PlayStations, iPads, and social media have replaced nature as a source of entertainment in the lives of many children and adults in today’s western society. We are constantly bombarded with text messages, emails and media updates in our private and corporate lives. Although we think we are more connected than ever before, our connection to the natural world is dwindling as the landscape around us is becoming more and more fragmented. How do we address this growing disconnect and the societal, mental and physical challenges that have arisen as repercussions of it?
Richard Louv, author of the acclaimed book Last Child in the Woods, examines the links in childhood between imagination, physical and mental wellbeing, and the freedom to explore nature. In this book, he discusses a growing fear in our society of letting children play outside and how re-establishing this connection can have profoundly positive effects on many aspects of childhood development.
His latest book, Vitamin N: 500 Ways to Enrich the Health & Happiness of Your Family & Community, offers tips for the whole family and extended community to get out into nature and explore its intricacies together. This book provides activities that make it easier to get everyone outside and move forward in a world that badly needs some good old TLC. I was lucky enough to meet with Mr. Louv at UBC Botanical Garden’s recent A Growing Affair plant sale.
As a third-year student in Natural Resource Conservation at UBC and someone who was lucky enough to grow up next to a river and a forest, I have developed a passion for showing others the wonders that nature provides us with on a daily basis. Whether it’s the fresh smell that emanates from the forest after a cleansing summer rain, or the dance of a spider intricately weaving its web in the early morning sun, these are ordinary marvels of nature that are only too easy to pass over. I’ve had the pleasure of pointing out these wonders to many children, youth and adults over the past eight months through my work with UBC Botanical Garden as a Work Learn Student. The wonder in a child’s eyes when they look up at the scarred and crooked trunk of the Garden’s oldest tree is what keeps me excited every time a new group arrives for a tour.
Nature has so many incredible hidden wonders to explore. Take a friend or family member out and go for a walk in your local park or greenspace. Stop, close your eyes, and listen. Try to identify all the sounds around you – what’s a natural sound, what’s a human-made sound – and root yourself in place. Touch the plants and the soil and explore the natural world through all your five senses.
Written by Serena Soucy, UBC Botanical Garden, Work Learn Student, May 27, 2016