Book Inspires Local Official to Act

(Bucks County) Courier Times – December 01, 2008
By Freda R. Savana

For those who have long argued that the nation’s children spend too much time in front of televisions and computers and too little time outside, Richard Louv’s book, “Last Child in the Woods,” was a validation and an inspiration.

Louv says American children suffer from, or are at risk of, nature-deficit disorder, a problem that severs kids from the natural world, leaving them unaware and unappreciative of all that nature offers.

Plumstead Supervisor Stacey Mulholland shares the concern and said she was profoundly impressed when she recently read Louv’s 2005 book. She was so moved that she told her fellow supervisors she’d like to change that for Central Bucks children. Motivated by the book — and taking a page from the Bush administration’s No Child Left Behind education plan — Leave No Child Inside initiatives are taking hold across the country. Mulholland hopes to begin one here in the spring.

Working with other communities and agencies, the supervisor said she plans a daylong program at Doylestown Township’s Central Park that would introduce — or reintroduce — area children to the wonders of nature.

“As an elected official, as a parent and as someone involved with a number of child-related groups, I see it every day. Where are the kids? Why isn’t anyone outside? We need to get kids to play outside more,” Mulholland said.

Not only does it improve their health and connect them with the simpler joys of life, Mulholland and others agree it gives them an appreciation for nature that is dangerously close to being lost.

“If our kids don’t have a connection to nature,” said Mulholland, “I fear they won’t value it and won’t support efforts to protect it with public money.”

The April event will feature the environmental education area, which was created as part of Central Park. There also will be a number of other programs, including a campsite with a tent and kayaks and information for parents, teachers, developers and planners about how to incorporate open space, walking paths and nature trails into their communities.

“It’s so simple, but it’s overlooked,” said Mulholland of taking time to be outdoors.

It isn’t necessary to take the family to a national park or plan some extravagant trip, she added. “We are so fortunate to have many, many wonderful natural places to go in Bucks County,” Mulholland said.

During a recent presentation, Mary Ellen Noonan with the Bucks County Conservation District said children spend an average of 4½ hours a day looking at a screen of some kind.

“The health of our children and our planet is at stake,” Noonan said.

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