Are children suffering from a “nature-deficit”?
by Angus, 3 March, 2011, 7 comments
This is the central question in Richard Louv's book, "Last child in the woods," and this concern is shared by the broadcaster Sir David Attenborough. As Attenborough says, "all children start off being interested in the natural world, it's deep in our instincts...". Children may have theoretical knowledge but not touchy-feely experience. As Louv explains, " children today are aware of global threats to the environment but their physical contact, their intimacy, with nature is fading."
Nature-deficit surveys
Natural England did a survey recently in which they examined changing relationships with nature across generations and they found that fewer then 10% of children now play in natural places (such as woodlands and heathlands) compared with 40% of today's adults who did so when they were young. The BBC Wildlife Magazine carried out another survey which found that many children now cannot identify common species such as bluebells and frogs. Read more...
