When I started this blog, I knew I wanted to show and share my respect, my amazement and awe about the natural world with my readers. I always felt those scarlet poppies growing around my sandbox, those hydrangeas forming a natural gate between my house and my grandmother's and her cherished apple, pear, and nut trees hold a special place in my childhood memories.
I also remember the move when I was ten to a track house with two by four boards bridging the driveway to the doorway to avoid the mud; and not a tree on the property. The change was devastating.
Oddly, reading Richard Louv's book, Last Child In The Woods, all these years later, explains the loss I felt, but never identified. That loss is nature-deficit-disorder.
Today, as the grandmother who has the glorious opportunity to share my wooded forest with my granddaughter, I understand and value this gift.
The strength of Richard Louv's book is the overflowing, readable research which, at first thought, is profoundly self-evident, but overlooked or ignored for generations. These obvious facts startle the reader; first, because we know allowing the natural world to decay with such a blatent neglect is simply wrong; second, acting on his information, recognized by the 2008 Audubon Award, will connect future generations to nature. It truly is a very simple cause/effect relationship that no one can reject and everyone should embrace.
Just as important as the references, statistics and philosophy are Louv's personal anedotes and those he offers from others. One friend told him that if you cannot name a tree, plant, or animal you will not appreciate its value. I found the same analogy true after many years of teaching. Learning a child's name was the first, sometimes only, step needed to improve his behavior.
Taking the person out of personal is similar to taking the nature out of natural. We must strive to move our technology forward without losing sight of the individuality of nature.
Monday, January 19, 2009
Monday, January 5, 2009
A New Year?
Did you ever wonder what life would be like without milestones like birthdays or holidays? Somehow the natural world celebrates each day with none of our candles or bows. Its greeting is the sunrise. It's party goers are the squirrels swinging from a branch to reach the bird feeder. It is the chickadee and titmouse vying with the blue jay for a morning snack. It is the deer cautiously grazing on what green is showing; or the red headed woodpecker knocking out his welcome call.
Friday, September 19, 2008
My Nature Page
It's true. There is a state forest next to my house. I do see some plants and animals that urbanites seldom enjoy . On the other hand, ask any city person who loves the natural world and he will tell you there is nature in the city that needs no forest, just a few minutes to notice it. Regardless of the turf, there is nature out there, just waiting for us.
The other day a coyote cub and raccoon must have crossed paths as the first played and jumped up the driveway, while the other lumbered down it. This morning a couple frogs jumped pass the pool of water collecting in the wetlands, to take a swim in my granddaughter's wading pool. Nearby, the garter snakes were sunning on the boughs of the pine tree. It was a pretty normal morning on the edge of the forest. Oh, and yesterday morning a fawn just losing its spots (it must have been about 4 months old) and sibling were gobbling greens for breakfast.
Share your nature sighting! Whether it is city or country, large or small, four-legged or eight, or no legs at all, it is sure to get a,"Oh, my! I saw one of those...." Or even tell us where to go to see it.
Don't forget the wonderful colors of the season or the plants and trees that proudly show them off!
READ ALL ABOUT IT!
Take A City Nature Walk by Jane Kirkland (ages 9-12)
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
Is Green Just Another Movement?
Raise a green baby, drive a green car and live in a green house. Green has become the iconic color of the 21st century. But is it just another movement or a philosophy that will save our planet? It is not the first attempt to bring our thinking back to the benefits of rich soil and clean air. From 1793 when Samuel Slater produced the first American textile mill run by water power in Pawtauket, Rhode Island, this country's move towards machinery and invention has encouraged others to push "Back To (the) Country."
This Country Life Movement would reign from 1908 until 1917. City living, city jobs were replacing plowed fields. Some worried about a food shortage. To ride out this wave to urban life, farmers and "urban-gardeners" tried to steer children back to rural activities. Around 1900 several names are responsible for encouraging boys to cultivate their rural interests with competing corn crops. In 2002 this worldwide organization celebrated its 100th 4-H anniversary.
Along the way, in 1914, passage of the Smith-Lever Act created the Cooperative Extension Service. However, it was the Hatch Act of 1887 that provided the acreage for land-grant colleges to develop and implement this instruction to preserve and promote the healthy agricultural growth in the United States.
It was not until Rachel Carson turned our attention to pesticides that concern shifted from land use to land abuse. The sixties and following two decades brought a growing, ecological awareness. As a result of this thinking, in 1992, there was a renewed interest in farming and an upswing in rural populations. This farming was called sustainable farming, because, unlike earlier crop production, farmers balanced the resources they took from the land by giving back the nutrients it needed to continue producing healthy foods.
Is this green movement a natural step forward in our understanding of living on earth or has the information age fueled its intensity. Consider our position today without those men who encouraged young boys to compete in corn contests, the congressional effort to strengthen farming, the scientists and writers who voiced concerns.
Today the debate about abuse has intensified and encompasses not just the soil, but the water and air we breathe; it is more than the farmer's impact on our food. The blame and responsibility for this destruction is ageless, colorless, and classless. There are few 21 century naysayers who question the impact of pesticides on good health. In 2030, will your photo ID include the size of your carbon footprint?
Ecology For Kids
First, what is ecology? In a word, it explains an interaction: how something affects something else. That something might be living or it might be the wind, or a rock. There are many ecological relationships. Children who make these connections with hands-on nature projects will respect and preserve our planet. Thorne Ecological Institute has been providing these opportunities since 1954.
Tuesday, September 9, 2008
The Conservation Movement
It started in 1850. For those who are counting, that's 158 years ago. Certainly, enough time for Americans-for that matter-citizens around the globe- to understand conservation matters and each person has an individual responsibility to respect its power.
READ ALL ABOUT IT!
Did You Know?
John Muir is called the Father of Our National Parks.
Monday, September 8, 2008
Remembering Galveston!
On September 8, 1900, the lives of those citizens who survived the deadly hurricane were changed forever.
Did You Know?
READ ALL ABOUT IT!
(age 9-14)
Did You Know?
Clara Barton was 79 years old when she traveled to Galveston to aid the hurricane victims. Who is she?
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