The Student Scoop
A study conducted by the Environmental Health Center found that in 1998, the average American spent more than 90% of her/his time indoors. In his wonderful book, Last Child in the Woods, Author Richard Louv writes that most children preferred to play inside their home. “Most children aren’t playing outside anymore, not in the woods or fields or canyons. A fifth-grader in San Diego described his world succinctly: ‘I like to play indoors better ‘cause that’s where all the electrical outlets are’” (p. 54). The lack of time spent outdoors creates a separation or loss
of connection between individuals and the non human-dominated environment.
With more and more children living in urban areas and environmental issues often being introduced as gloomy and hopeless, attitudes toward the non human-dominated environment can be negative or fearful. This is only intensified if individuals have never had a positive encounter or introduction to it. These attitudes are often formed in childhood.
Compounding this, studies have shown that emphasizing environmental anxiety— the gloom and doom approach— too early ends up distancing children further from nature, causing them to further disconnect emotionally and adopt an overwhelmingly cynical attitude. In 2006, Richard Louv interviewed students about their views on environmental issues and found that many have very bleak views of the future, typified by remarks such as, “When I think about the destruction of the environment, it’s too painful, so I don’t think about it”.
In 2003, an education researcher Louise Chawla investigated the childhoods of now adult environmentalists and found a striking pattern among all she interviewed; they all had opportunities in the non human-dominated environment with a role model who taught them respect for nature. By establishing deeply-rooted and celebrated relationships among individuals and the environment, these individuals may find more of a purpose and sense of urgency to work for and promote a positive change.
