AWF - Fighting Nature Deficit Disorder

Our state is blessed to have an abundance of private and public educators who are striving to make our education system better and more responsive to our children’s educational needs. While trying to create a productive learning environment for their students, many of these educators have realized that a vast majority of their students have become disconnected from nature.

These observations are echoed by Richard Louv, in his latest book titled, Last Child in the Woods. Louv explores the growing trend that many of us see on a daily basis: Our children are choosing computer games and televisions over the outdoor adventures that we enjoyed while we were growing up.

Recent studies demonstrate that exposure to the outdoors and nature are essential for healthy childhood development, and those children who do not have outdoor experiences often suffer from childhood maladies such as obesity and attention deficit disorders.

Photo by April Lupardus Waltz

He refers to this disconnection as “nature-deficit disorder,” and includes numerous examples from the thousands of children, parents and educators he interviewed during his research. One quote from a fourth-grader he encountered demonstrates this trend poignantly, “‘I like to play indoors better, ‘cause that’s where all the electrical outlets are.’”

In his writings, Louv links nature-deficit disorder to disturbing childhood trends such as rises in obesity and attention deficit disorders. However, he further explains how experiences in nature can be therapeutic for these childhood maladies. He writes, “As one scientist puts it, we can now assume that just as children need good nutrition and adequate sleep, they may very well need contact with nature.”

He demonstrates how direct exposure to nature is essential for healthy childhood development as it engages children’s senses, providing solace and peace while at the same time a “wildness” that piques children’s curiosity. More specifically, he explains how utilizing our very own backyards for “environment-based” educational opportunities can dramatically improve students’ learning potential (and performance on standardized tests), while also facilitating their problem-solving, critical thinking, and decision making skills. Some schools utilizing environment-based educational programs also report improvement in their students’ social skills and decreased behavioral problems.

Alabama’s educators, parents, and other concerned individuals do not have to go any further than our very own Discovering Our Heritage and Outdoor Classroom programs to find educational resources that reintroduce children to the outdoors and help battle this rising trend in nature-deficit disorder.

The Discovering Our Heritage (DOH) program is designed around the philosophy that the realm of nature is an exceptional laboratory for learning. In particular, DOH provides activities and key experiences for students in their natural environment, while drawing connections with their local communities. As part of the DOH program, educators are provided with professional development and resources that help them integrate environmental education throughout the curriculum on a year-long basis. Our staff is ready to provide free training and support to either an individual educator or to a school’s faculty or an entire system’s staff. Free professional development workshops can be arranged to meet your specific needs or you may choose to participate in one of our summer workshops.

Through the Outdoor Classroom (OC) program, our staff is also ready to provide technical assistance and support to educators, administrators, students and community members who wish to enhance their school grounds by developing outdoor learning laboratories. These outdoor classroom sites may include nature trails, aquatic studies areas, butterfly gardens, bird feeders, nesting boxes, as well as many other possibilities. Our goal is to help schools create a site that can be utilized as an education tool while also providing habitat for local wildlife. Students will have the opportunity to experience nature first-hand as they help develop and maintain the outdoor classroom, and as teachers utilize the site for hands-on learning opportunities.

When the DOH activities are utilized in an OC site, educators will not only have a sustainable and effective outdoor learning laboratory but they will also have the resources and activities to integrate environmental education into their curriculum, making the best use of their outdoor classroom. Hopefully, through these exciting programs, we can combat nature-deficit disorder in today’s children and create a new generation of concerned citizens who have a passion for wildlife and the outdoors and the knowledge to help conserve it.

If you are interested in receiving information regarding the Discovering Our Heritage or Outdoor Classroom programs, please contact AWF at 1-800-822-9453 for a free information packet. To talk to someone about outdoor learning opportunities at your school, contact Doyle Keasal at (334) 844-6398 or keasade@aces.edu or April Lupardus Waltz at (256) 882-9322 or aprilwaltz@knology.net.

Learn more about the Alabama Outdoor Classroom Program.