Life: Through the Lens

I'm reading the book I mentioned in my last post - Last Child in the Woods -Saving Our Children from Nature-Deficit Disorder , by Richard Louv - starting with the quotes in the front of the book. The first one is a quote by Walt Whitman , a fabulous writer and naturalist: There was a child went forth every day, And the first object he look'd upon, that object he became, And that object became part of him for the day or a certain part of the day, Or for many years or stretching cycles of years. The early lilacs became part of this child, And grass and white and red morning glories, and white and red clover, and the song of the phoebe-bird, And the Third-month lambs and the sow's pink-faint litter, and the mare's foal and the cow's calf,... The second quote is from a fourth-grader in San Diego: I like to play indoors better 'cause that's where all the electrical outlets are. How disturbing is that? Yet it's quite believeable. It takes effort to teach a ch...

There was a very disturbing report on the Morning Edition of NPR February 6, stating that fewer and fewer people were spending time in the "great outdoors." It's speculated that the steady decline since 1991 could be due to rising gas prices, or the popularity of more sedentary, technologically based, activites, such as video games and the TV screen. Could we be headed toward a time when a generation of young people doesn't have a vested interest in environmental issues? It's true that many people can support a program they don't actually participate in, but we need leaders in these movements in order to keep the cause alive. The "cause" meaning an appreciation of the natural world; a connection with land and spirit you only experience when you're actually out in it. Through this appreciation and love, a passion is nurtured to protect the land and the living creatures on, in and next to it. There's a book which may be worth reading in order ...