Every Day is Earth Day

 

There was a child that went forth every day, 

and the first object he look'd upon, that object he became, 

and that object became part of him for the day or a certain part of the day, 

or for many years. or stretching cycles of years.

The early lilacs became part of this child,

and grass and white and red morning glories, and white and red clover,

and the song of the Phoebe-bird,

and the third-month lambs and the sow's pink-faint litter,

and the mare's foal and the cow's calf...

--Walt Whitman

In 2005, Richard Louv, recipient of the 2008 Audubon medal, wrote Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children From Nature-Deficit Disorder". Louv provides evidence that direct exposure to nature is essential to a child's healthy physical and emotional development. He discusses the well-intentioned move away from nature and play and why it's absolutely critical that we return to the land for the well-being of our spirits, bodies, and the health of the planet we call home. 

My best leading moments have been outside. From high ropes courses with staff, rock climbing with adolescents, and first-time snowshoe adventures with 6 year olds. We are privileged to live in a place with such easy access to all of nature's gifts and yet the number of children whose first experience with the wild of a hiking trail or the unknown of the underbrush continues to amaze me. 

"Are there bears?!" 

"What if a bug jumps on me?!" 

"My feet hurt!"

"I'm bored."

"I can't."

Our growing disconnection from nature is frightening and we must initiate every opportunity to be outside in appreciation of our natural world. Learning to care for nature cannot be in isolation from being with nature. 

This Earth Day, in addition to teaching about the 3Rs of Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle, Let's also intentionally create opportunities for our students to interact with the Earth. To see its beauty and feel its gifts. Let's build background, initiate inquiry, and model appreciation for our Mother Earth to assure the Why behind our stewardship is rooted in connection with, and a reliance on, our natural resources.