through a glass darkly: blog 
through a glass darkly's blog
last child in the woods
Published Apr. 22, 2008
Last Saturday, Raleigh celebrated Earth Day with several events downtown. One of them was a talk by Richard Louv (http://richardlouv.com/) on what he calls "Nature Deficit Disorder".
Louv's premise is that humans need a connection with nature. When I was a kid, my mother would send us out in the morning, fix lunch for us at noon, and call us back in when the street lights came on. After dinner, we would often play outside until bed time. Now, it seems that the only contact kids have with the outside is the nature channel. He has interviewed thousands of kids over the years. One question he has asked is whether the kid likes indoors or outdoors. He mentioned the answer he was given by one child, "I like the indoors because that is where the electrical outlets are."
Even when kids are outside, it is often in a 'non-natural' setting. He made the observation that 'flat playgrounds' (youth sports, traditional playgrounds, etc) tend to favor the physically strong kids (including the bullies), while natural settings tend to favor the intelligent kids.
Finally, Louv talked about behavioral response to being disconnected from nature. There is an explosion of medication for behavioral modification (such as Ritalin for ADD). Could some of this be cause by kids being raised in an artificial environment? He presented some annecdotal evidence to suggest it might.
Louv coined the term 'biophilic' for those kids who grow up in an outdoor environment, and who can still feel the 'wild' in themselves. How many of us adults who were raised in such a way can still remember special places in nature? I know that when things get stressed at work, I can often think of those special places I visited as a child. Every single one of them is a natural setting.
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GOLO member since January 29, 2008
April 22, 2008 3:28 p.m.
GOLO member since June 19, 2008
April 22, 2008 3:22 p.m.
Spent many a year being outside as a child. Playing in the woods, building forts with the guys. Playing games like kick the can, hide & seek, etc. Playing sports like tennis, kickball, baseball, tetherball, swimming, skating, sledding, and tobagganing. Riding bikes, walking everywhere instead of being driven by someone, hiking in the woods, going canoeing with my Dad. Outdoor scout activities & summer camp. Sleeping in a tent in my friend's backyard in the summer.
Don't do most of those activities today, but still miss the out-of-doors, and I miss my Dad, who taught me to enjoy ALL of them.
GOLO member since June 19, 2008
April 22, 2008 3:21 p.m.
April 22, 2008 10:38 a.m.
April 22, 2008 10:34 a.m.
GOLO member since January 21, 2008
April 22, 2008 10:29 a.m.
April 22, 2008 10:16 a.m.
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