Audubon medal winner discusses benefits of nature to crowd of 180 Wednesday
Richard Louv said young adults today are suffering from what he called a "nature-deficit disorder.”
The 2008 Audubon medal winner brought about 180 students and community members Wednesday to hear his speech, “The Restorative Power of the Natural World," as part of the T.R. Johnson Endowment speaker series presented by the College of Education and Human Services.
Louv said kids are spending less time outside exploring nature and more time indoors. In his book published in 2008 “Last Child in the Woods,” he calls this nature-deficit disorder and kids suffer as a result.
“Through history, kids have worked and played outside,” Louv said, “but (during) the last three decades, it’s (become) not normal to go dig a hole in the woods or build a fort.”
According to published studies, kids spent an average of 53 hours a week plugged into technology in 2008. Kids are just following a cultural order that society has deemed appropriate, he said.
He said he does not demonize technology, but it steals time instead of amplifying it like nature does. Louv said he would like to see a balance between nature and technology someday, where kids possess a hybrid mind.
Lansing resident Cecilia Gilson, a hunter’s education instructor for the state Department of Natural Resources, said the information presented in the speech raised questions for her.
“I wonder what my grand kids have lost by not going into the woods,” she said.
Kids are becoming obese, hyper-active and lack the same sense of imagination as generations before, Louv said. He believes this is a result of a society that pushes Ritalin and reduces recesses in schools, eliminating the calming and creative effects nature can have.
“I got pushed outside by my parents, where we would build G.I. Joe forts," said Davison senior Jeff Johns. "My imagination developed from being outside."
By putting kids in a cubicle and telling them to sit still, Louv said, society may miss out on gifts from nature they could provide.
With more people worldwide living in cities than the countryside, he said, fewer kids have resources available to enjoy nature.
Urban planning and community associations have eliminated areas for kids to walk and play, confining them to a front stoop, he said, but developers are starting to brainstorm ideas for nature immersion in the future — a step in the right direction.
Louv said parents fearing stranger abduction is one of the biggest factors for keeping kids indoors. He said while the risk is there, the numbers of abductions, about 120 a year, are lower than most people believe. The health risks, he said, are more dangerous.
His upcoming book “The Nature Principle" will be released soon.
