I wanted to bring people’s attention to an organization I recently have heard about, Children and Nature Network (C&NN). I got a chance to hear and speak to one of its founders and most public faces, author Richard Louv, at an event promoting his newest book, which was sponsored by Michael Smerconish of CBS radio, an avid reader and supporter of the book’s recommendations. The book is titled Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children from Nature-Deficit Disorder. Nature-deficit disorder is a term he uses to connect childhood obesity, ADD, depression, lack of creativity, etc., to a lack of interaction with nature. The study of the importance of nature in children’s healthy development is a growing field; he cites several studies which detail the positive effects nature has on children.
Louv is a very engaging speaker, and the crowd, made up of many teachers and environmentalists, nodded along with his points. Teachers stood up in the Q+A section and testified to their own experiences that confirmed in their minds the important role that playing in nature has for children. The question on everyone’s mind seemed to be, what more can we do? How can we balance out the current electronics frenzy?
As a wilderness trip leader, I can tell you first-hand the importance of nature to children. I have seen kids on my trips who have never spent any real time outdoors come out of their shells and learn skills, test their limits and gain a real sense of pride and wonder. Being outside is important for kids to try, learn, and do, in ways that cannot be achieved by playing video games or watching TV.
I, of course, was connecting all these points to God. It is extremely logical that children, and adults, would be healthier and happier when they spend time in nature, that is, God’s creation. There is a difference between hanging out in a man-made room, and hanging out in a God-made green scene. We get to connect with God without distractions in a way we have been doing for thousands of years. Jesus escaped to the wilderness for retreats, for prayer and thought, and similarly, we should follow his example.
And this leads us to the practical application of all of this. We won’t have the wilderness to retreat to if we don’t protect it. Christians should be actively supporting preserving open lands, especially in suburban and urban places. We should also be supporting smart planning of new development, that incorporates green spaces, among other things. We should do this out of love for our God, who has created these good things, and love for ourselves and our brothers/sisters, who benefit greatly from access to open spaces.
The website for Children and Nature Network is http://www.childrenandnature.org/
I highly recommend a look at that, and I also recommend thumbing through Richard Louv’s Last Child in the Woods. His website is www.richardlouv.com
Last Child in the Woods is a phenomenal book, wonderful post!
Theologically speaking, if God is in everything – and as a Christian I think you may/should think that – then isn’t God present in that man-made room? After all, you must believe that it was He who gave man the capacity to build such constructs of splendor? To quote Robert Pirsig on those who fear/hate technology because it seems to be a loss of innocence and source of discontent: “I just think that their flight from hatred of technology is self-defeating. The Buddha, the Godhead, resides quite as comfortably in the circuits of a digital computer or the gears of a cycle transmission as he does at the top of a mountain or in the petals of a flower. To think otherwise is to demean the Buddha – which is to demean oneself.” (Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance)
Now I know this isn’t Buddhism, but I think the same point applies to Christianity’s God. Now I won’t say whether I agree or disagree with ‘Nature Deficit Disorder,’ because I don’t know; but I will say that correlation does not necessarily mean causation – there can be many unidentified variables in this study. However, I do disagree with linking any of this with God (see Pirsig’s comment above).
All that being said, I absolutely agree that people, not just children, are far too unfamiliar with nature despite inherently being part of it. But what is the real problem here? This particular characteristic/feature of society/culture – nature deficit disorder, for lack of a better phrase – is an effect of some deeper underlying cause. To attack it is not solving the problem at all. In fact, you are not posing any more real change than “Kids should go outside and play more.” But what’s causing them to not go outside from the start? It could be parenting, technology, or an offshoot of either or neither of those. Point being that no real change is going to take place without first naming the cause of this cultural malady.
So what is the root, you might ask? A very good question that I certainly do not have the room to post on a simple comment – there are a variety of potential answers and a variety of paths to take depending on the perspective from which you are coming. I am more than willing to go into what I think these various causes are, and I will be thinking about this some more. Perhaps another comment to come soon, or I might lead you to another site.
Perhaps I missed the point, but that is what I was thinking about…
Travis, I was wondering whether someone would point out the man-made room v. God-made creation thing, and then just decided to go with it for the sake of a metaphor.
Prisig’s comment is a little confusing though, and seems at odds with what I know about Buddhism, which is admittedly little. But I would say, from what I know, that the essence of Buddha, that is nothingness/nirvana could be present in the digital circuits of a computer, not Buddha himself, since he was a man (yes, he is reincarnated, but as far as I know, not as any thing). I point this out to illustrate a point about Christianity, in which God does not live in computers, or even the trees or whatever. To suggest so is to go down the route of pantheism, which is the worship of objects.
God is omnipresent, but this is a different statement than “God is in everything.” I suppose though that the essence of God is present everywhere in his creation, like an artist’s signature. What I merely aimed to say was that it is easier to meditate with God when one is removed from distractions. Of course, one can do so in a man-made room, but I think there is something inherently valuable about going out into the wilderness, which Jesus made a point to do.
At some point, however, free will and our own ability to create enters into the picture, since God gave us humans these things. Are humans’ creations separate from God’s? There’s no doubt that God uses people to create things according to his will, but is everything done so? I would argue not, but will save that argument for a later post.
So yes, God is present in the man-made room. Thanks for responding, and making me flesh out my thoughts more.
Travis, I also didn’t mean to suggest any inherent hatred of technology, nor do I think there is a inherent battle betwixt God and technology, as I suppose some extremists have suggested through the ages.
The book is a great one, and I recommend it. This whole field is in its nascent phases and as the author readily admits, more study is needed. However, it’s not just one study – there are many out there, and you can google it and check out more.
The author stressed when I saw him speak, and in his book, how positive he feels about the subject – that change is happening and that people care. He is not a doomsday person, and there’s no attacking going on. To address a problem, however, one needs to name it. That’s different than attacking it.
The solution is pretty much as simple as “go outside. have more unstructured play time where kids can creatively interact with the environment. have the outdoors factor more into education. design and plan better outdoor spaces in cities and schools.” Already schools and cities have been doing this to great success. I, in particular, love city gardens for this reason – usually there are educational outreach programs for the community, and the community gets to interact with each other and nature through growing food/flowers/etc.