TERRAPEUTICS.COM: Want to Know More? Books of Note

Want to Know More? Books of Note

There are 4 books that popped into my path as I was conceiving of what Terrapeutics might be and I want to tell you about them—what they say and how they informed my thinking. Here is the 1st of the lot.

Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children from Nature-Deficit Disorder
by Richard Louv
Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill, 2005

I had just come from kayaking at the Scarborough Marsh Audubon Center in Maine and happened across it at the little Audubon store. Personally, just the title made me take a giant step (and I thrive on baby steps!). I was at first incensed that someone would actually invent such a label: Nature-Deficit Disorder, indeed! Then I realized, what better way to quickly encapsulate an important issue, giving it a handle that many could grab and perhaps be inspired to focus on.

It is the consummate compilations of thoughts (from Louv and many interviewees, including children) about why we’ve moved away from nature, why we need to get back to it, and how we do that. Louv states, “The wilderness provides an environment for a child’s interior life to develop because it requires him to remain constantly aware of his surroundings.” Could any statement be more Terrapeutic-affirming?

During the last 4 or 5 decades, factors such as limited time and access, “stranger danger”, and health concerns (darn those ticks and ‘skeeters!) have severely affected the amount of time we let our children spend outside at play (soccer practice doesn’t count!). Louv provides both empirical and research-based information that kids who experience unstructured time outdoors tend to be healthier, happier, and more productive than kids who don’t.

Among the many points that are made, I was gleeful to find reference to the fact that nature exploration shows promise as a good therapy for ADHD; the “restorative environment” being “Nature’s Ritalin.” It makes sense, doesn’t it, that being in a place with less response-demanding stimuli could result in a calmer, more focused child. How nice for parents to have a possible supplement/alternative to medication!

In addition, Louv and others support the notion that creativity is fostered by outdoor play in natural settings because of the multisensory experiences and the availability of unlimited “loose parts” that stimulate kids’ imaginations. Case in point: you won’t find too many kids at the beach declaring, “Mom, I’m bored. What can I do?”

Louv urges politicians, educators, community leaders, and parents to work together to plan for and create spaces for natural play. We must help kids to “associate nature with joy and wonder, not fear and apocolypse.” And to see spending time in nature as more than just a lab experiment. Despite the thorough discussion of all the reasons why we don’t appreciate our time outside, it is a hopeful book and definitely propelled me along the Terrapeutics path.

I was lucky to attend a presentation by Louv at Wheelock College in 11/07 where he reminded us that when with kids outdoors, “ it’s not about the information, it’s about the experience!” See the Child and Nature Network website for lots of detailed information. http://www.childrenandnature.org/

It was also at this conference that I learned about the No Child Left Inside movement.