We are telling our kids that nature is in the past and it probably doesn't count anymore, the future is in electronics, the boogeyman is in the woods, and playing outdoors is probably illicit and possibly illegal.
Richard LouvRead
Time in nature is not leisure time; it's an essential investment in our chidlren's health (and also, by the way, in our own).
Interpretation
What this quote means
Spending time in nature is crucial for both children's health and our own well-being.
Richard Louv highlights the importance of engaging with nature, suggesting that it is not merely a pastime but a vital part of nurturing children's physical and mental health, as well as our own. This statement encourages a reevaluation of how we allocate our time, pointing out that time spent outdoors is a necessary investment that yields long-term benefits for individuals and society.
Themes
NatureHealthChildrenInvestmentWell-Being
In practice
Example use cases
During a community health seminar focused on child development and wellness.
More from Richard Louv
All quotes βNow, more than ever, we need nature as a balancing agent.
Richard LouvRead
The future will belong to the nature-smart...Th e more high-tech we become, the more nature we need.
Richard LouvRead
We have such a brief opportunity to pass on to our children our love for this Earth, and to tell our stories. These are the moments when the world is made whole. In my children's memories, the adventures we've had together in nature will always exist.
Richard LouvRead
Nature-deficit disorder describes the human costs of alienation from nature, among them: diminished use of the senses, attention difficulties, and higher rates of physical and emotional illnesses. The disorder can be detected in individuals, families, and communities.
Richard LouvRead
A lot of people think they need to give up nature to become adults but that's not true. However, you have to be careful how you describe and define 'nature.'
Richard LouvRead
Similar quotes
After the keen still days of September, the October sun filled the world with mellow warmth...The maple tree in front of the doorstep burned like a gigantic red torch. The oaks along the roadway glowed yellow and bronze. The fields stretched like a carpet of jewels, emerald and topaz and garnet. Everywhere she walked the color shouted and sang around her...In October any wonderful unexpected thing might be possible.
Elizabeth George SpeareRead
Wilderness is not a luxury but a necessity of the human spirit, and as vital to our lives as water and good bread. A civilization which destroys what little remains of the wild, the spare, the original, is cutting itself off from its origins and betraying the principle of civilization itself.
Edward AbbeyRead
The most irrevocable of [natures] laws says that a species cannot occupy a niche that appropriates all resources--there has to be some sharing. Any species that ignores this law winds up destroying its community to support its own expansion.
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Next time a sunrise steals your breath or a meadow of flowers leave you speechless, remain that way. Say nothing, and listen as Heaven whispers, "Do you like it? I did it just for you."
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Birding, after all, is just a game. Going beyond that is what is important.
Roger Tory PetersonRead
[Walking] is the perfect way of moving if you want to see into the life of things. It is the one way of freedom. If you go to a place on anything but your own feet you are taken there too fast, and miss a thousand delicate joys that were waiting for you by the wayside.
Elizabeth Von ArnimRead