Children and Nature

We’ve talked about Richard Louv before, here, here and here, but I just found this video of him discussing the importance of nature for children.  It’s a short introduction to Louv’s notion of “Nature Deficit Disorder.”  Check it out!

Nature at Camp

As a parent, have you ever felt you were driving around in circles, literally driving your kids from home to school, to sports or dance practice, to other lessons or weekly events? Would you say that your kids are scheduled and busy most of the time? Do they spend most of their time inside, and when they do have free time, how do they spend it? Watching TV, on the Internet, text messaging?

All of this is valuable, of course, with each activity exposing children to new ideas, information and challenges, but there’s a growing awareness that if overemphasized it can create problems as well. It’s becoming clear that children need time with nature too. They need the opportunity to explore the outdoors, to play outside without the time constraints of school, to feel the elements and reconnect with the wonders of the natural world.

The Children and Nature Network is an non-profit organization dedicated to researching this issue and providing resources for encouraging children’s health through outdoor activity and experience.  It’s a great place to learn about the importance for children of direct experience of nature.

Summer camps, thankfully, are still ways for children to recover from the “nature deficit” they endure throughout the school year.  Nature and camp just go together. Particularly at an overnight camp like Rockbrook, nature is a constant companion— the earthy smell, the feel of the weather, the surprising creatures, the plant life that’s everywhere you look.  Sure camp offers crafts, adventure, sports and lots of silly fun, but every minute is also a chance to be with nature.  It’s the greatest feeling, and is also, incredibly good for you.

Nature and the Fall Season

We just noticed a few maple leaves turning red, and sure enough today in the first day of fall. Hurray! Here in Brevard, in the northern hemisphere, this is the autumnal equinox, and it’s that time of the year when the sun rises and sets exactly in the east and west.

You might think that this also means the equinox is that time of the year when the sun rises and sets at the same time in the morning and evening (making the day and night the same length), but this is not the case.  The reason for this is a little complicated, but it has to do with the size of the sun and the curvature of the earth.  Here’s an article that explains about it.

Your time at camp and all the fun you had this summer may seem like a distant memory, but just think, you’re now that much closer to next summer! Only three more seasons to go!

Nature Camp for Girls

Richard Louv, who we’ve mentioned before, has published a new and interesting article discussing the benefits of outdoor play, the problems caused when it’s neglected, and what we might do to encourage it. The article is in the March-April 2007 issue of Orion magazine, and is entitled “Leave No Child Inside” (link to the full article). Louv has no trouble documenting an overall decline in the amount of time American kids spend outside, and likewise the numerous problems associated with this “virtual house arrest” (“threats to their independent judgment and value of place, to their ability to feel awe and wonder, to their sense of stewardship for the Earth—and, most immediately, threats to their psychological and physical health”).

Despite the forces behind this “nature-deficit disorder” (“disappearing access to natural areas, competition from television and computers, dangerous traffic, more homework, and other pressures”), Louv also finds a “growing movement to reconnect children and nature.” What’s crucial here is the positive childhood experience of nature most of us adults share and recall fondly. No matter what our current profession, level of income, or political views, we love those experiences… turning over rocks in the stream, hiking through tall ferns, catching a glimpse of a hawk overhead… and we want our children to have them too. Louv’s point is that with this kind of broad agreement on an issue, we should be able to do something about it. There’s power to this movement because “no one among us wants to be a member of the last generation to pass on to its children the joy of playing outside in nature.”

P.S. Cory Doctorow has written about Louv here as well.

Nature Girls

What a great shot! Could it be the rare Noonday Globe Snail (Mesodon clarki nantahala) found only in North Carolina? We’re not sure, but we think it’s a really cool example of the discovery that nature provides girls around camp (It’s lush, to say the least!). A camper in the photography activity took this photo last summer wandering around camp.

Nature Camps

Yikes! What’s that?! It’s a spider Sarah spotted at camp a few weeks ago, and odds are it’s a female Writing Spider (Arigiope aurantia). It’s actually a very common spider in North America, and is also known as the “Black and Yellow Garden Spider” or (even cooler!) the “Golden Orb Weaver.” It’s famous for the intricate web patterns it weaves, the web it “writes” with X marks along the strands.

There’s lots to learn about these amazing spiders. Here’s a nice article (with photos) describing the Biogeography of the Writing Spider.

Having a chance to marvel at creatures like this is one of the wonderful parts of nature camps like Rockbrook. You never know what cool critter you’ll find.

Oh, and don’t worry! The writing spider is not considered poisonous to people.

Good advice about Nature from Emily

“Are you scared of spiders? Because you shouldn’t be. Spiders eat creepy crawly things that you don’t want around. When you see a spider web do you scream? Because you shouldn’t! Instead you should stand back and admire its beauty. Just remember, spiders won’t hurt you unless you hurt them. Also, “Grand Daddy Long Legs” are friendly and harmless. They are the most common of spiders at Rockbrook.”

–Emily T., camper 2006

Nature Lore at Rockbrook circa 1925

Here is a page taken from the Rockbrook Camp catalog in 1925. Only four years after the camp’s founding, it’s a wonderful window into the traditions of those early years.