Outdoor Education Commons^™

Young Children's Relationship With Nature, Randy White

Taproot: A Journal of Outdoor Education

Almost 150 years ago, nineteenth century psychologist Herbert Spencer published his book, Principals of Psychology, in which he espoused the "surplus energy theory," explaining that the main reason for children's play is to get rid of surplus energy. Although researchers and developmental theorists have rejected his theory, it has had an unfortunate and lasting influence on the design of children's outdoor play environments (Malone, 2003). As a result of Spencer's theory, playgrounds are seen as areas for physical play during recess, where children 'burn off steam,' and not for the other domains of development or for learning. In child care …

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: "Edutopia - The George Lucas &lucational Foundation" and the "Nature Deficit Disorder Survey".

From The Editor, Charles Yaple

Taproot: A Journal of Outdoor Education

"The times, they are a changin' ... " so goes the song by Bob Dylan. That line sadly describes what appears to be happening with far too many children in regard to time spent outdoors. In my childhood days a great deal of time was spent in the forests, streams, abandoned fields, swimming hole, and baseball diamond (which also hosted football, soccer, and all sorts of makeshift games). At night we played kick the can or hide and seek in between houses until way after dark and finally dragged home dog tired but physically fit. Today, one word seems to …

The City Wild, Adele Conover

Taproot: A Journal of Outdoor Education

It is an urban movement whose time has come. Although much of conservation remains focused on preserving unspoiled areas, an emerging view suggests preserving biodiversity in human habitats. With urban areas having become home to more people than rural areas, many scientists now argue that preserving human habitats is as essential to sustaining biodiversity as preserving the last great forests, grasslands and savannas.

From The Editor, Charles Yaple

Taproot: A Journal of Outdoor Education

These thoughts, and examination of Richard Louv’s Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children from Nature Deficit Disorder, have caused your Taproot editors to wonder how children in urban areas ever experience wild places. Are children in urban areas a forgotten population that rarely benefit from experiencing wild places? In pursuit of insights related to our question, this issue of Taproot leads off with an article by University of Cincinnati educators Linda Plevyak and Amy Mayfield. Like us, Plevyak and Mayfield are concerned that urban children do not get enough time to play and learn outdoors. Their solution – …

Review Of Hands-On Nature: Information And Activities For Exploring The Environment With Children, Laura Carey

Taproot: A Journal of Outdoor Education

In reviewing the second edition of this excellent resource, I was first struck by the finely detailed, crisp drawings that amply illustrate each activity. I found myself leafing through the whole book just to see the illustrator’s treatment of twigs, caterpillars, seed dispersal and rotting logs, among many other topics. I couldn’t resist comparing it with the first edition, which came out in 1986. I was pleased to see that the original format and sections (adaptations, habitats, cycles, and designs of nature) were maintained with the addition of a new section of more than 50 pages on earth and sky, …

Review Of The End Of Suburbia, Josh Bochniak

Taproot: A Journal of Outdoor Education

What was once, and perhaps is currently, considered the rising star of the American life may be its ultimate undoing. The automobile suburb rose at the end of World War II and continues to ride a wave that seems nowhere near cresting. A pointed documentary film, The End of Suburbia looks at the automobile suburb as the heart of the American dependence on foreign oil and as a prediction of its downfall at the hands of rising oil prices and decreasing supply.

Water Within Their World, Linda H. Plevyak And Amy Mayfield

Taproot: A Journal of Outdoor Education

With the fast pace of life today, many children do not have time to play outside and explore their neighborhoods. When outside, urban children often gravitate to the playground or basketball court not paying attention to the natural environment around them.

This fast pace of life doesn’t stop at the classroom door. Classroom teachers feel more pressure everyday to teach an increasing number of standards adopted by local districts. An unfortunate result of this is that science is too often the last content area to be fit into a busy week’s schedule. This means that more than ever we need …

Contemplating Outdoor Adventure Education Research In Singapore, Michael Gassner

Taproot: A Journal of Outdoor Education

For a long time the field of outdoor adventure education has been investigating the effects of its programs in various domains. A large number of studies have been done in countries that are considered the Western world (i.e. Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, and Europe). Most of the studies, with the exception of a few, however, have investigated the effects of programs during or shortly after a course has finished. There have also been a few recent studies looking into what makes programs work to achieve certain outcomes. There have been very few studies in …

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 "Vacation on the Farm" and "Trash Tour".

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 "Widening Horizons: Diversity in Theoretical and Critical Views of Outdoor Education" and "4th International Adventure Therapy Conference".

Wilderness And Spirituality, Harvey Locke

Taproot: A Journal of Outdoor Education

On November 19, 1998, Harvey Locke spoke to those in attendance at the 35th Anniversary Dinner for the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society. His keynote speech, reprinted below with his permission, addressed the need to reach a spiritual understanding of wilderness in the midst of the current environmental crisis. Seven years later, his words are pertinent to the present conversation on nature-deficit disorder.

An Interview With Richard Louv, Michael F. Shaughnessy

Taproot: A Journal of Outdoor Education

Richard Louv has written a beautifully provocative book entitled Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children from Nature-Deficit Disorder. Richard Louv believes that nature is an integral part of growing up, and that children need to be exposed to nature, the wilderness, trees, grass, the sky, and the beauty of the earth, forests, mountains, lakes, rivers and streams. In this interview, he discusses his book and his concerns.

Review Of Last Child In The Woods, Charles Yaple

Taproot: A Journal of Outdoor Education

Louv defines nature-deficit disorder (NDD) as “an alienation from nature” that results in “diminished uses of the senses, attention difficulties, and higher rates of physical and emotional illnesses.” In Last Child in the Woods, he demonstrates how it can be observed in individuals, families, and communities. He cites numerous studies that show “a relationship between the absence, or inaccessibility, of parks and open spaces with high crime rates, depression” and other maladies.

Thoreau’S Legacy Revisited, Charles Yaple

Taproot: A Journal of Outdoor Education

It appears we humans are slow to learn some lessons. Recent, and greatly deserved, attention given to Richard Louv’s new book, Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children from Nature- Deficit Disorder (see book review, p. 19) prompts one to recall prophetic words penned by Henry David Thoreau more than 140 years ago. He had much to say concerning what happens when a culture divorces itself from nature. The summer, 1995 issue of Taproot featured an article, Thoreau’s Legacy, that examined the 19th century philosopher’s thoughts regarding healthy human relationship with the natural world. That article is presented here …

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 time of publication. Some items highlighted include: the "National Registry of Children’s Gardens" and "The Kids’ Guide to Nature Adventures: 80 Great Activities for Exploring 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 AORE (Association of Outdoor Recreation and Education) and AEOE (Association for Environmental and Outdoor Education of California).

Review Of Children And Nature, Josh Bochniak

Taproot: A Journal of Outdoor Education

There is no lack of resources, activities, books, or articles about children and nature. In fact, the amount of information available is overwhelming, Advocates for the importance of nature to children continue to declare the emotional, physical, intellectual, and moral developmental benefits of nature for children, but as Kahn and Kellert propose, “our scientific knowledge of the impact and significance of nature during varying stages of childhood is remarkably sparse.” In that statement lies the major thrust of this edition, Children and Nature. In twelve chapters by a variety of authors from a number of different fields of study, Kahn …

Review Of Noah’S Children, Josh Bochniak

Taproot: A Journal of Outdoor Education

Sara Stein, in a narrative that elicits emotions as divergent as anger and laughter, approaches the broad idea of what is missing in today’s childhood, and what she perceives is needed for its restoration. Approaching topics such as evolutionary and cultural heritage, natural interaction, and developmental struggles, she places many contemporary social norms in sharp contrast against their historical predecessors.

Practitioner's Corner: How To Be Alone, Joshua Bochniak

Taproot: A Journal of Outdoor Education

The idea of solitude is no stranger to outdoor enthusiasts. Its virtues have been heralded for millennia. Clerics, monks, priests, and laity from numerous religions and cultural traditions have found value in solitude since the beginnings of recorded history. Modern Transcendentalists, most notably Thoreau and Emerson, praised solitude as a means to escape the swelling tide of civilization. Granted, most conscientious proponents of solitude also warn of its excess, but overwhelmingly, the idea of solitude is historically one that pulls at the inner yearnings of the human heart. How is it then that an afternoon’s observation on a university campus …

Review Of The Sandbox, Charles Yaple

Taproot: A Journal of Outdoor Education

The Sandbox is an animated video for children designed to get them thinking about environmental ethics and personal values. It was reviewed during the summer of 2005 by graduate students in Charles Yaple’s Environmental and Outdoor Education course at State University of New York, College at Cortland.

Review Of Good Riddance, Air Pollution, Josh Bochniak

Taproot: A Journal of Outdoor Education

GOOD RIDDANCE is a new animated series directed by Nick Hilligoss and produced by the Natural History Unit, Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Eco, the “clean, green pest controller with a biological solution to every problem” works through a series of problems from rats and snails to air pollution using environmentally friendly means. This five minute short, “The Eco Van Comes Clean” really begins when Eco’s van and a VW Beetle stuck on the tracks get an untimely redesign by a passing train. He decides to put the front half of the Beetle together with the rear of his van, creating, to …

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.

Keepers Of The Earth, Jeannette Armstrong

Taproot: A Journal of Outdoor Education

I have always felt that my Okanagan view is perhaps closer in experience to that of an eyewitness and refugee surrounded by holocaust. I draw on this experience of witness to frame my own comments on a social crisis that has been interpreted in various fields of study as critical. As a Native American, I have felt that crisis as a personal struggle against an utterly pervasive phenomenon. My conflict has been to unremittingly resist its entrapment, while knowing that it affects every breath I draw. Through the lens of that perspective, I view the disorder that is displayed in …

Review Of Beyond Ecophobia, Beth Bojarski

Taproot: A Journal of Outdoor Education

Nature loving and back yard exploration could easily be chalked up to the responsibility of parents (alongside respect, tolerance and sharing) while classrooms examine the lifecycle of a butterfly or the names of rainforest birds. However, the truth is that teachers and parents alike have the extraordinary opportunity to share with children just how intricate and incredible Mother Earth is ... before overwhelming them with the perils of our environmental crisis.

Astronomy For Your Whole Family, Larry Klaes

Taproot: A Journal of Outdoor Education

Astronomy for Your Whole Family, Part I (found in the last issue of Taproot) concluded with a discussion of two of the most well-known star patterns as seen from Earth's northern hemisphere: the Big and Little Dippers. Not only are they among the most recognized collections of stars in our night sky, they also serve the important function of marking the direction of true north from the heavens.

Review Of Places Of Power, Jennifer Bradley

Taproot: A Journal of Outdoor Education

It is not unusual to find children's books about nature, nor even about the responsibility people have towards the natural world; however, to find a picture book that convincingly explores this from the place of mutual communion and spiritual connection is indeed rare. In Places of Power, author Michael DeMunn draws from his Native American heritage to share his belief that within the natural world there are places of power that connect to places deep within each of us, places that are powerful because they are where the Creator speaks to us in a way that only we can understand.

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: "Project NatureConnect" and "Reconnecting with Nature: Finding wellness through restoring your bond with the Earth" By Michael Cohen.

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 "Global Change Institute" and the "Society for Human Ecology".

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 the Council of Outdoor Educators of Ontario and NIRI (National Institute of Recreation Inclusion).