First of two in a series September is back-to-school month, and the chanting begins: Drill, test, lengthen the school day, skip recess, cancel field trips, and by all means discourage free time for (gasp!) self-directed play. Is that approach working, particularly in science learning? Not so well. A few months ago, I met with a [...]
“I recall my father’s dark tanned neck, creased with lines of dust, as he tilled our garden. I ran ahead of him, pulling rocks and bones and toys from his path.” — The Nature Principle In “Last Child in the Woods,” I focused on why children need nature. In my new book, “The Nature Principle,” [...]
Note: This piece coincides with the April 12 announcement of First Lady Michelle Obama and Dr. Jill Biden’s Veterans and Military Families Initiative, in partnership with the Sierra Club, YMCA, and National Military Family Association. The positive effects that nature can have on our military community can help give them strength and relief in a [...]
Can libraries connect children to nature? You bet. “Today, via a library’s outdoor learning space, librarians are participating in the growing movement to connect children with the environment,” write Tracy Delgado-LaStella and Sandra Feinberg in this month’s issue of American Libraries magazine. The excellent piece describes the efforts of Middle Country Public Library in Centereach, New York, which [...]
Many of us still remember a time when playing in nature was considered normal and expected. Here’s a question: Will we leave this earth and take that memory with us? Or will we do what it takes to connect all children, in every kind of neighborhood, to nature? The Children & Nature Network needs your [...]
Adapted excerpts from Richard Louv’s plenary keynote address to the American Academy of Pediatrics National Conference, Oct. 2, 2010 in San Francisco. On Oct. 1, Louv made similar remarks at the UCSF Conference, Children First: Promoting Ecological Health for the Whole Child. More than three decades ago, when Dr. Mary Brown’s children were growing up [...]
Updated June 1: As First Lady Michelle Obama unveiled the Let’s Move Outside initiative, expanding her campaign to solve childhood obesity, a broad coalition representing the business and non-profit communities announced a national strategic partnership called the Outdoors Alliance for Kids (OAK). OAK brings together the YMCA of the USA, REI, Sierra Club, National Wildlife [...]
Last week, First Lady Michelle Obama hosted the White House Childhood Obesity Summit as part of her work with the newly formed Childhood Obesity Task Force and its accompanying Let’s Move campaign. The Summit was attended by Secretary of Education Arne Duncan, Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar, Surgeon General Regina Benjamin, and Martin LeBlanc, [...]
The Obama Administration is recognizing the importance of the outdoors to people’s health and well-being, with two important new programs: The White House Conference on America’s Great Outdoors and First Lady Michelle Obama’s Let’s Move campaign to eradicate childhood obesity. The White House Conference on America’s Great Outdoors will be held Friday, April 16. C&NN [...]
Note: The following is in response to the call for public comments from First Lady Michelle Obama’s “Let’s Move” campaign. C&NN urges the newly created task force to consider active time outdoors in nature as a key tool in addressing obesity. Dear Members of the Task Force on Childhood Obesity: On behalf of the Children [...]
“Vitamin N” and the American Academy of Pediatrics
A walk in the woods, climbing a tree or patiently watching a fish rise to a dry fly will not solve everything, but it could go a long way to bring things into a more positive, hopeful perspective. Richard Louv’s “Vitamin N” (the health benefits of time spent in nature) should find its place in [...]