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Full-Text Articles in Outdoor Education
The Healing Power Of Nature, Denise Mitten
The Healing Power Of Nature, Denise Mitten
Taproot: A Journal of Outdoor Education
Outdoor education practitioners share the wonders of the outdoors and help participants receive the health benefits of being in nature. However, in our technology and activity centered culture the intrinsic value of being in nature has been overlooked and undervalued. As people spend less and less time outside and more people become obese and develop diabetes, spending time in nature and having healthy natural areas available to them is more important than ever. Many disciplines have growing bodies of research demonstrating the developmental and health benefits of spending time in nature and having natural areas close to living areas. In …
Contents, Coalition For Education In The Outdoors
Contents, Coalition For Education In The Outdoors
Taproot: A Journal of Outdoor Education
The Coalition for Education in the Outdoors is a non-profit network of outdoor and environmental education centers, nature centers, conservation and recreation organizations, outdoor education and experiential education associations, institutions of higher learning, public and private schools, fish and wildlife agencies, and businesses that share a mission the support and furtherance of outdoor education and its goals.
From The Editor, Charles Yaple
From The Editor, Charles Yaple
Taproot: A Journal of Outdoor Education
There are many who believe Wendell Berry is the best living thinker in America. Author of more than thirty books of poetry, essays and novels, this Kentucky farmer has long advocated slowing down and living close to the land. One of his insights tells us “When going back makes sense, you are going ahead.” Motivated, in part, by Berry’s wisdom we have dedicated this issue of Taproot to the theme of “Getting Back to Basics.” Those familiar with Berry’s work will recognize his influence in our selection of articles. Those new to Berry’s writing may find his advice, Word and …
Good Morning World, This Is Your Wake-Up Call, Michael Shapiro
Good Morning World, This Is Your Wake-Up Call, Michael Shapiro
Taproot: A Journal of Outdoor Education
Peter Russell, a Cambridge-trained physicist and futurist who has written about consciousness for four decades, should have been at a high point in his life. Fifteen years ago, Russell’s book, The White Hole in Time, had just been published; he was a popular teacher and corporate consultant, his work lauded by leading thinkers.
Spotlight On Sustainability: E4s, Michael A Anderson
Spotlight On Sustainability: E4s, Michael A Anderson
Taproot: A Journal of Outdoor Education
Let’s talk trash for a minute. Are you aware of the monthly cost for the disposal of your household waste? Well, take that amount and multiply it a hundred-fold for a small business… Now imagine learning that as a business leader you could save a large percentage of the money you spend on waste disposal and possibly even make money selling it. As the saying goes, “one person’s trash is another person’s treasure”. To illustrate a variation of this concept scientifically the organization, Entrepreneurs for Sustainability (E4S), uses the term industrial ecology. In nature there is no concept of waste; …
Review Of Eco Barons, Charles Yaple
Review Of Eco Barons, Charles Yaple
Taproot: A Journal of Outdoor Education
Are you dutifully, but with a degree of tiredness, still reading about the seemingly endless woes of environmental degradation? If so, get a copy of Edward Humes’ Eco Barons… and experience a true tale about people making significant contributions to the health of the planet. Eco Barons…will acquaint you with individuals possessing the intellectual and financial wherewithal to challenge the unsustainable ways of living to which we have become accustomed. Their identities and stories may surprise you.
Review Of Teaching The Trees, Charles Yaple
Review Of Teaching The Trees, Charles Yaple
Taproot: A Journal of Outdoor Education
Wallace Stegner is credited with authoring the statement, “Trees are the geography of hope.” Joan Maloof appears to have taken Stegner’s words to heart and testifies as to their validity in a delightful collection of essays about local trees in Maryland – Oaks, Beech, Pine, Red Maple, Black Locust, Cherry, Walnut and others. Teaching the trees… beautifully combines science, philosophy, and spirituality to make the case for preserving treed landscapes at all costs. Thoreau, Leopold and others who wrote about the importance of trees would give Maloof a standing ovation.
Review Of Flow: For Love Of Water, James B. Macadam
Review Of Flow: For Love Of Water, James B. Macadam
Taproot: A Journal of Outdoor Education
In the community where I live - Tucson, Arizona - about a third of our drinking water supply is pumped 300 miles uphill from the Colorado River, by a system of canals and pumps that consume 400,000 homes’ worth of energy every year. The rest is pumped out of local underground aquifers faster than they can be replenished. To say the least, water’s a hot topic around here. So when our nonprofit showed Flow - director Irena Salina’s 2008 documentary on the world water crisis - at the local independent theater, we expected that folks would be interested. When we …
News Briefs, Coalition For Education In The Outdoors
News Briefs, Coalition For Education In The Outdoors
Taproot: A Journal of Outdoor Education
This section contains multiple brief news items related to conservation, environment or outdoor education. Some items included: New York City Says “Turn ‘Em Off or Pay Up!” and "California Sets First Low Carbon Fuel Standard in U.S."
Professional Opportunities, Coalition For Education In The Outdoors
Professional Opportunities, Coalition For Education In The Outdoors
Taproot: A Journal of Outdoor Education
This section included numerous opportunities for professional development related to outdoor education and environmental or conservation education. Some of the options included the "ATRA [American Therapeutic Recreation Association] Annual Conference" and the "Wilderness Risk Management Conference".
Resources, Coalition For Education In The Outdoors
Resources, Coalition For Education In The Outdoors
Taproot: A Journal of Outdoor Education
This section contains a listing of teaching resources of all types for those who work in the outdoor education field at the time of publication. Some items highlighted include: "EcoIQ.com" and "HP Limited Edition “Green IT for Dummies” Guide".
Silence Like Scouring Sand, Kathleen Dean Moore
Silence Like Scouring Sand, Kathleen Dean Moore
Taproot: A Journal of Outdoor Education
It’s not easy to find silence in the modern world. If a quiet place is one where you can listen for fifteen minutes in daylight hours without hearing a human-created sound, there are no quiet places left in Europe. There are none east of the Mississippi River. And in the American West? Maybe twelve. One of these is in the temperate rainforest along the Hoh River in Olympic National Park.
Conference Calendar, Coalition For Education In The Outdoors
Conference Calendar, Coalition For Education In The Outdoors
Taproot: A Journal of Outdoor Education
This section provides a list of conferences in the field of outdoor education including: OSEE (Ontario Society for Environmental Education) and "Wilderness Inquiry".
Too Big To Fail, Wayne Stormann
Too Big To Fail, Wayne Stormann
Taproot: A Journal of Outdoor Education
On Monday, April 27, 2009, seven Greenpeace activists were arrested for scaling a construction crane and unfurling a gigantic banner with a picture of Earth accompanied by the caption – “Too Big to Fail.” The Greenpeace activists were calling attention to the fact that it is Planet Earth, not the large financial institutions which were bailed out, ostensibly, as “too big to fail,” that should warrant our concern.
Review Of Farming And The Fate Of Wild Nature, Michael A. Anderson
Review Of Farming And The Fate Of Wild Nature, Michael A. Anderson
Taproot: A Journal of Outdoor Education
Farming and the Fate of Wild Nature explores social, political, agrarian and ecological issues surrounding two movements that both attract passionate followers: small-scale agriculture and environmental conservation. Both have long been notable grassroots movements. Yet in their attempts to be heard, they often unwittingly oppose each other in addition to their shared detractor, corporate exploitation - whose momentum continues to consume resources at an unsustainable rate. In this collection of over 20 essays by leading thinkers and practitioners in ecological and agrarian competencies, one thing is clear: these two movements must not only work together for efficiency’s sake, but because …
Getting Back To Basics, Wendell Berry
Getting Back To Basics, Wendell Berry
Taproot: A Journal of Outdoor Education
Editor's Note: This excerpt was taken from "Word and Flesh: Graduation Commencement Address - Special Issue: Environmental Restoration" by Wendell Berry, Whole Earth Review, Spring 1990.
Practitioner's Corner, Joseph Cornell
Practitioner's Corner, Joseph Cornell
Taproot: A Journal of Outdoor Education
This issue of Taproot's Practitioner's Corner focuses on an activity from Sharing Nature with Children II, 1989 by Joseph Cornell. The activity is called "Sound Map" and it focuses on Auditory Awareness and calmness.
Review Of Wall-E, Michael A Anderson
Review Of Wall-E, Michael A Anderson
Taproot: A Journal of Outdoor Education
This holiday season, I took in the computer-animated, science-fiction, romance film, WALL-E, on an early nineties 27" home television with DVD player. Both of which still work "just fine" and therefore have yet to be replaced by their owners - meaning no large panoramic flat screen, no high definition and no surround sound...And therefore my viewing experience for reviewing WALL-E may not have allowed me to experience the full effects of the Pixar Company's advanced animation and sound design. Interestingly enough, this very assumption was evident during the opening aerial scenes of the film when a fellow viewer commented on …
Stop, Look, Listen, Bill Donahue
Stop, Look, Listen, Bill Donahue
Taproot: A Journal of Outdoor Education
Since then the sounds of our continent's wilds have been increasingly drowned out by aircraft and traffic. Meanwhile, the sound level at movie theaters has been rising along with speaker quality and power. The standard theater decibel level is now between 70 and 90, and some action films roar at 120--jackhammer volume known to cause hearing loss. Car and home audio systems are likewise louder and the popularity of iPods and personal stereos is troubling. Some can play at 120 decibels for 20 hours without a recharge. More than 30 million Americans now suffer from irreversible hearing loss, and experts …
Contents, Coalition For Education In The Outdoors
Contents, Coalition For Education In The Outdoors
Taproot: A Journal of Outdoor Education
The Coalition for Education in the Outdoors is a non-profit network of outdoor and environmental education centers, nature centers, conservation and recreation organizations, outdoor education and experiential education associations, institutions of higher learning, public and private schools, fish and wildlife agencies, and businesses that share a mission the support and furtherance of outdoor education and its goals.
2am - Remembering, Michael A Anderson
2am - Remembering, Michael A Anderson
Taproot: A Journal of Outdoor Education
Editors note: The following spoken word, referred to in the previous feature story, was inspired during an extended river trip through the Colorado Plateau along the Green and Colorado Rivers.
News Briefs, Coalition For Education In The Outdoors
News Briefs, Coalition For Education In The Outdoors
Taproot: A Journal of Outdoor Education
This section contains multiple brief news items related to conservation, environment or outdoor education. Some items include: "Another Reason to get Outside: Stave off Seasonal Depression" and "Outdoor Recreation is a Popular Cure for Stress".
Resources, Coalition For Education In The Outdoors
Resources, Coalition For Education In The Outdoors
Taproot: A Journal of Outdoor Education
This section contains a listing of teaching resources of all types for those who work in the outdoor education field at the time of publication. Some items highlighted include: "An Introduction to Acoustic Ecology" and "The Nature Sounds Society".
Review Of Nature First, Michael A Anderson
Review Of Nature First, Michael A Anderson
Taproot: A Journal of Outdoor Education
Nature First is a collection of essays edited by Bob Henderson and Nils Vikander. In it the evolving relationship between humans and nature in modern industrialized society is explored through the lens of the Norwegian traditions of friluftsliv. Frilufts-what, you may say if like me you're seeing the word for the first time. Fri-lufts-liv. In drawing attention to this most intriguing word, which translates literally to "free air life" or "nature free life", the editors introduce the reader to the deep and complex roots of Norway's cultural relationship with nature. A relationship whose sense of place has a history pre-dating …
Conference Calendar, Coalition For Education In The Outdoors
Conference Calendar, Coalition For Education In The Outdoors
Taproot: A Journal of Outdoor Education
This section provides a list of conferences in the field of outdoor education including NOLS (National Outdoor Leadership School) and EECOM (Canadian Network for Environmental Education).
You Belong Outside, Bruce Matthews
You Belong Outside, Bruce Matthews
Taproot: A Journal of Outdoor Education
"You Belong Outside" is a poem by Bruce Matthews about how natural and free it is to be outside.
Children And Nature Forum Update, Coalition For Education In The Outdoors
Children And Nature Forum Update, Coalition For Education In The Outdoors
Taproot: A Journal of Outdoor Education
The fifty-four member Forum is dedicated to reconnecting kids with nature. By doing so, the Forum seeks to improve children's health and overall well-being, while encouraging them to rediscover America's landscape. The Forum believes that children's disconnect from nature, if left unchecked, shortchanges their health and happiness now-- and creates a future generation of adults that is less healthy, productive and able to value and protect our country's natural resources.
Revisited And Remembered, Michael A Anderson
Revisited And Remembered, Michael A Anderson
Taproot: A Journal of Outdoor Education
Six autumns ago, I was fortunate to take an extended river trip to the tune of thirty days. I say fortunate because in this age of "time is money" a month-long personal trip free of outside responsibilities is indeed a luxury. Especially considering the trip itself was a month long, not including the logistical days necessary before and after such an extended outing. If only we could all be so lucky, right? Well, before critiques of wilderness elitism chime in let me assuage your thoughts, for this trip was not funded by outside means - no sponsors, no trust funds. …
Review Of Cache Lake Country, Charles Yaple
Review Of Cache Lake Country, Charles Yaple
Taproot: A Journal of Outdoor Education
Those who read Cache Lake Country will quickly understand why it was selected for a 1999 National Outdoor Book Award in the classic category. It is the story of John Rowlands who lived in the wilds of northern Ontario during the early part of the 20th century. A man of many talents, Rowland worked as a miner, prospector, surveyor and timber cruiser as a young person. He was also a journalist and public relations officer at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Review Of One Man's Wilderness, Charles Yaple
Review Of One Man's Wilderness, Charles Yaple
Taproot: A Journal of Outdoor Education
Sam Keith's account (One Man's Wilderness) is the story of Richard Proenneke's stay in the Alaskan wilderness during the late 1960s. Like John Rowland's (Cache Lake Country) it too earned a National Book Award in 1999. Also like Rowland's, Proenneke had dreamed since boyhood of living in the wilderness. Proenneke's time to do so came in 1968 when he hired a bush pilot to fly him into the Twin Lakes area near Port Alsworth, Alaska. There he built a small log cabin and established a homestead that would host him for 16 months and periodically over …