Undoing NatureDeficit Disorder An essential firststep The WHY

Undoing Nature-Deficit Disorder An essential first-step

The WHY is essential

Essential to what? KLB Programming & Initiatives Healthy Childhood Development The Planet

Last Child in the Woods (book cover image)

. . . essential for children to interact directly with nature before being presented with abstractions about its importance. . .

From 1997 to 2003, there was a decline of 50% in the proportion of children nine to twelve who spent time in such outside activities. . .

Nature-deficit disorder describes the human costs of alienation from nature, among them: diminished use of the senses, attention difficulties, and higher rates of physical and emotional illnesses… Such knowledge may inspire us to choose a different path, one that leads to a nature-child reunion.

The children and nature movement is fueled by this fundamental idea: the child in nature is an endangered species, and the health of children and the health of the Earth are inseparable.

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Schoolyard Enhanced Learning (book cover image)

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(Trail activity lesson pic)

As a matter of fact, our great-grandfathers, who never went anywhere, in actuality, had more experience of the world than we have who have seen everything. D. H. Lawrence

How do we support cultural and institutional change? ● Model better behavior. ● Better planning and land use decisions that make nature more accessible. ● Recognize the necessity and provide unstructured playtime in natural settings. ● Ask if in trying to keep children “safe” we are doing them more harm than good. ● View nature as both an antidote and teacher. ● Help schools partner. ● Strive to be imperfect.

Oregon’s Outdoor School for All http: //www. outdoorschoolforall. org/

It is not half so important to know as to feel when introducing a young child to the natural world. Rachel Carson

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(PIC OF MABRY)

T H E E N D www. promiseofplace. org www. mssoutdooreducation. shutterfly. com jonksoul@gmail. com