Green and Simple: Nature Deficit Disorder and the New Nature Movement

Attention deficit disorder has garnered considerable attention over the years, but have you heard about nature deficit disorder? It is a term coined by best-selling author Richard Louv to describe “the human costs of alienation from nature.”

With the publication of “The Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children from Nature Deficit Disorder” in 2005, Louv incited a movement to reconnect kids with nature. The book sparked the Children and Nature Network. In 2011, he published “The Nature Principle: Human Restoration and the End of Nature-Deficit Disorder,” describing people's reactions when they are disconnected from nature and how to restore the connection.

This week, a friend and I trekked into D.C. for a talk by Louv at the National Cathedral as part of the Leading Voices Series.

In the course of my last year, I amassed quite a library of nature-related books, the above titles included. Due to required readings, work, family time and household duties, I have not yet completed the books, though I have read a good bit of both. What I learned was enlightening and left me thirsty for more. 

I have always had a intrinsic connection with nature, which I attribute to the naturally diverse and rich rural environment in which I was raised. I also feel an affinity for water, even though I cannot swim. This I attribute to growing up in a coastal community. When I seek solace, I am drawn to the water and am thankful that I live in Old Town, where the water is only a few blocks away. Although I have always felt grounded in nature, only in more recent years since having had kids have I come to embrace, understand and live this groundedness.

Louv’s work has had a significant impact how I engage myself and my kids with nature.

During his talk, Louv described the connection between human health and exposure to the natural world. He cited mounting societal concerns over our children eating processed foods and shared that we might be equally as concerned about their consumption of processed information. While dismay about the long-term impact what our children ingest grows, so too should the dismay about the long-term impact of information and technology overload, and the lack of connection with nature and independent imaginative play.

In “The Nature Principle” and during his talk, Louv described the dulling of our senses; how humans are physiologically capable of tracking with our noses, as are other animals. But, because of our decreased engagement with the natural world, most of us have lost our connection with that ability. In our daily lives, the opportunities to use all of our senses are limited. It is in nature where we are most aware of our senses and become immersed in nature in a way that we don’t experience in other settings, especially as our use of technology increases.

Louv is not against technology. He toted an iPad containing notes for his talk. Instead, he advocates that the more technology we have, the more nature we need. In “The Nature Principle,” he says the "future will be long to the nature-smart — those individuals, families, businesses, and political leaders who develop a deeper understanding of the transformative power of the natural world and who balance the virtual with the real.”

After covering a range of topics that included architecture, conservation, education, youth literature, and more, Louv closed with his vision of a future imbued with nature and fueled by the New Nature Movement.

It's a world where the environmental movement has moved beyond conservation and sustainability to creating and inspiring. It's a place where, for example, the healing and restorative powers of nature are integrated components in traditional roles of teachers, doctors, park rangers and others; where doctors literally prescribe nature for their patients and park rangers are instrumental in helping patients to fulfill their prescriptions. It was a grand and idealistic vision, but intentionally so. As Louv stated, the vision of the future has to be one that “paints a picture of a world that people want to go to.”  The idea is to motivate and inspire people to engage, to act and to create.

I, for one, left the event feeling truly inspired and ready to create. The more I learn about the nature connection and The New Nature Movement, the more committed I am to playing an instrumental role in connecting Alexandria families with nature, here and through Eco-Active Family. I hope you will join me!