We see it everyday, students spend their days in school and then once they go home they spend their evenings on the computer, in front of the television, or playing video games. A new grassroots movement called ‘No Child Left Inside’ wants to get children to experience more outdoors and learn more about the environment. Richard Louv is the author of Last Child in the Woods where he presented the idea of “nature deficit-disorder” and the need to reconnect children to nature. He advocates that children have lost touch with the outdoors and this has led to increased health and learning problems. (http://www.orionmagazine.org/index.php/articles/article/240/) As teachers we see this missing relationship and its impact. Students who live close to the beach but have never experienced it, or those that live in amazing mountainous areas but have never been on a hike. (Check out Louv’s site at http://richardlouv.com/)
Many of us who grow up to work in the science or environmental field developed a connection with nature as children. I remember collecting bugs and following bird tracks down by the pond, and I feel that it was these experiences that led me to a career in science. Developing an appreciation and a love of nature when young seems to never leave you. Several large cities are starting to embrace the goals of No Child Left Inside and make efforts to draw children outdoors. For example, the San Diego Zoo is hosting October as the month to get kids outside. They are offering free entrance to kids 11 and under in addition to kid activities with a nature focus throughout the Zoo.
With my high school students we looked at wild birds as one of our research focuses in a project that incorporated opportunities to increase students’ outdoor experiences. Students were split into teams and given 3 species of wild birds to learn more about. Each student was required to conduct and log three 20-minute bird observations a week on their own time in a variety of habitats. Then in the classroom they used reference books to research natural history information about their species and put the information into a fact sheet in PowerPoint. The group of students would then present their three bird species to the class. Students said that the observation helped them draw connections to what they saw and what they read. I saw my students observing nature and starting to appreciate the natural world around them.
What are some of your favorite resources that can help you with No Child Left Inside activities? Do you have a great lesson or outdoor game to share?
P.S. If you haven’t completed the short 10-question survey yet, please do. This is where most of the data for this project is coming from. You can find the survey at: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/7WWHD2Z
