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The New Nature Movement

Field Notes from the Future: Tracking the Movement to Connect People and Nature

Last Child in the Woods & The Nature Principle

"Last Child in the Woods" introduces the concept of nature-deficit disorder, offering practical actions for families and communities. "The Nature Principle" extends the issue to adults and reports the restorative power of the natural world.

Tag: "Teachers"

Comments: 5

“SITTING IS THE NEW SMOKING” — What We Can Do About Killer Couches, Sedentary Schools, and the Pandemic of Inactivity

By Richard Louv on March 2nd, 2013

“SITTING IS THE NEW SMOKING” — What We Can Do About Killer Couches, Sedentary Schools, and the Pandemic of Inactivity

Sitting is the new smoking. That’s a useful new buzz-phrase for what some health experts are calling the “pandemic of inactivity.” In January, the Harvard Business Review published “Sitting is the Smoking of Our Generation,” an article by Nilofer Merchant. “The common denominator in the modern workday is our, um, tush,” wrote Merchant, a corporate director [...]

Columns by Richard Louv • Featured Columns

Comments: 2

THE PULL OF PETER PAN: Let’s Create Green Havens that Reduce Toxic Stress for Children and Teachers

By Louise Chawla on January 21st, 2013

THE PULL OF PETER PAN: Let’s Create Green Havens that Reduce Toxic Stress for Children and Teachers

Stress can be a good thing. But increasingly, negative stress cuts deep and hard through our society. As much as we love our children, there is stress in parenting. Then there is the stress of overtime—or unemployment, underemployment, the job we don’t like, too much of the job we like, meeting the mortgage, failing to [...]

Briefs & Commentary

Comments: 11

SMART PILLS VS. NATURE SMART: Want Your Kids to Do Better in School? Try a Dose of “Vitamin N”

By Richard Louv on October 10th, 2012

SMART PILLS VS. NATURE SMART: Want Your Kids to Do Better in School? Try a Dose of “Vitamin N”

A few years ago, I ran across a particularly intriguing photograph on the  back page of a magazine. The photo showed a small boy at the ocean’s edge. Beyond him you could see a gray sky, a distant island, and a long, even wave approaching. The boy had turned to face the photographer. His eyes were [...]

Columns by Richard Louv • Featured Columns

Comments: 55

HOW TO BECOME AN EARTHLING: We Need a Student & Nature Network

By Mahreen Hamid Bashir on September 18th, 2012

HOW TO BECOME AN EARTHLING: We Need a Student & Nature Network

We need an outlet. No, not that kind. At night after my cellphone is off, my computer is put to sleep, my electronic tablet is left to charge, I look at the stars and think about myself on this blue marble in the midst of billions and billions of other objects in space. Unplugged from the [...]

Briefs & Commentary

Comments: 13

ARE SCHOOLS BREAKING CHILDREN’S SPIRITS? Life and Learning Beyond Walls

By Kelly Keena on July 10th, 2012

ARE SCHOOLS BREAKING CHILDREN’S SPIRITS? Life and Learning Beyond Walls

When starting out as a teacher, I heard Joseph Cornell say that keeping children inside one room five days a week is akin to breaking a horse. I’m haunted by that analogy. Our tendency is to keep children in, especially as academic demands only increase. And for discipline or missed work what do we do? [...]

Briefs & Commentary

Comments: 0

TRUST IN OUR CHILDREN: A Challenge to Schools and the Land Trust Movement

By Pamela A. Morgan on July 9th, 2012

TRUST IN OUR CHILDREN: A Challenge to Schools and the Land Trust Movement

“I used to think the woods was just a whole bunch of trees.” — 4th Grade Student. About four years ago I attended a PTA meeting at my children’s school, something I rarely have the time to do. But I think I was meant to be at this meeting, because one of the agenda items [...]

Briefs & Commentary

Comments: 11

WHERE’S NATURE? If you liked No Child Left Behind, you’ll love what’s coming next — without national debate

By Richard Louv on May 15th, 2012

WHERE’S NATURE? If you liked No Child Left Behind, you’ll love what’s coming next — without national debate

“The next wave of school reform is about to break,” according to The Washington Monthly’s special report, “The Next Big Test.” Reform will emanate from the “first-ever set of national high-stakes tests — totally computerized, tougher than anything most American students have ever experienced, and coming to the nation’s classrooms in 2014.” Environmental literacy will play [...]

Columns by Richard Louv • Featured Columns

Comments: 2

“Vitamin N” and the American Academy of Pediatrics

By Mary Brown, M.D. on February 2nd, 2012

“Vitamin N” and the American Academy of Pediatrics

A walk in the woods, climbing a tree or patiently watching a fish rise to a dry fly will not solve everything, but it could go a long way to bring things into a more positive, hopeful perspective. Richard Louv’s “Vitamin N” (the health benefits of time spent in nature) should find its place in [...]

Briefs & Commentary

Comments: 11

The Benefits and Joys of the School Garden

By Larry Volpe on January 4th, 2012

The Benefits and Joys of the School Garden

I started teaching 5th grade nearly 15 years ago. In that time, I’ve done a lot of gardening with my students. Nothing gives me more joy than to spend time gardening with the kids and their families. Over the years it has allowed me to form very special relationships with the community I serve. Many [...]

Briefs & Commentary

Comments: 4

THE MORE HIGH-TECH SCHOOLS BECOME, THE MORE THEY NEED NATURE

By Richard Louv on September 7th, 2011

THE MORE HIGH-TECH SCHOOLS BECOME, THE MORE THEY NEED NATURE

Want Your Kids to Get Into Harvard? Tell ‘em To Go Outside. I once met an instructor who trains young people to become the pilots of cruise ships. He described the two kinds of students he encounters. One kind grew up mainly indoors, spending hours playing video games and working on computers. These students are [...]

Columns by Richard Louv • Featured Columns • uncategorized

Comments: 2

News from Maine: Teacher of the Year, Films about Children and Nature

By Suz Lipman on August 9th, 2011

News from Maine: Teacher of the Year, Films about Children and Nature

Three finalists have been announced for the 2012 Maine Teacher of the Year award. They are Ingrid Stressenger, a 4th grade teacher at Pond Cove School in Cape Elizabeth; Tim Eisenhart, a 9th grade mathematics teacher at Westbrook High School; and Alana Margeson, a 10-11th grade English teacher at Caribou High School. Ingrid Stressenger is [...]

Briefs & Commentary

Comments: 10

THE “VITAMIN N” PRESCRIPTION – Some Health Professionals Now Recommending Nature Time for Children and Adults

By Richard Louv on July 26th, 2011

THE “VITAMIN N” PRESCRIPTION – Some Health Professionals Now Recommending Nature Time for Children and Adults

In 2009, Janet Ady of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service stood before a crowd of grassroots leaders gathered by the Children & Nature Network. She held up an outsized pharmacy bottle. Within the bottle was a physician’s prescription – one that would be as appropriate for adults as it would be for children. The [...]

Columns by Richard Louv

Comments: 2

A Boost to Education and an Antidote to Teacher Burnout?

By Richard Louv on June 28th, 2011

A Boost to Education and an Antidote to Teacher Burnout?

“Connected and honored, natural teachers could inspire other teachers; they could become a galvanizing force within their schools. In the process, they would contribute to their own psychological, physical, and spiritual health.” — The Nature Principle Not long ago, I was speaking with a middle school principal in Austin who was sympathetic to the cause, but [...]

Columns by Richard Louv • Featured Columns • uncategorized

Comments: 7

By John Thielbahr on May 22nd, 2011

Where Nature Meets Story: Get Reading Outside

On the Children & Nature Network home page, there is an icon (right hand column toward the bottom) called Family Activities, Family Stories: Where Nature Meets Story. It will take you to a diverse list of activities in nature for children of all ages (and adults), but more importantly, it also offers a list of [...]

Briefs & Commentary

Comments: 21

HOW LIBRARIES CAN CONNECT CHILDREN AND ADULTS TO NATURE, AND BUILD SUPPORT FOR LIBRARIES

By Richard Louv on March 2nd, 2011

HOW LIBRARIES CAN CONNECT CHILDREN AND ADULTS TO NATURE, AND BUILD SUPPORT FOR LIBRARIES

Can libraries connect children to nature? You bet. “Today, via a library’s outdoor learning space, librarians are participating in the growing movement to connect children with the environment,” write Tracy Delgado-LaStella and Sandra Feinberg in this month’s issue of American Libraries magazine. The excellent piece describes the efforts of Middle Country Public Library in Centereach, New York, which [...]

Columns by Richard Louv • Featured Columns • uncategorized

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