Refuge perfect place to get out more

[fgoodwin]

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

 

Were 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?

 

Lets 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 childrens 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 thats 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 childs free play time. Unless todays children have someone in their life with outdoor interests (hiking, camping, fishing, etc.), they may not develop a connection with the natural world. Thenwho 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 didnt appear to be dangerous or in anyones 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 environmentthe dirt, the trees and the rocksand 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).