I am currently reading the book Last Child in the Woods by Richard Louv. So far, this book has many excellent quotes that really define why children need more nature. I am starting a quote series for the quotes I find the most interesting/intriguing, and the most awesome.
“Most of all, nature is reflected in our capacity for wonder. Nasci. To be born.” P9
– Nature has many definitions and everyone has a different way describing it because of their own experiences with it.
“Some researchers have suggested that the nature deficit is growing fastest in English-speaking countries.” P35
– Has our western culture gone so far over the edge of growth and technology that we have almost completely separated ourselves from nature? We have become so addicted to “indoor activities” that it is just our way of life now. Children follow adults. If adults do not like going outside, then our children won’t like going outside. Most people don’t associated humans as being animals; that is a problem.
“One U.S. researcher suggests that a generation of children is not only being raised indoors, but is being confined to even smaller spaces.” P35
– Another name for this is “Containerized Kids”. Children spend their lives contained in baby seats, strollers, highchairs, cribs, rooms, leashes, and etc. Even adults today are confining themselves. We stay indoors, stay in our office or cubical, stay in the car, and keep our wondering to a limited. We chain ourselves to a routine and do not allow ourselves to wonder into the unknown.
“New Studies suggest that exposure to nature may reduce the symptoms of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), and that it can improve all children’s cognitive abilities and resistance to negative stresses and depression.” P35
– If this is not a reason to let children play free outside in a natural environment, then I don’t know what is.
“Roger Ulrich, a Texas A&M researcher, has shown that people who watch images of natural landscape after a stressful experience calm markedly in only five minutes: their muscle tension, pulse, and skin-conductance readings plummet.” P46
– Designers should incorporate not just images but actual natural aspects (more windows, trees, plants, rocks, water, etc.) into schools, offices, business, and infrastructure. It could improve learning, working, and relationships along with distressing the environment.
“The CDC found that the amount of TV that children watch directly correlates with measures of their body fat.” P47
– Lessen TV/technology time = Less body fat for both adults and children.
“The physical exercise and emotional stretching that children enjoy in unorganized play is more varied and less time-bound than is found in organized sports. Playtime-especially unstructured, imaginative, exploratory play- is increasingly recognized as an essential component of wholesome child development.” P48
– This speaks for itself. Unstructured nature playtime is much more important than a very structured playtime with rules and boundaries.
“I really believe that there is something about nature – that when you are in it, it makes you realize that there are far larger things at work than yourself.” P52
– I have always believed this. Being in nature always makes me feel small and humble.
Life is Short 