Today more than ever, children are staying inside and are disconnected from the natural world. We have students who, when first arriving at camp, refuse to sit on the ground because “it is dirty and dirt is gross!”
“This statement means that I must take immediate action! I offer the students a chance to join a super exclusive club known as the dirt club. To join, you must rub dirt all over your face! A few students join right off the bat. After a few moments of sheer shock, others realize that the first pioneers are still alive and that the dirt will in no way harm them. They grab large handfuls of dirt and slowly but surely rub it all over their faces! A smile takes over not only my face, but all of theirs. Dirt Club Unite!” – Buckeye
It is a crusade in outdoor education to have children realize that nature is not dangerous or harmful to them. Every week children explain to us that it is their first time hiking outdoors and the approximate mile hike to our creek is the longest they have ever hiked in their life! And don’t ever get a ten year old started on how upset they are on the first day that they don’t have their ipod or cell phone! (This seems to not even be an issue by the end of the week interestingly enough).
With advancements in technology and media market, children are swept up in a world of technology and spend more time on the computer and less time just simply exploring their backyard, or the nearest park. It is now being discovered that this transition from playing outside to mainly inside has led to many deficiencies in childhood development.
More information on our Site:
Bye Bye State & National Parks and Hello Virtual World?
Families are spending less time outside and more time at home due to the entertainment provided these days for the household. But what is happening is an overwhelming lack of an active lifestyle leading to both mental and physical ailments. Richard Louv, in his book Last Child in the Woods, describes how this has lead to a phenomenon known as the Nature Deficit Disorder, in which children are showing symptoms such as obesity, depression, and Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) due to lack of time spent outdoors.
Visits to national parks have decreased by over 20% since 1988—it’s the first persistent downward trend in U.S. park history. Most of the decline (98%) can be explained by four variables: time spent watching movies (at home and in theaters), surfing the Internet, playing video games, and oil prices. Correlation doesn’t equal causation, but these trends may be early signs of a shift away from outdoor recreation and an appreciation of nature. That raises the question, who will be the next generation of conservation constituents?
[Source: Pergams, O.R.W. and P.A. Zaradic. 2006. Is love of nature in the U.S. becoming love of electronic media? 16-year downtrend in national park visits explained by watching movies, playing video games, internet use, and oil prices. Journal of Environmental Management 80:387-393]
Our hope through InspireOut.com is to raise awareness of these problems as well as focus funds to help fix the problem. By providing children with the opportunity to attend outdoor education, you are in fact, giving them the chance to connect to an experience that will forever change their outlook on and appreciation for the natural world.
Please check out these links below that discuss the problem at hand in further detail
News Articles:
Is there Anybody Out There? Conservation Magazine
Are Your Kids Really Spending Enough Time Outdoors? by Tammie Burak
Outside Agitators by Bill O’Driscoll
Parents Worry about Nature Deficit Disorder in Kids by Lisa Stiffler
Get Your Kids Outside by Belinda Mooney
Effects of Outdoor Education Programs for Children in California
Other Great Sites that Discuss and Work on Inspiring Children to Explore Outside:
No Child Left Inside -An inspiring site that breaks down the No Child Left Inside Act
Richard Louv – The Author of Last Child in the Woods
Children and Nature Network – Created to encourage and support the people and organizations working worldwide to reconnect children with nature