Small moments in nature are something no one should miss. ©John T. Andrews.
While researching and writing my books Great Wisconsin Winter Weekends (Trails Books, 2006) and Explore Wisconsin Forests (Wisconsin Historical Press, 2011), I’ve been shocked by how few people I actually run into in our woods and on our winter trails. I’ve seldom seen a single soul. Where is everyone, I wondered?
In the town of Laona, in the middle of the Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest in northern Wisconsin, I stayed for two nights at the Camp 20 Cabins. Owner Denise Smith knows what I’m talking about. She told me the story of a couple that checked in, took one look at their rental cabin, and immediately checked out. The reason, said the male half of the twosome, was that “my wife thinks you’re too far out in the woods. There are too many trees here.” This, even though says Denise, the cabin was located only two and a half miles from town, the lawn surrounding the cabin was mowed, and there was a neighbor just one backyard away.
Some say this fear of the forest comes from our immigrant European ancestors, who brought their fairy tales with them when they crossed the ocean and who viewed the woods as the “dark unknown.” After all, in the fields they had cleared with their own hands, everything was out in the open; the land had been controlled and their will asserted over it. But in the forest, they were not in control; enclosed and surrounded on untamed terrain. .jpg)
With this prevalent adult attitude and the lure of “inside” pursuits such as video games and the Internet, it’s no wonder that our children have become estranged from the outdoors. Overprotective parents add to the problem by holding onto the belief that the outdoors is just too dangerous for their children. Some adults fear “ stranger abduction,” when in reality child abduction rates are no greater today than they were thirty years ago.
Some researchers say that the time children spend in nature — camping, hiking, and visiting parks and forests — determines their environmental awareness as adults, an important missive for the future of the planet. Where will the next generation of conservationists come from if we don’t allow our children to know what dirt feels like, what swimming in the lake tastes like, and what a pine forest — or a skunk — smells like? Our children are being asked to recycle their plastic water bottles and care about the Earth before they’ve ever built a fort in the woods. We cannot love what we do not know.
Author of the 2005 book Last Child in the Woods Richard Louv recently stated in an Orion Magazine article that in 2007 the National Forum on Children and Nature — a group of mayors, professors, conservationists, and business leaders — met in Washington D.C. to discuss the disconnection between children and the outdoors. The conversation, inevitably, turned to statistics and numbers and the logistics of implementing budgeted programs. Some were looking for a “business model” to follow for introducing children to the natural world. Most saw the need for establishing other committees and conducting yet more research.
I say, just open the doors and let the kids out.
Read Part 1 of “Sending kids outdoors: a dose of nature protects children from health and environmental threats” here.
Looking for places to travel into nature? Check out these stories:
Olbrich Gardens Thai Pavilion and Bolz Conservatory, Madison
Muir Woods, University of Wisconsin-Madison
For More Info:
Be Out There™, a National Wildlife Federation program
Nature Find, the National Wildlife Federation’s online tool for finding outdoor activities and nature sites near you
Eco-Ethical Issues While Traveling Through Nature
Photos 1 and 2 ©John T. Andrews.
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