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Children today are more and more susceptible to a nature deficit disorder

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As a boy growing up on the edge of the Kansas City suburbs, Richard Louv could walk out of the back door of his parents' house right into a cornfield, and from there into the woods. So he did. A lot. And as a result, he says, half a century later, "I have a place in my heart that I go to. It's that cornfield, and those woods."

It's now five years since Louv published Last Child in the Woods, a huge and unexpected US bestseller that explores what happens, to individuals and society, when kids stop going out into the natural world to play ("nature deficit disorder" he called it - the term has caught on). Great things have happened since, of which more shortly, but Louv's core question remains the same: will future generations of children have that place to go to?

It's worth asking. I grew up about a decade later than Louv, in a slightly scruffy village on the outer fringes of London. Like him, I had a field at the bottom of the garden and woods beyond the field, and a stream in the woods. I spent a lot of time in all three, dissecting cowpats, climbing trees, building dens and dams, tormenting sticklebacks, being Will Scarlet or Hawkeye or (if no one was looking) an Ent.

For some reason I relate all this to Louv within three minutes of meeting him (he invites it, I think). He is entirely unsurprised. The thing is, I say, as he nods, that I acquired, without necessarily meaning to, a certain familiarity with - even a knowledge of - the natural world. I could tell a beech from a birch, a jackdaw from a jay, cow parsley from catkins. I became a budding birdwatcher.

And even if my parents sold up and moved away 30 years ago and more, that field and those woods are, in some large and largely unsayable way, a very important part of me. "You owned them," says Louv, approvingly, a grey-haired and avuncular figure on the sofa.

"It's that sense of ownership that's important - ownership of nature. How many children get that now? For this generation, nature is more of an abstraction than a physical reality. Kids today can tell you about the Amazon rainforest, but not about the last time they went into a wood alone. Nature is something to watch from a distance, something to consume. Something very profound has happened in children's relationship to nature."

He's right, of course. I only have to look at my oldest, now nearly 10: his abiding passions are a long way from mine at his age and nature and wildlife, do not currently rank among them. Not for want of trying on my part, I hasten to add; just, well, we live in the city. We don't have a field at the bottom of the garden and if we did I'm not entirely sure we'd be happy letting him out into it. Plus there's the TV, the Nintendo, the computer. You know how it is.

It's a syndrome Louv, a newspaperman and well-regarded columnist for most of his career, first encountered when researching another book in the late 1980s; one that is perhaps best summed up by the words of the anonymous San Diego pre-teen who told him back then: "I like to play indoors better, cos that's where all the electrical outlets are." A recent report from the Kaiser Family Foundation found that the average eight to 18-year-old American now spends more than 53 hours a week using "entertainment media", up from 44 hours five years ago.

But it's not just video games that are responsible. "Video games draw kids inside, but what pushes them inside is their parents' fear: of traffic, certainly, but also of abduction and abuse - stranger danger. Which is interesting, because in the US at least, the number of abductions by strangers has been falling steadily for the past 20 years. I'm not saying there's no risk out there - there is, even in nature. But it's a small risk. And kids need a little risk," he says.

Those figures hold up here as well: of the UK's 11m children, on average 11 are killed by a stranger each year - a figure that has remained stable since the 1970s.

There are other factors, Louv adds: children's time is so much more pressured these days. All those improving after-school activities, plus the very modern notion that a kid's time must be put to constructive use - no room for just hanging out in the woods. Not to mention health and safety.

In short, for a whole range of reasons we no longer let our kids anywhere near the natural world on their own: a 2007 survey by the Children's Society found that 43% of adult respondents believe children should not be allowed outdoors unsupervised before they are 14. Not for them the joys of den-building or tree-climbing. More children, it seems, are now admitted to British hospitals for injuries incurred falling out of bed than falling out of trees. "Broken bones," Louv notes, "used to be a rite of passage for children. Now all paediatricians see are cases of obesity and repetitive strain injury."

Does it matter? It does, says Louv forcefully, and for several reasons: obesity is just the most visible of them, but there's also an increasing body of research showing that time spent in the natural world has a significant impact on more than physical wellbeing. "Kids can grow fine up without nature," says Louv, "but with it, there are marked improvements in attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, learning ability, creativity and mental, psychological and spiritual health. When you consider that in some US schools, up to 30% of boys are now on Ritalin ... I've lost count of the number of teachers and youth leaders who have told me how different kids become when you get them out into nature. Trouble-makers become leaders. Nature is their Ritalin."

Plus, who's going to be bothered looking after the planet if there's no one left with any understanding of, interest in or connection to their natural environment? "What we're doing instead is instilling in kids a kind of ecophobia," Louv argues. "We're overloading them with scenarios of fear and disaster - worry about the 'environment' is crushing kids' relationship with nature."

It's not, though, exclusively bad news. Since Last Child was first published in the US in 2005, and here three years later, interest in nature deficit disorder - not, Louv stresses, a "known medical condition", more a "disorder of society" - has increased beyond his wildest imaginings. "I've been blown away by the response," he says. "I knew it would push a button, but not to this extent. There's quite plainly a very primal nature to this issue that touches people very deeply."

It has led to a foundation, the Children & Nature Network (C&NN) - childrenandnature.org) - aimed at collating and disseminating a growing body of research in the field and building "a movement to reconnect children and nature". Some 73 regional C&NN campaigns have been launched across the US and Canada, and interest has been fanned from the UK to Kenya.

There's a Natural Teachers Network, a natural leaders programme aimed at young people and 74 family nature clubs have been founded around the country to help families get out into the wild together. Progress is being made at a more official level, too. Louv is delighted to be delivering the keynote speech at the American Academy of Pediatrics' upcoming annual conference. Two weeks ago, the head of Portland city parks department in Oregon announced a partnership with the city's health services: GPs will start formally prescribing "family time" to be spent in a park, the parks department will check they show up, and the health department will study the results.

As the majority of us now live in cities, Louv is becoming more and more involved in the burgeoning debate around "nearby nature" - working to ensure that wherever possible, urban design starts incorporating nature in ways it hasn't until now; exploring ideas of eco-villages, urban wildlife corridors and, more recently, child corridors; nature trails instead of golf courses; natural regeneration plans for abandoned malls and inner-city wastelands.

The Bush and Obama administrations have both taken his work gratifyingly seriously. "I recently," he says modestly, "got invited to Carmel by Clint Eastwood to meet with developers and think about ways to connect children to nature, rather than separate them." Over here, he's holding high-level meetings with the National Trust and Natural England. The battle is by no means won, but Louv senses that something is taking off. Maybe it's not too much to hope that half a century hence, a few more of today's kids will have a place in their hearts they can go to.
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As a boy growing up on the edge of the Kansas City suburbs, Richard Louv could walk out of the back door of his parents' house right into a cornfield, and from there into the woods. So he did. A lot.

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he future generation is not being exposed to the natural world in positive light. This is caused not only by technology being overused, but because the emphasis of natural disasters, and rare cases of lack of supervision in the "wild", that portrays the natural world as an unsafe place.

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As teachers, we can spark the curiosity in children of the natural world by becoming citizen scientists

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Scientific research conducted in a whole or in part by amateur or non professional scientists

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You can join programs, like journey north, help save monarch butterflies, teach your children about the life cycle of butterflies, and record and share your findings!

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Seasonal Message: Fall Migration Begins in August

Researchers, land managers, and many others rely on the help of Journey North volunteers to better understand the monarch's conservation needs. Your observations make a valuable contribution - and help tell the dramatic story of the monarch migration.

What To Report

1. Reporting category: Monarch Adult Sighted

Where are monarchs? Report all monarch adults (ie. butterflies, not eggs or larvae) regardless of whether migrating south. Report number of monarchs observed at a single location. Comments: Were the monarchs exhibiting directional flight? How did you estimate the number of monarchs observed? Other behaviors observed? Frequency: Report once a week when monarchs are present. Photos: Always welcome.

2. Reporting category: Monarch Egg Sighted

Is breeding happening? Report the presence of monarch egg(s). Because it is difficult to track individual eggs and larvae, daily counts of eggs and larvae are not necessary. Noting presence of monarch egg(s) is sufficient. If you want to count monarch egg(s), please count once during the week and submit one report with the totals counted that day. Comments: What milkweed species did you see the monarch egg(s)? Frequency: Report once a week when monarch eggs are present. Photos: Always welcome.

3. Reporting category: Monarch Larva Sighted

Is breeding happening? Report the presence of monarch larvae. Because it is difficult to track individual eggs and larvae, daily counts of egg(s) and larvae are not necessary. Noting presence of monarch larvae is sufficient. If you want to count monarch larvae, please count once during the week and submit one report with the totals counted that day. Comments: What milkweed species did you see the monarch larvae? Frequency: Report once a week when monarch larvae are present. Photos: Always welcome.

4. Reporting category: Monarch Other Observations

Where are monarchs? Observations of other interesting behaviors including mating, laying eggs, nectaring (please let us know plant species observed if known), basking in the sun, and deceased monarchs. Frequency: Report once a week. Occasional reporting welcome. Photos: Always welcome.

5. Reporting category: Milkweed Sighted

Where is milkweed? Report milkweed presence across the landscape. Comments: What milkweed species did you observe? Frequency: Report weekly when milkweed is present. Photos: Always welcome.

6. Reporting category: Monarch Peak Migration

When and where are peak migration events happening? Monarch fall migration is spectacular and also unpredictable. People often report seeing large numbers of monarchs flying in a clear directional flight or seeing "hundreds of butterflies" nectaring in a field of flowers fueling up for the long flight. If you witness what seems to be a large number of monarchs for your area (i.e. dozens, hundreds), please report this sighting under PEAK Migration. Comments: For reported numbers to be meaningful, what is the length of time you spent counting monarchs at one stationary location? Frequency: Report daily when possible to capture actual peak. Photos: Always welcome.

7. Reporting category: Monarch Roosts

When and where are monarch roosts? Migrating monarchs cluster together in trees at night, forming what is called a roost. A roost may have a handful of butterflies or more than you can count. Comments: How many monarchs did you observe within a roost for a single night? When did you observe roost formation? How did you estimate the number of monarchs roosting? What other observations did you notice (such as nearby nectar sources, species of tree(s) in roost, and whether the monarchs are shielded from the wind in their location)? Frequency: Report every night when roost is present. Resource: Estimating Fall Roost Size.

Subscription Information: Migration News

Stay attuned to the migration story by subscribing to Journey North Monarchs & Milkweed News Updates. Click the "subscribe" button in the top-right corner of any published news update.

During the fall, catch the news about fall monarch roosts and peak migration events. Learn when the Eastern population of monarchs reach the Monarch Butterfly Biosphere Reserve in Mexico and the Western population reaches sanctuaries along the coast of California. These news updates will be delivered to you twice a month.

Of Note

Because migratory species start their fall migration in August, the Journey North reporting categories and interactive maps are now primed to showcase the fall migration phenomenon. You can still view Journey North spring migration observational reports displayed on our interactive maps by following these simple instructions.

Instructions for viewing spring migration maps

Step 1: Go to Journey North Maps. Notice that these maps are set to display Fall 2022 migration data.

Step 2: Use the seasonal dropdown menu to select Spring 2022 migration season (or any previous season/year of interest).

You will now be able to select the map of interest.

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Researchers, land managers, and many others rely on the help of Journey North volunteers to better understand the monarch's conservation needs. Your observations make a valuable contribution - and help tell the dramatic story of the monarch migration. What To Report 1. Reporting category: Monarch Adult Sighted Where are monarchs?

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On this website, you can make a star count with their activity guide and share your observations!

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Five Simple Steps to Star Count: 1. Determine which constellation to observe 2. Find that constellation at night an hour after sunset (about 7-9pm local time) 3. Match your nighttime sky with one of our magnitude charts 4. Report what you see online 5.

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This website provides resources for conservation education.

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About the Association of Zoos & Aquariums

AZA is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization dedicated to the advancement of zoos and aquariums in the areas of conservation, education, science, and recreation. AZA represents more than 200 institutions which meet the highest standards in animal care, provide a fun and educational family experience, and dedicate millions of dollars to scientific research, conservation, and education programs.

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Association of Zoos & Aquariums | AZA.org

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About the Association of Zoos & Aquariums AZA is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization dedicated to the advancement of zoos and aquariums in the areas of conservation, education, science, and recreation.

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Here are some wonderful resources for teachers to get their students involved in the natural world by becoming citizen scientists

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Wildlife Guide | National Wildlife Federation

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Learn about our nation’s wildlife, the threats they face, and the conservation efforts that can help.