Richard Louv, Psychology Today. Some say the future isn’t what it used to be.
Here’s a different view. The future is going to be better than it used to be -- at least when it comes to the human connection to nature. In "Last Child in the Woods," I described what I called "nature-deficit disorder. " I hesitated (briefly) to use the term; our culture is overwrought with medical jargon. But we needed a language to describe the change, and this phrase rang true to parents, educators, and others who had noticed the change. In the four years since publication of "Last Child" (with an updated and expanded edition in 2008), the gap has grown wider. Consider the 2008 Recreation Participation Report," released this month.
Consider, too, the decision by the publisher of the Oxford Junior Dictionary to replace dozens of nature-related words like “beaver” and “dandelion” with “blog” and “MP3 player.” Still, there's reason for hope. We have a long way to go, but the grassroots are growing; and so are the netroots. Richard Louv, Nature Principal. Margaret Marty, Pine City. Posted: Wednesday, July 17, 2013 10:26 am Let’s reacquaint ourselves with nature Margaret Marty TownNews.com | My favorite time of day is early morning, just as dawn is breaking over the east field.
Sometimes a deer or two is out nibbling on the alfalfa, or a raccoon is ambling across my front yard to see what he can glean under the bird feeders. One day a fox and her two offspring were cavorting on the screen house deck. The first cup of coffee tastes best at that time of day, and it’s a good time for reflection and meditation. I’m thankful for the connection I’ve had with nature throughout my lifetime. An online service is needed to view this article in its entirety.
Login Or, use your facebook account: Need an account? This connection with nature continued throughout my teenage years when I had to drive tractor for my dad for hay baling, pick rocks off the fields, fetch the cows home from the far pastures for milking time. . © 2014 Your local online newspaper. Chuck Slocum, BSA. While today’s kids are well aware of the global threats to our environment, their actual physical contact, their intimacy with nature on a day-to-day basis, is rapidly fading.
Every now and again, a bold, new idea comes my way. I found out about one such idea at a “Gathering of the Eagles” at a recent lunch meeting in St. Paul. The Eagle Scout designation is the highest rank in the Boy Scouts of America; there are some 22,000 Eagle Scouts living in the Twin Cities region. Chuck Slocum While today’s kids are well aware of the global threats to our environment, their actual physical contact, their intimacy with nature on a day-to-day basis, is rapidly fading.
Some parents and others in the older generations, when made aware of this nature-less lifestyle change, are coming to sense its importance. We know we can not bring back the free-range childhood so many of us baby boomers experienced in the 1950-'60s, nor would such a thing make much sense. SS-Slocum.info. Leave No Child Inside is a movement to reconnect children and nature, and to battle Nature Deficit Disorder.
Author Richard Louv has written about it in his book Last Child in the Woods and in the popular media. A guest columnist wrote about it this month in my local paper (sorry, I haven't found it yet online). I gained a new perspective on the problem of Nature Deficit Disorder this Winter: open spaces aren't safe. I was walking our dogs in the open space behind our home. It's a big, beautiful, frozen marshland that's surrounded by suburban residential neighborhoods. I couldn't imagine how anyone could do such a thing. I distributed a flyer and talked with neighbors. I learned as much as I could about trapping, trying to understand the other side of the issue. When I read this material about how people of all kinds need to get out more to enjoy the wonders of nature, it takes me back to the state of mind I foolishly enjoyed before experiencing this very hard reality.