NO CHILD LEFT INSIDE

by Carol Stansfield, Education Chair

Parents, grandparents, and teachers are becoming increasingly concerned: our children are spending less and less time outdoors, exploring the natural world. Nature is perceived my many children as unsafe, uncomfortable, and uninteresting. Isolation from nature is contributing to growing rates of obesity and depression in young people, and denying them one of the great joys of childhood. And those of us who care deeply about our beautiful but beleaguered planet cant help but wonder: will our children care for and defend the earth if they have never spent time in wild places?

In Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children from Nature-Deficit Disorder, author Richard Louv explores the emotional, educational, and environmental impacts of our childrens alienation from nature. He also suggests some solutions. Most involve simply providing more opportunities for children to explore the natural world on their own terms. A new, expanded edition of this landmark book has just been published. It is highly recommended to anyone who has children, works with children, or cares about the future of our planet.

MARK YOUR CALENDARS: Richard Louv will be speaking at Pikes Peak Center on Friday evening, October 3, as part of a special No Child Left Inside weekend for the entire Pikes Peak region. Watch for more details in the next Timberlines.

RICHARD LOUV TO SPEAK IN COLORADO SPRINGS

Richard Louv is a futurist and journalist focused on family, nature, and community.  He is chairman of the Children and Nature Network and the author of seven books.  His most recent, Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children from Nature-Deficit Disorder (Algonquin) has stimulated a national conversation about the future relationship between children and nature.  Richard has written for The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Christian Science Monitor, and other newspapers and magazines.  He has appeared on the CBS Morning Show, Good Morning America, the Today Show, CBS Evening News, NBC Nightly News, NPR’s Morning Edition, Fresh Air, Talk of the Nation, and many other programs.  He has been a member of the editorial advisory board for Parents magazine and served as an advisor to the Ford Foundation’s Leadership for a Changing World award program and the National Scientific Council on the Developing Child. 

In January, the National Audubon Society presented Richard Louv with the Audubon Medal, one of the most prestigious awards of the environmental movement. The medal was awarded for Louv's "exceptional contributions promoting the importance of connecting people to nature, especially children." Richard speaks frequently, having appeared before the Domestic Policy Council in the White House and at major governmental and professional conferences internationally.  He is married to Kathy Frederick Louv and is the father of two young men, Jason and Matthew.  Richard is currently at work on his eighth book. He would rather fish than write.

Richard Louv will be speaking at the Pikes Peak Center on Friday evening, October 3, 2008, as part of a special “No Child Left Inside” weekend for the entire Pikes Peak region.