Nature is an amazing source of inspiration.
Great people, all around the world, throughout the ages, credit Nature as the source of inspiration for their works. The name list includes Vincent van Gogh (1853–1890), a Dutch painter, generally considered one of the greatest painters in European art history; Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827), a German composer and pianist, who is arguably the defining figure in the history of Western music; Beatrix Potter (1866–1943), an English author, illustrator, natural scientist and conservationist best known for her imaginative children’s books featuring animals such as those in The Tale of Peter Rabbit which celebrated the British landscape and country life; Leonardo da Vinci (1452–1519), an Italian Renaissance polymath: painter, sculptor, architect, musician, mathematician, engineer, inventor, anatomist, geologist, cartographer, botanist, and writer; Albert Einstein (1879-1955), a German-born theoretical physicist who developed the general theory of relativity, one of the two pillars of modern physics (alongside quantum mechanics).
Whenever you encounter a problem, observe nature. It may already have provided creative solutions! Biomimicry, the creation of technology inspired by Nature, is nothing new though only recently has developed into a fully-fledged science. Stone Age man copied Nature by wearing the fur of slaughtered animals to keep warm. Leonardo da Vinci copied birds when he drew his famous sketches of flying machines 500 years ago. In Zimbabwe's capital Harare lies the Eastgate Centre – a large mixed-use building that is ventilated and cooled in a natural way, just like a termite mound out on the savannah. Researchers have developed a super-adhesive material inspired by geckoes. In recent years, swimmers have broken one record after another. This is very much the result of improved swim suits, and one of the leading manufacturers of swimwear has found inspiration for its fastest swim suit – Speedo Fastskin – by studying the skin of sharks. Do you know Velcro, the hook-and-loop fastener, which has always been an integral part of our lives? It was conceived in 1941 by George de Mestral. The idea came to him one day after a stroll in the beautiful Alps with his dog. He took a close look at the burrs (seeds) of burdock that kept sticking to his clothes and his dog's fur. The Lotus plant design was imitated to produce self-cleaning paints, fabrics, roof tiles, and other sustainable industrial products that can stay dry and clean. The bird Kingfisher diving ability has led to a redesign the Shinkansen, the fastest train in the world, traveling 200 miles per hour. That design has been reproduced in high speed trains across the world since. The result is much less noise when leaving tunnels, and the trains use 15 percent less energy overall. As one Japanese design engineer concluded, “We are surrounded by genius.”
Nature is good for children but Nature-Deficit-Disorder is on the rise.
Nature is good for children. Why do we even need to say something that seems so obvious? In the past 20 to 30 years, without most of us realizing what was happening, lifestyle changes have accumulated with powerful and pervasive detrimental effects on children. Obesity, Attention Deficit Disorder, impaired social skills and even what some, including famed naturalist Richard Louv, are calling a “culture of depression” are adding to the stress levels and severely impacting our young. Those are physical and psycho-social characteristics of the changes. And then there is more—less time outdoors, more time with electronic technology, little free and unstructured time, and even a 30% decrease in bicycle riding!
Well-intended parents drive themselves literally in circles to take their children to and from school, after school activities, sports events, dance class, clubs, church and social events. All of these activities have the potential to be of value, but things are out of balance. The result? Children have little free time. Their lives are structured, organized, and timed nearly to the minute. When they are home, and could be playing outdoors, they are often tied to electronic umbilica.
Things are out of balance.
"I like to play indoors better 'cause that's where all the electrical outlets are," reports a fourth-grader. Never before in history have children been so plugged in—and so out of touch with the natural world. Richard Louv in his book “Last Child in the Woods” thinks that at the very moment the bond is breaking between our young and the natural world. During at least the past twenty-five years, the chances for children to directly experience nature during playtime has drastically declined. The society is teaching young people to avoid direct experience in nature. People associate nature with doom – while disassociating the outdoors from joy and solitidu. As a result, children are exhibiting what he has labeled “Nature Deficit Disorder.” Although the term does not appear in any medical lexicon, Louv uses the term to describe a set of symptoms linked to our separation from nature. These include an increase in Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and childhood obesity, lack of creativity and curiosity, ignorance of local flora and fauna, loss of respect for nature and the living world, and a diminishing sense of community.
There are more and more major findings to be found in a review of the research concerning the beneficial effects of the natural environment on children’s health and well-being.
Play in nature, particularly during the critical period of middle childhood, appears to be an especially important time for developing the capacities for creativity, problem solving, and emotional and intellectual development. Nature inspires creativity in a child by demanding visualization and the full use of the senses. In nature, a child finds freedom, fantasy, and privacy: a place distant from the adult world, a separate peace.
Children are smarter, more cooperative, happier and healthier when they have frequent and varied opportunities for free and unstructured play in the outdoors.
Children need nature for the healthy development of their senses, and, therefore, for learning and creativity. Louv told “Healing the broken bond between our young and nature is in our self interest, not only because aesthetics or justice demand it, but also because our mental, physical, and spiritual health depends on it. The health of the Earth is at stake.”
So let us unplug, get off-line, go outside, play free!
Let our kids thrive in the magic of nature!
*This article is supported by nature potTRACK and materials for this article are compiled by Fifi Sutanto-Darmadi and Ellen Kristi from many sources including Richard Louv’s Last Child in the Woods. Saving Our Children from Nature-Deficit Disorder (2008), http://www.childrenandnature.org/ and http://www.neefusa.org/.
Great people, all around the world, throughout the ages, credit Nature as the source of inspiration for their works. The name list includes Vincent van Gogh (1853–1890), a Dutch painter, generally considered one of the greatest painters in European art history; Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827), a German composer and pianist, who is arguably the defining figure in the history of Western music; Beatrix Potter (1866–1943), an English author, illustrator, natural scientist and conservationist best known for her imaginative children’s books featuring animals such as those in The Tale of Peter Rabbit which celebrated the British landscape and country life; Leonardo da Vinci (1452–1519), an Italian Renaissance polymath: painter, sculptor, architect, musician, mathematician, engineer, inventor, anatomist, geologist, cartographer, botanist, and writer; Albert Einstein (1879-1955), a German-born theoretical physicist who developed the general theory of relativity, one of the two pillars of modern physics (alongside quantum mechanics).
Whenever you encounter a problem, observe nature. It may already have provided creative solutions! Biomimicry, the creation of technology inspired by Nature, is nothing new though only recently has developed into a fully-fledged science. Stone Age man copied Nature by wearing the fur of slaughtered animals to keep warm. Leonardo da Vinci copied birds when he drew his famous sketches of flying machines 500 years ago. In Zimbabwe's capital Harare lies the Eastgate Centre – a large mixed-use building that is ventilated and cooled in a natural way, just like a termite mound out on the savannah. Researchers have developed a super-adhesive material inspired by geckoes. In recent years, swimmers have broken one record after another. This is very much the result of improved swim suits, and one of the leading manufacturers of swimwear has found inspiration for its fastest swim suit – Speedo Fastskin – by studying the skin of sharks. Do you know Velcro, the hook-and-loop fastener, which has always been an integral part of our lives? It was conceived in 1941 by George de Mestral. The idea came to him one day after a stroll in the beautiful Alps with his dog. He took a close look at the burrs (seeds) of burdock that kept sticking to his clothes and his dog's fur. The Lotus plant design was imitated to produce self-cleaning paints, fabrics, roof tiles, and other sustainable industrial products that can stay dry and clean. The bird Kingfisher diving ability has led to a redesign the Shinkansen, the fastest train in the world, traveling 200 miles per hour. That design has been reproduced in high speed trains across the world since. The result is much less noise when leaving tunnels, and the trains use 15 percent less energy overall. As one Japanese design engineer concluded, “We are surrounded by genius.”
Nature is good for children but Nature-Deficit-Disorder is on the rise.
Nature is good for children. Why do we even need to say something that seems so obvious? In the past 20 to 30 years, without most of us realizing what was happening, lifestyle changes have accumulated with powerful and pervasive detrimental effects on children. Obesity, Attention Deficit Disorder, impaired social skills and even what some, including famed naturalist Richard Louv, are calling a “culture of depression” are adding to the stress levels and severely impacting our young. Those are physical and psycho-social characteristics of the changes. And then there is more—less time outdoors, more time with electronic technology, little free and unstructured time, and even a 30% decrease in bicycle riding!
Well-intended parents drive themselves literally in circles to take their children to and from school, after school activities, sports events, dance class, clubs, church and social events. All of these activities have the potential to be of value, but things are out of balance. The result? Children have little free time. Their lives are structured, organized, and timed nearly to the minute. When they are home, and could be playing outdoors, they are often tied to electronic umbilica.
Things are out of balance.
"I like to play indoors better 'cause that's where all the electrical outlets are," reports a fourth-grader. Never before in history have children been so plugged in—and so out of touch with the natural world. Richard Louv in his book “Last Child in the Woods” thinks that at the very moment the bond is breaking between our young and the natural world. During at least the past twenty-five years, the chances for children to directly experience nature during playtime has drastically declined. The society is teaching young people to avoid direct experience in nature. People associate nature with doom – while disassociating the outdoors from joy and solitidu. As a result, children are exhibiting what he has labeled “Nature Deficit Disorder.” Although the term does not appear in any medical lexicon, Louv uses the term to describe a set of symptoms linked to our separation from nature. These include an increase in Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and childhood obesity, lack of creativity and curiosity, ignorance of local flora and fauna, loss of respect for nature and the living world, and a diminishing sense of community.
There are more and more major findings to be found in a review of the research concerning the beneficial effects of the natural environment on children’s health and well-being.
Play in nature, particularly during the critical period of middle childhood, appears to be an especially important time for developing the capacities for creativity, problem solving, and emotional and intellectual development. Nature inspires creativity in a child by demanding visualization and the full use of the senses. In nature, a child finds freedom, fantasy, and privacy: a place distant from the adult world, a separate peace.
Children are smarter, more cooperative, happier and healthier when they have frequent and varied opportunities for free and unstructured play in the outdoors.
Children need nature for the healthy development of their senses, and, therefore, for learning and creativity. Louv told “Healing the broken bond between our young and nature is in our self interest, not only because aesthetics or justice demand it, but also because our mental, physical, and spiritual health depends on it. The health of the Earth is at stake.”
So let us unplug, get off-line, go outside, play free!
Let our kids thrive in the magic of nature!
*This article is supported by nature potTRACK and materials for this article are compiled by Fifi Sutanto-Darmadi and Ellen Kristi from many sources including Richard Louv’s Last Child in the Woods. Saving Our Children from Nature-Deficit Disorder (2008), http://www.childrenandnature.org/ and http://www.neefusa.org/.