Entry # 3: Reflection on "Gifts of Nature" by Richard Louv

"The Gifts of Nature" was a reading that truly spoke to me because I, like Richard Louv, find nature calming, focusing, and exciting. As I have previously mentioned in my journal, when given the time, I truly enjoy being outdoors and exploring different environments. I find peace and tranquility simply by sitting by a nice lake or beach, reading a book. I find great excitement by traveling and seeing the biodiversities in different habitats.

Thus, with my passion for nature, the relationship discussed in Louv's article that children today have with nature, saddens me. In this article, Louv illustrated the various possibilities responsible for the nature of the relationship that modern day children have with the outdoor environment.

Louv believes that today's children are spending too much time indoors, which in my opinion, is undoubtedly accurate. Some of the reasons for this are obvious; such as the lack of time and TV (and the increasing human dependence on technology). But there is also a hidden truth that Louv brings to life-that is (directly quoted from "Gifts of Nature"); "parents, educators, other adults, institutions-culture itself-may say one thing to children about nature's gifts, but so many of our actions and messages-especially that ones we cannot hear ourselves deliver-are different".

I believe Louv is correct in his arguments. Children are in fact spending far too much time indoors, disconnected from nature. I truly think that this phenomenon will have a detrimental effect on society as a whole in the long run; not only in the overall health of the population (as it is clear that today's children are not physically fit), but in our education system, and the way humanity will treat the environment. It is our responsibility, we must do something to change the relationship between children and nature.