A Note from Bonnie Jacobs~Who Will Lead LAST CHILD

"A sense of wonder and joy in nature should be at the very center of ecologicalliteracy." -- page 221-- Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children from Nature-Deficit Disorder by Richard Louv, copyright 2005

The first part of this book asks, Why? Then Louv wants us to decide, How?
1. Why?
Why we need nature ~ for health, creativity, stress-relief, spirituality, finding future stewards of nature.
Why children are not outside more ~ time constraints, fear, changes in education, criminalization of nature.
2. How?
How to reunite children with nature ~ nature as teacher, camp revival, decriminalizing natural play.
How to build a movement ~ think green, believe in seeds, help good works take root.
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Questions for you: Choose one or more of these questions and post your comments by clicking on the "comments" below.
1. What direct experiences with nature did you have as a child?
2. Have the places for these experiences disappeared?
3. Are our children and grandchildren spending less time outdoors? Why?
4. Why is direct experience with the natural world so important for children?
5. What would be a good way to get children back to nature?
6. Do you have any ideas for fostering awareness of the human need for nature?
7. What hopeful things do you see happening in your own town or neighborhood?
8. How does direct experience with nature provide spirituality and promote sustainability?

You Pumpkin Head, You!

It has been said that as a child I would go to an adult and say, "You pumpkin head, you!"

I couldn't believe this story, until I heard it with my own ears. A reel-to-reel tape caught my silly epithet for adults. It was on a tape that had been made by my uncle who has a fascination with capturing sound and song. He lives in Tallahassee, Florida, although many of you met him when he visited with us in December.

Why "pumpkin head"? I guess I had seen a jack-o-lantern, yet I know my attraction to natural things had something to do with it to~kind of like when Henry David Thoreau said, "I would rather sit on a pumpkin and have it all to myself,than be crowded on a velvet cushion."

Nature has always summoned me, drawing me away from work or people into a world of primordial sustenance. And it is not a pumpkin alone that I find there, but a spirit organic and powerful.

I look forward to discussing childhood and nature again as we continue reading Last Child in the Woods. See you tomorrow at 8 a.m. at Thankful Memorial Episcopal Church in St. Elmo.

The New Frontier~An Enclosed Garden

In an essay I wrote 15 years ago, I received the Dominic Bazzanella Award for Critical Analysis. I received it for my analysis of the Absolut Manhattan advertisement to the left. It is hard to see here, but I think you get the picture. New York's Central Park is shaped like a bottle of Absolut Vodka. Surrounding the park is a fortress of commerce, and in this bird's eye view skyscrapers appear as a mercurial silver computer grid. Surrounding the island of silver commerce is blue water.

In this award-winning essay, I pointed out the fascinating reversal of the frontier, creating a hortus conclusus or walled garden, with commerce feeding off the water but finding solace in the natural habitat.

Yes, Absolut is selling vodka. But Absolut is also selling the new frontier. This is a frontier that we will talk about today as we take up the first two parts of Richard Louv's book, Last Child in the Woods. See you at Thankful Memorial Episcopal Church at 8 a.m. today!

A New Place~Reading LAST CHILD IN THE WOODS

We will start our next meeting on Jan. 11 at 8 a.m. at Thankful Memorial Episcopal Church. The Rev. Pat Cahill will welcome us. Dr. Pat Cahill, who retired from UTC a few years ago, has a background in environmental science. Here's a map link for directions to Thankful Memorial Episcopal. Coffee and danishes will be provided.

"More green, less screen!"

That's the line at the top of an ad for this book. Below the line is a photo of the author, Richard Louv. Of course, his "more green" is nature work, and the "less screen" is television/computer/video game work. He's got a point. The Kaiser Family Foundation reports that children spend more time (44.5 hours per week) in front of a computer, tv, or game screen than any other activity except for sleeping.

I grew up without television, computer, and video games. I played outdoors, indoors, and read books. Having four siblings, all younger, made play enjoyable. Today, so many families are one or two child families. And our families stay away from outdoors for fear of kidnappers and terrorists. For most Americans, we are a country paralyzed by a fear of the unknown~which includes nature~a sorry state for our children. I pray for a Green Revolution.

That's why I love what Olin Ivey is doing at Audubon Acres. He is appealing to children and families to come to an urban green place with a new marketing campaign and brochure.