who validated and inspired my love and understanding of nature. I realized that my duty, my purpose, was to create opportunities for children and people to engage deeply with the natural world.” 

Luis founded OpEPA in Bogotá, Colombia, in 1998 to connect people with nature to accelerate the transition towards more sustainable and regenerative individuals, institutions and public policies. Through nature-based learning and outdoor programs, OpEPA encourages people to take direct actions that have a positive impact on the health of the planet.

OpEPA focuses its work in four main areas:

• Nature-based education 
• Sustainable and regenerative tourism
• The transition towards a more regenerative society, and,
• Reducing negative impacts on climate, biodiversity and ecosystems, soils and nutrients, and water.

OpEPA has worked with more than 130,000 students, provided training and support for more than 5,000 educators, and supported environmental leadership and ecotourism across Colombia. Internationally, OpEPA is a co-leader of the Regenerative Communities Network, Catalyst 2030 and The Weaving Lab, and a partner with The  Climate Reality Project and the Public Use Planning Program (PUP) Global Heritage Consortium in Colombia. The work of Luis and OpEPA has been recognized by Ashoka, the World Economic Forum and HundrED, among others.  

In addition to leading OpEPA, Luis is currently a member of the steering committee for the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Commission on Education and Communication as regional Vice Chair for Latin America; he is also co-chair of the Commission’s Nature Education for Planetary Health effort. He is widely sought as a speaker and collaborator. 

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