|
||
|
|
|
| ||
  |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Book Review: Last Child in the Woods: Saving our Children from Nature-Deficit Disorder Richard Louv, Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill, 2006 by Holly Van Houten I’d heard about Richard Louv’s book, Last Child in the Woods, but what inspired me to read it was Linda Wagner’s article in this issue about the time her students explored Bayfront Park. An engaging writer, Louv’s tales of building tree forts in the woods behind his family’s home evoke memories of my own childhood. Those tales and his analysis of how children benefit from unstructured time in nature helped me see how my own outdoor experiences were a very formative part of my youth. According to Louv, independence, creativity, and problem-solving can all be learned by simply spending time in the woods. A journalist with the San Diego Union-Tribune, Louv coined the term Nature-Deficit Disorder to describe the impact on children who don’t have those kinds of experiences. He summarizes research linking our mental, physical and spiritual health directly to our association with nature as children. Offering practical advice on how to transform our parenting styles and environmental education programs, Louv also calls for creating urban environments that better support the needs of children. This last point was a big wake up call for me — 80% of Americans live in urban areas that often lack park space. Even in the suburbs, which might feel more open, vacant lots and near-by natural areas fall to new planned developments with strict covenants restricting children’s play. Even simple backyard tree houses can require building permits in today’s orderly world. Many parklands and preserved open spaces are designed only for structured active recreation and regulate the type of play that is acceptable. Louv believes the smart growth movement should focus less on the suburbs and more on protecting the urban ecology and creating healthy urban environments for children. This “green urbanism,” Louv suggests, can restore the link between children and nature by protecting nearby open spaces as natural places for children to play, “re-enchanting” cities with a return of wild-life, and providing real bicycle networks that give children more freedom to roam. If you haven’t yet had the chance to read Last Child in the Woods, I highly encourage you to do so. It will capture your imagination and give you lots of practical ideas about how to re-connect children with nature. Published Spring 2007 in Green Footnotes. Page last updated July 2, 2007. |
||||
|
|||||
|
|||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||
