Why it is vitally important for kids to go outside and explore nature
“The lover of nature is he whose inward and outward senses are still truly adjusted to each other.” —Ralph Waldo Emerson
How many times have you heard someone say, “Yeah, when I was a kid, my mom would kick us out of the house and say ‘don’t come back ‘til dinner’?” Maybe it was even true for you.
These days, however, mothers will likely say, “it’s dinner time—turn off that video game” or “get off that tablet”. Kids have moved indoors. As one youngster explained, indoors is preferable because that’s where the electrical sockets are.
Have kids and adults lost sense of connection to nature? If so, that’s not good. The National Wildlife Federation reports that kids on average spend seven hours each day in front of electronic screens and as little as 30 minutes in unstructured play outdoors.
That varies widely from kid to kid, but consequently there is an increased number of kids that have lower fitness levels, more obesity, diabetes, and nearsightedness plus increased Vitamin D deficiency and, surprisingly, higher stress levels and poorer school performance. Critical thinking, problem solving, and social relation skills suffer.
Health professional Leyla McCurdy says that today’s children may be the first generation at risk of having shorter lifespans than their parents. Richard Louv in his book “Last Child in the Woods” calls it Nature-Deficit Disorder. Pediatricians should be prescribing time outdoors for their young patients. Now, to address this problem comes Forest Kindergarten using the principle of learning through outdoor play. It’s spreading quickly with programs beginning at Red Bank, Rivermont, and Woodmore schools, but it has really taken off in Gilbert School in Walker County thanks to Matt Harris, Coordinator of Innovation K-12.
Each student at Gilbert spends two hours each day outdoors. Trails have been built. Outdoor discoveries and learning abound. Kindergarteners raise two breeds of chicken comparing egg sizes and weights. First graders have a Pollinator Garden. Second graders conduct a native plant study while third graders try their hands at organic gardening and vermiculture.
Fourth graders study forest management and soils. They build trails while learning how to use associated tools. Fifth graders build a generator and learn about passive solar energy, energy efficiency, climate change and reducing carbon footprints. For gifted students, it’s water studies through raising tilapia fish in an aquaponics setting and catfish in a pond.
In addition to these directed studies, there are opportunities to just play with fellow students outdoors in an unstructured setting. Teachers are within earshot and may ask questions leading to investigation, but students are creating their own social interactions, critical thinking and problem solving. One of the forces behind the Walker County program is Dr. Jean Lomino, former director of Chattanooga Nature Center. She now heads up Wauhatchie School.
According to the website, it’s a nature-based school promoting place-based, nature immersion experiences that foster holistic growth, the love of learning, and compassion for all. There are full and half-day programs for ages 2-6 plus teacher training programs.
“We’re there to listen to their questions and to guide them to finding the answers. So they explore the world around them using all of their senses, which children are losing today,” said Dr. Lomino. For older students in the area, outdoor learning is practiced at Ivy Academy and Ridgeland High School.
Well then, what kind of kid do you get through this outdoor-immersion approach? Of course, the connection to nature is inevitable. Additionally, according to Matt Harris, you get a creative hard worker that wants to ‘do stuff’ and has the grit to overcome. School performance is slightly above peers.
For all these students, and for adults too, time in nature serves as an emotional salve. Loving nature and understanding our interdependent connection to all there is makes us nicer. To quote Shakespeare, “One touch of nature makes the whole world kin.” We sure need more outdoor connecting these days.
Sandra Kurtz is an environmental community activist and is presently working through the Urban Century Institute. You can visit her website to learn more at enviroedu.net