The Last Child in the Woods - Reflections on Nature Deficit Disorder

In my experience as an educator, I have come to believe that “nature deficit disorder (Louv, 2006) is a serious issue confronting children. As I have deepened my understanding of the role of play in the way children learn, I feel strongly that outdoor play, particularly in natural settings, is an essential element in children’s development. By providing children with direct experience with the natural world, outdoor nature play is, in my opinion, a powerful antidote to “nature deficit disorder.” For this reason, creating a model for schools to provide students with regular opportunities to connect with nature has been my graduate research and study goal.

When Richard Louv’s book Last Child in the Woods came out in 2006, I was an elementary school art teacher on Chicago’s South Side. Louv’s calling of attention to the divide between children and the natural world resonated deeply with me at the time and has continued to form my approach to teaching. My tenure in the Chicago public school system coincided with a system-wide no-recess policy which left the students understandably wound up. Problems with lack of motivation and focus were endemic among the students and I realized that spending my days in a school building that was locked down was also detrimental to my motivation and focus.

Years later when I began holding my art classes in an unused rooftop greenhouse, the wisdom of Louv’s vision rang even more true. This was as close to the outdoors as we could get at the time, but the presence of nature had an undeniable effect on me and the students. Participating in the natural life cycle of plants through planting, observing, painting, drawing, tending and harvesting seemed what learning should be about. This experience inspired me to take the students on a field trip to a nearby nature preserve. In the presence of this natural setting, I saw my students become children again. For a few hours, the stresses of urban life seemed to melt away and in that afternoon, I saw wonder appear in their eyes. Having experienced repairing the broken bond between children and nature, I believe that nature deficit disorder is indeed a real issue. I believe fully in the importance of creating connections between children and nature through art education and this has been the focus of my graduate work at Sonoma State.