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Refuge perfect place to get out more



 
 
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Old August 2nd 06, 02:15 PM posted to rec.scouting.usa,misc.kids,alt.parenting.solutions,misc.education,misc.kids.health
Fred Goodwin, CMA
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Default Refuge perfect place to get out more

Refuge perfect place to get out more

http://www.sherwoodgazette.com/opinion/story.php?story_id=115445857744779500
http://tinyurl.com/mmvzg

By Carolyn Uyemura

The Sherwood Gazette
Aug 1, 2006

We're half way through summer! What are your kids doing with this
time off from school? Are they in summer school? Computer camp? Are
they inside playing video games, watching TV or surfing the internet?
Or are they out with their friends playing hide and seek or building a
fort? Are they fishing for crawdads or following a creek to see where
it goes?

Let's hope that your youngsters are getting lots of exposure to the
natural world. A new social disease appears to be on the rise,
according to author Richard Louv. His book The Last Child in the Woods,
explores the causes and cures for "nature deficit disorder." He
cites studies giving evidence of what he feels are the "human costs
of alienation from nature." Humans seem to have an inherent need to
experience nature. Our survival as a species depended on our ancient
ancestors' understanding and knowledge of the natural world.
Researchers think that this relationship with nature has been ingrained
over millennia and is even now linked to our sense of wellbeing (more
about this next month).

Some of the reasons children spend less free time in nature include
diminished access to natural areas, competition with electronic
entertainment, and time pressures. Many families have exhausting
activity schedules with two or more children going in different
directions for baseball or soccer practice, piano lessons, ballet, or
gymnastics on top of homework assignments.

Research is finding that when children spend little time experiencing
the natural world, they are more apt to experience diminished use of
their senses, attention difficulties, and higher rates of physical and
mental illness. Louv asks: "What happens to the human organism when
you take nature away from it and replace it with television and
computers? I call that cultural autism where children's use of the
senses is reduced to the size of a screen, like a computer...." In an
interview with Louv, a fourth grade boy said, "I like to play indoors
better, 'cause that's where all the electrical outlets are."

Parents are much more cautious than previous generations about letting
their children roam and explore on their own. The media saturates us
daily with news of frightening events (including the latest
environmental disaster!), heightening our anxiety and fear.
Adult-supervised activities seem to be replacing a lot of what used to
be a child's free play time. Unless today's children have someone
in their life with outdoor interests (hiking, camping, fishing, etc.),
they may not develop a connection with the natural world. Then-who
will be there to ensure there is a forest in the future?

Worries about insurance liability and litigation have also stopped
parents from letting their children explore. I witnessed this kind of
situation a few years ago. In a wooded, undeveloped park area some boys
worked hard to build a BMX course. I saw them early on a weekend
morning crossing through the neighborhood with a wheelbarrow and
shovels. They planned, designed, built and continually modified the
course over a period of weeks with no adults involved. The bike course
didn't appear to be dangerous or in anyone's way. These boys were
developing problem-solving, organizing, interpersonal, engineering, and
probably many other skills. Then one day, when I walked through the
park I saw that the city parks department had bulldozed the whole
project. The reason was potential liability. I was sad to see all that
work and creativity destroyed. They had been outside interacting with
their environment-the dirt, the trees and the rocks-and they were
not damaging anything. They had not been sitting inside playing video
games or loitering around and getting into mischief.

Please make time during these sunny days for your family to be outside
in the natural world to explore and wonder. Test out the notion that
nature is good for your mind and body. Go out to the playground, go to
the beach and feel the sand between your toes, sit in your yard and
watch the "action." Walk the trails of the newly opened Tualatin
River National Wildlife Refuge (open from dawn to dusk.) Helping people
connect with nature is one of the highest priorities of this urban
refuge. School curricula are being field tested and classes will be
coming out to the Refuge for hands-on learning. If your child is in
Sherwood Middle School, encourage him or her to find out about the
Refuge Club.

A special "orientation" get-together is being planned to welcome
new members to Friends of the Refuge and reacquaint long-time members
as we embark on new endeavors to help the Refuge provide a great
experience for visitors. We are also working on a series of monthly
member activities that will explore different aspects of the Refuge.
Membership is open to anyone who would like to support the Tualatin
River National Wildlife Refuge. Dues are modest, and they go to support
the development and operation of the Refuge. For information about the
Friends of the Refuge or the Refuge itself, check our web site:
www.friendsoftualatinrefuge.org or call 503-972-7714.

Information for this article came from: Richard Louv, Last Child in the
Woods, Saving Our Children from Nature-Deficit Disorder (2005), which
is available in the Washington County Library System, and from "The
Nature-Child Reunion," in National Wildlife, June/July 2006 issue,
pp.24-30 (www.nwf.org).

 




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