Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children From Nature-Deficit Disorder

by Louv, Richard

  207 David Sobel . . . describes place-based education David Sobel, Place-Based Education: Connecting Classrooms and Communities (Great Barrington, MA: The Orion Society and the Myrin Institute, 2004).

  208 More recently “Effects of Outdoor Education Programs for Children in California” (Palo Alto, CA: American Institutes for Research, 2005). Available online at http://wwwhttp://www.sierraclub.org/youth/

  california/outdoorschool_finalreport.pdf.

  210 “I used to take student groups on trips to the California deserts” Will Nixon, “Letting Nature Shape Childhood,” Amicus Journal, National Resources Defense Council, distributed by The Los Angeles Times Syndicate, December 24, 1997.

  212 At Torrey Pines Elementary Richard Louv, The Web of Life: Weaving the Values That Sustain Us (Berkeley, CA: Conari Press, 1996), 148.

  214 seventh-graders attended four hundred trout fingerlings Richard Louv, Fly-Fishing for Sharks (New York: Simon & Schuster, 2000), 393.

  218 Mary Rivkin, a professor of early childhood education Mary Rivkin, “The Schoolyard Habitat Movement: What It Is and Why Children Need It,” Early Childhood Education Journal 25, no. 1 (1997).

  219 Numerous studies Janet E. Dyment, “Gaining Ground: The Power and Potential of School Ground Greening in the Torono District School Board” (Toronto: Evergreen, 2005). Available online at http://www.evergreen.ca/en/lg/gaining_ground.pdf.

  220 Another benefit of the green school grounds Anne C. Bell and Janet E. Dyment, “Grounds for Action: Promoting Physical Activity through School Ground Greening in Canada” (Toronto: Evergreen, 2006). Available online at http://www.evergreen.ca/en/lg/pdf/PHACreport.pdf.

  221 What if farms and ranches Linda Jolly, Erling Krogh, Tone Nergaard, Kristina Parow, Berit Verstad, and Nord Trondelag, “The Farm as a Pedagogical Resource.” A paper submitted for the Sixth European Symposium on Farming and Rural Systems Research and Extension, Vila Real, Portugal, April 3–8, 2004. Available online at http://levendelaering.umb.no/pdf_documents/

  The_Farm_as_a_Pedagogical_Resource__Portugal.pdf.

  223 The dominant form of education today “alienates us from life” David Orr, Earth in Mind: On Education, Environment, and the Human Prospect (Washington, DC: Island Press, 1994).

  223 “ecological design intelligence” David Orr, “What Is Education For? Six Myths about the Foundations of Modern Education, and Six New Principles to Replace Them,” Context: A Quarterly of Human Sustainable Culture, Context Institute (winter 1991): 52.

  225 “Without a sound formation on natural history” Paul K. Dayton and Enric Sala, “Natural History: The Sense of Wonder, Creativity, and Progress in Ecology,” Scientia Marina (2001): 196–206.

  17. Camp Revival

  229 “Some of the most exciting findings” Andrea Faber Taylor and Frances E. Kuo. From a paper prior to publication, used with permission from the authors.

  229 participants in adventure-therapy programs made gains in self-esteem John A. Hattie, Herbert W. Marsh, James T. Neill, and Garry E. Richards, “Adventure Education and Outward Bound: Out-of-Class Experiences That Make a Lasting Difference,” Review of Educational Research (1997): 43–87.

  230 This is also true of carefully managed wilderness adventure programs Stephen R. Kellert and Victoria Derr, “A National Study of Outdoor Wilderness Experience” (New Haven: Yale University, 1998). Available online at http://nols.edu/resources/research/pdfs/kellert.complete.text.pdf. Also see: John A. Hattie, Herbert W. Marsh, James T. Neill, and Garry E. Richards, “Adventure Education and Outward Bound: Out-of-Class Experiences That Make a Lasting Difference,” Review of Educational Research 67, no. 1 (1997): 43–87.

  230 the National Survey of Recreation and the Environment Leo McAvoy, “Outdoors for Everyone: Opportunities That Include People with Disabilities,” Parks and Recreation, National Recreation and Park Association 36, no. 8 (2001): 24.

  230 people with disabilities gain enhanced body image Alan Ewert and Leo McAvoy, “The Effects of Wilderness Settings on Organized Groups,” Therapeutic Recreation Journal 22, no. 1 (1987): 53–69.

  231 Puget Sound Environmental Learning Center Debera Carlton Harrell, “Away from the Tube and into Nature, Children Find a New World,” Seattle Post-Intelligencer, April 5, 2002.

  239 As a powerful deterrent to natural play Philip K. Howard, The Death of Common Sense: How Law is Suffocating America (New York: Warner Books, 1996).

  241 In July 2005, the South Florida Sun-Sentinel reported Chris Kahn, “Is Pursuit of Safety Taking ‘Play’ Out of Playground?” South Florida Sun-Sentinel (Fort Lauderdale), July 18, 2005, 1A.

  19. Cities Gone Wild

  247 “We need to hold out for healthy ecosystems in the city” John Beardsley, “Kiss Nature Goodbye, Marketing the Great Outdoors,” Harvard Design Magazine, no. 10 (winter/spring 2000).

  248 “As recently as 1990, you could . . . barely comprehend that most people spent most of their lives in cities” John Balzar, “True Nature: Author Jennifer Price Hopes City-Dwellers Will Learn to See, to Love and to Nurture What’s Wild and Wonderful in Their Midst, Los Angeles Times, May 31, 2003.

  249 remnants of virgin forests still stand in the Bronx and Queens Ben Breedlove, online interview, “E Design Online interview,” September 24, 1996, http://www.state.fl.us/fdi/edesign/news/9609/breedluv.htm.

  249 “The fast-expanding metropolitan edge brings a wide range of species” Andrea L. Gullo, Unna I. Lassiter, and Jennifer Wolch, “The Cougar’s Tale,” Animal Geographies: Place, Politics, and Identity in the Nature-Culture Borderlands, ed. Jennifer Wolch and Jody Emel (London, New York: Verso Books, 1998).

  252 A similar Dutch development called Het Groene Dak Timothy Beatley, Green Urbanism: Learning from European Cities (Washington, DC: Island Press, 2000), 212.

  260 “Flowers calm people down” George F. Will, “The Greening of Chicago,” Newsweek, August 4, 2003, 64.

  260 The 1909 Plan of Chicago called for “wild forests” Nancy Seeger, “Greening Chicago,” Planning 68, no. 1 (January 1, 2002): 25.

  261 research related to urban design and the environment of childhood Robin C. Moore, “The Need for Nature: A Childhood Right,” Social Justice 24, no. 3 (fall 1997): 203.

  264 municipal land-use practices would appear to minimize environmental damage William B. Honachefsky, Ecologically Based Municipal Land Use Planning (Boca Raton, FL: Lewis Publishers, CRC Press, 1999).

  265 A 2001 report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Richard J. Jackson and Chris Kochtitzky, “Creating a Healthy Environment: The Impact of the Built Environment on Public Health,” Sprawl Watch Clearinghouse Monograph Series (Washington, DC: Sprawl Watch Clearinghouse, 2001).

  265 students are four times more likely to walk Mike Snyder, “Sprawl Damages Our Health, CDC Says,” Houston Chronicle, November 9, 2001, sec. A-45.

  20. Where the Wild Things Will Be

  274 “something quite extraordinary happened” Dirk Johnson, “The Great Plains: Plains, While Still Bleak, Offer a Chance to the Few,” New York Times, December 12, 1993, sec. 1, p. 1.

  277 a paradigm shift in “design intelligence” David Orr, Earth in Mind: On Education, Environment, and the Human Prospect (Washington, DC: Island Press, 1994).

  281 the median age of residents is already creeping into the sixties John G. Mitchell, “Change of Heartland,” National Geographic, May 2004.

  285 Bayside Village, in Tsawwassen, British Columbia CIVITAS, Vancouver, B.C. http://www.civitasdesign.com/newcomm.html.

  21. The Spiritual Necessity of Nature for the Young

  293 “Late in Jung’s career” Edward Hoffman, Visions of Innocence: Spiritual and Inspirational Experiences of Childhood (Boston: Shambhala, 1992).

  297 a companion different from any offered by human exchange John Berger, About Looking (New York: Pantheon Books, 1980), 20.

  303 “Science is the human endeavor in which we are frequently reminded how wrong we can be” Gretel H. Schueller, “Scientists, Religious Groups Come
to the Aid of Nature,” Environmental News Network, Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News, September 3, 2001.

  303 how Americans really think about environmental issues Willett Kempton, James S. Boster, and Jennifer A. Hartley, Environmental Values in American Culture (Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 1997).

  SUGGESTED READING

  A partial listing of an expanding literature

  Bartholomew, Mel. Square Foot Gardening. Emmaus, PA: Rodale Press, 1981.

  Beatley, Timothy. Green Urbanism: Learning from European Cities. Washington, DC: Island Press, 2000.

  Berry, Thomas. The Dream of the Earth. San Francisco: Sierra Club Books, 1988.

  Bice, Barbara, et. al. Conserving and Enhancing the Natural Environment: A Guide for Planning, Design, Construction, and Maintenance on New and Existing School Sites. Baltimore: Maryland State Dept. of Education, 1999.

  Blakey, Nancy. Go Outside: Over 130 Activities for Outdoor Adventures. Berkeley, CA: Tricycle Press, 2002.

  Brett, A., and R. Moore. The Complete Playground Book. New York: Syracuse University Press, 1993.

  Buell, Lawrence. The Environmental Imagination: Thoreau, Nature Writing, and the Formation of American Culture. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1995.

  Carson, Rachel. The Sense of Wonder. New York: Harper & Row, 1956.

  Chalufour, Ingrid, and Karen Worth. Discovering Nature with Young Children. St. Paul, MN: Redleaf Press, 2003.

  Chard, Philip Sutton. The Healing Earth: Nature’s Medicine for the Troubled Soul. Minocqua, WI: NorthWord, 1994.

  Chawla, Louise. In the First Country of Places: Nature, Poetry, and Childhood Memory. Albany, NY: State University of New York Press, 1994.

  ______. Growing Up in an Urbanising World. London: UNESCO, 2002.

  Cobb, Edith. The Ecology of Imagination in Childhood. New York: Columbia University Press, 1977.

  Corbett, Michael, Judy Corbett, and Robert L. Thayer. Designing Sustainable Communities: Learning from Village Homes. Washington, DC: Island Press, 2000.

  Cornell, Joseph. Sharing Nature with Children. Nevada City, CA: Dawn Publications, 1979.

  Dannenmaier, M. A Child’s Garden: Enchanting Outdoor Spaces for Children and Parents. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1998.

  Dewey, John. The Child and the Curriculum. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1902.

  Gardner, Howard. Intelligence Reframed: Multiple Intelligences for the 21st Century. New York: Basic Books, 1999.

  Gil, E. The Healing Power of Play. New York: Guilford Press, 1991.

  Goldsmity, Edward. The Way: An Ecology World-View. Boston: Shambala, 1993.

  Grant, Tim, and Gail Littlejohn, eds. Greening School Grounds: Creating Habitats for Learning. Gabriola Island, British Columbia: New Society Publishers, 2001.

  Guiness, B. Creating a Family Garden: Magical Outdoor Spaces for All Ages. New York: Abbeville Press, 1996.

  Harrison, George. Backyard Bird Watching for Kids: How to Attract, Feed, and Provide Homes for Birds. Minocqua, WI: Willow Creek Press, 1997.

  Hart, Roger. Children’s Experience of Place. New York: Irvington Publishers, 1979.

  ______. Children’s Participation: The Theory and Practice of Involving Young Citizens in Community Development and Environmental Care. London: Earthscan, 1997.

  Hoffman, Edward. Visions of Innocence: Spiritual and Inspirational Experiences of Childhood. Boston and London: Shambhala, 1992.

  Howard, Philip K. The Death of Common Sense: How Law Is Suffocating America. New York: Warner Books, 1996.

  Jaffe, Roberta, et. al. The Growing Classroom: Garden-Based Science. New York: Pearson Learning, 2001.

  Johnson, Julie M. “Design for Learning: Values, Qualities and Processes of Enriching School Landscapes.” Washington, DC: American Society of Landscape Architects, 2000.

  Kahn, Peter H., Jr. The Human Relationship with Nature: Development and Culture. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.

  Kanner, Allen D., Theodore Roszak, and Mary E. Gomes. Ecopsychology: Restoring the Earth, Healing the Mind. San Francisco: Sierra Club Books, 1995.

  Kaplan, Rachel, and Stephen Kaplan. The Experience of Nature: A Psychological Perspective. New York: Cambridge University Press, 1989.

  Kaplan, Rachel, Stephen Kaplan, and Robert L. Ryan. With People in Mind: Design and Management for Everyday Nature. Washington, DC: Island Press, 1998.

  Kellert, Stephen R. Building for Life. Washington, DC: Island Press, 2005.

  ______. Introduction in S. R. Kellert and E. O. Wilson, eds., The Biophilia Hypothesis. Washington, DC: Island Press/Shearwater, 1993.

  ______. Kinship to Mastery: Biophilia in Human Evolution and Development. Washington, DC: Island Press, 2003.

  Kellert, Stephen R., and Peter Kahn, eds. Children and Nature. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 2002.

  Kempton, Willett, James S. Boster, and Jennifer A. Hartley. Environmental Values in American Culture. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 1995.

  Lindquist, I. Therapy Through Play. London: Arlington Books, 1977.

  Lovejoy, Sharon. Sunflower Houses: Inspiration from the Garden—A Book for Children and Their Grown-Ups. New York: Workman Publishing Company, 2001.

  Martin, Deborah, Bill Lucas, Wendy Titman, and Siobhan Hayward, eds. The Challenge of the Urban School Site. Winchester Hants, Great Britain: Learning through Landscapes, 1996.

  Metzner, Ralph. Spirit, Self, and Nature: Essays in Green Psychology. El Verno, CA: Green Earth, 1993.

  Moore, Robin C. Plants for Play: A Plant Selection Guide for Children’s Outdoor Environments. Berkeley: Mig Communications, 1993.

  Moore, Robin C., and Herbert H. Wong. Natural Learning: The Life of an Environmental Schoolyard. Berkeley: MIG Communications, 1997.

  Nabhan, Gary Paul, and Stephen A. Trimble. The Geography of Childhood: Why Children Need Wild Places. Boston: Beacon Press, Concord Library, 1995.

  National Wildlife Federation. “Schoolyard Habitats: A How-to Guide for K-12 School Communities.” Reston, VA: National Wildlife Federation, 2001.

  Nicholson, S. “The Theory of Loose Parts.” Landscape Architecture 62, no. 1: 30–34.

  Orr, David W. Ecological Literacy: Education and Transition to a Postmodern World. Albany, NY: State University of New York Press, 1992.

  ______. Earth in Mind: On Education, Environment, and the Human Prospect. Washington, DC: Island Press, 1994.

  Pyle, Robert Michael. The Thunder Tree: Lessons from an Urban Wildland. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1993.

  Quammen, David. Natural Acts: A Sidelong View of Science and Nature. New York: Avon Books, 1985.

  Reed, Edward S. The Necessity of Experience. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 1996.

  Reeves, Diane Lindsey. Career Ideas for Kids Who Like Animals and Nature. New York: Facts on File, 2000.

  Richardson, Beth. Gardening with Children. Newtown, CT: Tauton Press, 1998.

  Rivkin, R. The Great Outdoors: Restoring Children’s Right to Play Outdoors. Washington, DC: National Association for the Education of Young Children, 1995.

  Roszak, Theodore. The Voice of the Earth: An Exploration of Ecopsychology. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1992.

  Ruth, Linda Cain. Design Standards for Children’s Environments. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1999.

  Schiff, Paul D. Twenty/Twenty: Projects and Activities for Wild School Sites: An Ohio Project Wild Action Guide. Columbus, OH: Ohio Division of Wildlife, Education Section, 1996.

  Shepard, Paul. Nature and Madness. Athens, GA: University of Georgia Press, 1998.

  Snyder, Gary. The Practice of the Wild. Washington, DC: Shoemaker & Hoard, 2004.

  Sobel, David. Beyond Ecophobia: Reclaiming the Heart in Nature Education. Great Barrington, MA: The Orion Society and the Myrin Institute, 1996.

  ______. Place-Based Education: Connecting Classrooms and Communities. Great Barrington, MA: The Orion Society and the Myrin Institute, 2004.

  Stein, Sara B. Noah’s Children: Restoring the Ecology of Childhood. New York: North Point Press, 2002.

  Sti
ne, Sharon. Landscapes for Learning: Creating Outdoor Environments for Children and Youth. New York: Wiley, 1997.

  Stokes, Donald, and Lillian Stokes. The Bird Feeder Book. Boston: Little, Brown, 1987.

  Takahashi, Nancy. “Educational Landscapes: Developing School Grounds as Learning Places.” Charlottesville, VA: University of Virginia, Thomas Jefferson Center for Educational Design, 1999.

  Taylor, Anne P., and George Vlastos. School Zone: Learning Environments for Children. New York: School Zone Publishing Company, 1975.

  Titman, Wendy. Special Places; Special People: The Hidden Curriculum of School Grounds. Surrey, England: World Wide Fund for Nature/Learning through Landscapes; New York: Touchstone, 1994.

  United Nations. The Convention on the Rights of the Child. New York: UNICEF, 1989.

  U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. “Directory of Schoolyard Habitats Programs.” Annapolis, MD: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 1996.

  Wadsworth, Ginger. Rachel Carson: Voice for the Earth. Minneapolis: Lerner Publications, 1992.

  Wagner, Cheryl. Planning School Grounds for Outdoor Learning. Washington, DC: National Clearinghouse for Educational Facilities, 2000.

  Westland, C., and J. Knight. Playing, Living, Learning: A Worldwide Perspective on Children’s Opportunities to Play. State College, Pennsylvania: Venture Publishing, 1982.

  Wilson, Edward O. Biophilia. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1986.

  Wilson, Edward O. The Creation: An Appeal to Save Life on Earth. New York: W. W. Norton, 2006.

  INDEX

  Abbey, Edward, 17

  About Looking (Berger), 297

  Active Living Research Program, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, 32, 311