“Nature deficit disorder” and its effects on children

by Margie James, Volunteer, and Chris Orsinger, Executive Director – Friends of Buford Park & Mt. Pisgah

“Nature Deficit Disorder” is a term coined by Richard Louv, author of Last Child in the Woods, that describes the increasingly common tendency for children to have little contact with the natural world.  “The human costs of alienation from nature,” asserts Louv, includes “diminished use of the senses, attention difficulties and higher rates of physical and emotional illnesses.”

To invite reflection on the trend of youth playing on computers instead of in nature, Martin LeBlanc will gave the keynote address entitled “Leave No Child Inside” at Friends of Buford Park & Mt. Pisgah’s 17th annual Fall Celebration in Nov. 2008.

Two days later, families and children were invited to “Play in the Rain Day,” a fun, rain or shine outdoor event at the Mt. Pisgah Arboretum.  These free events resulted from a collaborative partnership initiated by Friends of Buford Park & Mt. Pisgah with Northwest Youth Corps, Bureau of Land Management, U. S. Forest Service, Willamette Resources & Educational Network, and Mt. Pisgah Arboretum.