Category Archives: Richard Louv

CHILDREN AND NATURE : Nature Deficit Disorder

By Henricus Peters on | Leave a Comment

Global Voices for Justice interviews Richard Louv, author of The Nature Principle, Last Child in the Woods, The Web of Life, and other books. Louv shares a hopeful message for every area of life from more productive workplaces, to better classroom learning and healing our nature-starved spirits.

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CHILDREN AND NATURE : Richard Louv’s ‘The Nature Principle’

By Henricus Peters on | 3 Comments

The immediacy of Richard Louv‘s message in Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children from Nature-Deficit Disorder galvanized an international movement to reconnect children with nature. Now, in The Nature Principle, Louv reaches even further with a powerful call to action for the rest of us.

9-6-12_Chena_RLouv2

9-6-12_Chena_RLouv2 (Photo credit: Marion J. Patterson)

Our society, says Louv, has developed such an outsized faith in technology that we have yet to fully realize or even adequately study how human capacities are enhanced through the power of nature. Supported by groundbreaking research, anecdotal evidence, and compelling personal stories, Louv shows us how tapping into the restorative powers of the natural world can boost mental acuity and creativity; promote health and wellness; build smarter and more sustainable businesses, communities, and economies; and ultimately strengthen human bonds. As he says in his introduction, The Nature Principle is “about the power of living in nature—not with it, but in it. We are entering the most creative period in history. The twenty-first century will be the century of human restoration in the natural world.”

Richard Louv makes a convincing case that through a nature-balanced existence—driven by sound economic, social, and environmental solutions—the human race can and will thrive. This timely, inspiring, and important work will give readers renewed hope while challenging them to rethink the way we live.

November 2008 cover of Nature Materials

November 2008 cover of Nature Materials (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

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Children and Nature USA : Campaigns to Get Children Outdoors Make Progress

By Henricus Peters on | 1 Comment
Cover of "Last Child in the Woods: Saving...

Cover via Amazon

Three times more children and youth getting outdoors in nature from 2009 to 2011—some good from Children & Nature Network (C&NN) survey! 

The 2011 Children & Nature Network (C&NN) survey of grassroots leaders of regional, statewide and provincial campaigns shows a three-fold increase in the number of children and youth getting outdoors in nature from 2009 to 2011—from one million to three million annually

The Children & Nature Network (C&NN) reported in USA Today, “A back-to-nature movement to reconnect children with the outdoors is burgeoning nationwide.” The latest survey with data from 2011 provides additional support for that statement.

Reasons for the growth and urgency of this movement include the epidemic of childhood obesity, reports of diminished creativity, increases in behavior disorders, increased time using electronic media, and sedentary behavior among children and youth—all of which are associated with reduced time for learning and play outdoors in nature as a part of children’s everyday lives. Research indicates that children tend to be healthier, happier and smarter when direct experiences in nature are a frequent and regular part of their childhood.

Compared to baseline results established in 2009, the Children & Nature Network 2011 Grassroots Leadership Survey shows significant increases in the numbers of children and youth getting outdoors in nature as a result of the efforts of the Network and its members, including regional, statewide and provincial campaigns to connect children, families and communities to nature. Commissioned by C&NN with funding from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, the survey results are analyzed and reported by an independent evaluator, Dr. Lynette Fleming.

Leaders of these campaigns reported that the number of children and youth annually engaged in nature-based outdoor activities and experiences has tripled since 2009 to an estimated 3 million youth in 2011. In 2011, C&NN campaigns and partners reported engaging up to 1.2 million underserved youth in community garden projects (up from 176,600 in 2009); 856,000 in natural play areas (up from 316,1000 in 2009); and 1.6 million in school gardens/habitat projects (up from 401,500 in 2009). Among the many findings, survey participants report increased:
• awareness of the importance of nature for children’s healthy development,
• participation by pediatricians and health care providers,
• educational benefits,
• community support, and
• development of places to play and learn outdoors in nature.

Seventy-eight campaigns completed the 2011 survey. As of May 10, 2012, there are 103 campaigns registered on the C&NN web site.

“While we still have much work to do to reverse the trends of the last 30 years in which children are increasingly sedentary and disconnected from playing and learning in nature, this progress is exciting and an indication of momentum,” said Cheryl Charles, Ph.D., President and CEO of the Children & Nature Network.

“These findings are encouraging, including the increase in the number of under served youth who are having nature-based play and learning experiences. However, barriers remain, and some are growing,” said Richard Louv, C&NN co-founder and Chairman Emeritus. “As of 2008, more people in the world live in cities than in rural areas. So we need a broader, deeper movement – one that transforms cities into incubators of biodiversity and human health. This movement isn’t about going back to nature; it’s about going forward to nature. Every child needs nature, not only those whose parents love the outdoors.”

Louv and Charles praised the young people, parents, grandparents, physicians, teachers, community leaders, urban planners and others leading the international movement to reduce what, in his book “Last Child in the Woods,” Louv called “our society’s nature-deficit disorder.”

Since its founding in 2006, The Children & Nature Network has been advocating for children, their families and communities to enhance their health and well-being through direct experiences in nature. C&NN’s vision is a world in which all children play, learn and grow with nature in their everyday lives. The Children & Nature Network is leading a movement to connect all children, their families and communities to nature through innovative ideas, evidence-based resources and tools, broad-based collaboration and support of grassroots leadership. C&NN provides a wide range of research and user- friendly tools, including those to enhance positive family bonding and access to fun, friendly nature-based activities.

To see the full Survey Report DOWNLOAD a copy of the Report here or go to:
http://www.childrenandnature.org/downloads/C&NNGrassrootsSurvey2011.pdf

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C&NN Community Conversation site, C&NN Connect:
www.childrenandnature.ning.com

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How do YOU connect with nature?

By Henricus Peters on | 3 Comments
Nature Wallpaper

Nature Wallpaper (Photo credit: tiltti)

Tell me here or at Learn From Nature

According to Richard Louv, you are part of the New Nature Movement if …

  • You want to reconnect with real life in a virtual age.
  • You’re a student who’s decided to build a career connecting people to nature.
  • You’re an entrepreneur who wants to build a business connecting people to nature.
  • You’re a parent, child or therapist who believes that the family that plays in nature together stays together.
  • You’re a biologist, landscape architect or policymaker dedicated to transforming cities into engines of biodiversity and human health.
  • You’re someone who understands that all spiritual life begins with a sense of wonder, and that nature is a window into that wonder.
  • You hunger for authenticity; you believe in nature’s power to create a deeper sense of personal and regional identity.
  • You can be of any race or culture, you can live in an inner-city, suburb or small town, and you see your connection to nature as a birthright.
  • You’re a biophilic architect on the cutting edge of green design.
  • You’re a nature-smart developer who creates or rebuilds neighborhoods that connect people to nature.
  • You’re an urban planner or public health official who believes that creating more nearby nature builds better health, tighter social bonds and a smarter workforce.
  • You’re an employer using biophilic design to create a more productive workplace.
  • You’re a nature-smart homeowner determined to create a healthier, happier, restorative home, yard and garden.
  • You’re a pediatrician or other health care professional who prescribes nature for your young patients and their families.
  • You’re helping a hospital, children’s mental health center, nursing home or other health facility encourage healing through nature.
  • You’re an ecopsychologist, wilderness therapy professional, nature therapist, camp counselor, docent, or park ranger working as a “park health paraprofessional.”
  • You’re a “new agrarian” — an organic farmer or rancher or urban gardener.
  • You’re a locavore, dedicated to consuming locally grown food.
  • You want to reignite all your senses.
  • You’re a nature-smart teacher who takes your students outside because you understand the power of nature to help them learn.
  • You’re an artist, writer, photographer or musician who knows the power of nature to stimulate creativity, and you use your talents to reconnect people to nature.
  • You’re an outdoor recreationist who restores nature.
  • You’re a citizen naturalist.
  • You care about the human relationship with nature, whether you’re liberal, conservative…or other.
  • You’re a law enforcement official who believes nature can play a role in crime prevention and prison recidivism.
  • You’re an attorney who protects the forgotten human right to our connection to nature and the responsibilities that come with that right.
  • You’re a mayor or county official or business leader looking for a new way to envision your region’s future.
  • You’re done with despair; you want to create a newer world.
  • You’re ….
  • Source : http://www.childrenandnature.org/blog/2012/02/28/youre-part-of-the-new-nature-movement-if/
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Ten ways camp reduce nature deficit disorder

By Henricus Peters on | Leave a Comment

When I was a teenager, I resented camp. Because I never went to camp.

Every summer, my buddy Pete would disappear for weeks. He’d leave Kansas and head to Sanborn Western Camp in the mountains west of Colorado Springs. For me, the hot, humid weeks dragged on. Then he’d come home telling tales of adventure in the alpine Oz.

Stories like this: “Once while picking ground plums, which tasted like raw green beans, we uncovered an ancient hunting site full of arrowheads, charcoal and flint chips.” He also had encounters with bears, coyotes, and mountain lions.

*** Read the rest at my re-launched blog – Learn From Nature 

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