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What do I know?
Trained in Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Adult Psychiatry and Pediatrics Special interest in wilderness therapy Starting a green school for kids with ADHD, behavior problems, learning disabilities, depression, anxiety and social skills problems Avid outdoor enthusiast
Nature-Deficit Disorder
Diminished use of the senses attention senses, difficulties, and higher rates of physical and emotional illness due directly to alienation y from nature Our children no longer learn how to read the great Book of Nature from their own direct tB k fN t f th i di t experience or how to interact creatively with the seasonal transformations of the planet. p They seldom learn where their water comes from or where it goes. We no longer coordinate our human celebration with the great litergy of the heavens. - Wendell Berry
Electronics
Children between 6 months and 6 years spend an average of 1.5 hours/day with electronic media Youth between the ages of 8 and 18 spend an average of 6.5 hours/day with electronic media (Kaiser Family Foundation, 2005 and 2006)
Obesity
Rates in children ha e increased have from 4% in the 60s to close to 20% in 2004 A 13 year old girl is 16 pounds heavier today than 30 years ago 60% of obese children, age 5 10, have at least one , cardiovascular disease risk factor p p JAMA reports an upward trend in high blood pressure in kids 8 - 18
Obesity
Obesity Ob it
Many health-care leaders worry that the current health care generation of children may be the first since World War II to die at an earlier age than their parents. 2007 Duke University Child and Well-Being Index: The most disturbing finding of the Index is not violence or abductions but that childrens health has abductions, sunk to its lowest point in the 30-year history of the Index, driven largely by an alarming rise in the number of children who are obese and a smaller decline in child mortality rates than achieved in recent years.
Asthma
Most common chronic disorder in childhood Affects 6 2 million kids under age 6.2 18; 1 in 10 of all school children 3rd leading cause of hospitalization among children under 15 hild d Annual direct health care cost is approx. $11.5 billion American Lung Association found that school children miss more than y y 14 million school days a year because of asthma
ADHD
AD/HD is relatively common, occurring in roughly 7% of school-age children (>2 schoolmillion affected in the USA) AD/HD is linked to poor academic performance AD/HD can have long-lasting longeffects on social development Many co-morbidities co-
ADHD
ADHD
Attention Deficit Att ti D fi it Hyperactivity Disorder (AD/HD) is characterized by severe difficulties with inattention and impulsivity. Symptoms include: restlessness, outbursts, trouble listening, difficulty following directions, and f ll i di i d problems focusing on tasks
ADHD Treatment
Combination of behavioral therapies and stimulant medications Medication can have serious side effects They help only 9 out of 10 children with ADHD y p y There is no evidence they improve long-term longsocial and academic outcomes Cost and alternatives?
Mood Disorders
Culture of d C lt f depression i Approximately 10% of adolescents (2.2 million) experienced at least one major period of depression in the past year. Nearly two-thirds of children and adolescents y suffering from depression also had another mental health disorder (anxiety, substance abuse) Children and adolescents with major depressive disorder are much more likely to commit suicide.
Arizona Desert Elementary no longer teaches science or social studies as stand-alone subjects. Resulted in the school going from failing in 2004 to making AYP and earning a high-flying performing p plus designation by the AZ dept of education g y p
Technology
Fools Gold, Silicon faith Moratorium on computer use in early childhood education 85 experts in Neurology, Psychiatry and Education, including Diane R it h i l di Di Ravitch (former US assistant secretary of Education) and Marilyn Benoit (President elect of AACAP) )
School Buildings
20% of Americans go to school everyday 14 million students attend schools considered below standard or dangerous Air is unfit to breathe in nearly 15,000 schools
School Buildings
Unfortunately, too many of Americas 55 million elementary through high school students attend schools that are unhealthy and unsound, and inhibit rather than foster learning learning. McElroy, President, American Federation of Teachers
School Buildings
Childrens health is disproportionately affected by indoor pollutants, while light and air quality affects their capacity to learn and succeed succeed. Fedrizzi, CEO, U.S. Green Building Council
Higher absenteeism g Increased respiratory ailments Low motivation Slower learning Sl l i Lower test scores Increased medical costs
Natural Lighting
Improved test scores Reduced off-task off task behaviors More daylight More fosters higher student achievement.
Educational Enrichment
Hands-on educational opportunities teach about sustainability:
On it O site renewable energy generation bl ti Water conservation features Green technologies Rep. Darlene Hooley (D-Ore): By using alternatives to toxic chemicals, pursuing green building and maintenance practices changing resource practices, consumption habits, serving nutritious food, and teaching students to be steward of their communities, we ll well help put future generations at the forefront of sustainable development.
Experiential Learning
Significant student gains in social studies, science, language arts and math Science testing scores improved 27% when students involved in outdoor science programs (American Institutes for Research, 2005) Research
Free Play y
Beneficial to learning and development Children are smarter, more cooperative, Child t ti happier and healthier Allows children t i iti t activity rather All hild to initiate ti it th than waiting for an adult to direct them Induces curiosity and th use of I d i it d the f imagination
Free Play
Enhances cognitive flexibility, problemsolving ability, self-esteem, and selfdiscipline Promotes executive functioning Improves social skills g Promotes emotional intelligence Promotes emotional well-being ( p (depression, anxiety, aggression, sleep) , y, gg , p)
Nature Exposure
John Muir - I am well again, I came to life in the cool winds and crystal waters of the mountains. Nancy Wells (environmental psychologist at Cornell U i C ll University): Th protective impact of it ) The t ti i t f nature is strongest for the most vulnerable children - those experiencing the highest levels of stressful life events.
Nature exposure
Nature experience linked to better academic performance Proximity t P i it to, views of, and daily exposure t i f d d il to natural settings is associated with childrens ability to focus and enhances cognitive abilities (Wells, 2000) Children with more nature near their home score lower on scales of behavioral conduct disorder, anxiety and depressionand rate themselves higher on self-worth
Wilderness experience
NOLS and Outward Bound - trips are therapeutic for psychological disorders, addiction, developmental and cognitive disabilities Inner city children show increased self-esteem and g p g p well-being after spending the summer in rural camps (Readdick and Shaller, 2005) Adults who participate in wilderness excursions describe an increased sense of aliveness, well an aliveness wellbeing, and energy, and make healthier lifestyle choices afterwards (Greenway, 1995)
Clearview Elementary
2002 LEED Gold building Substantial improvements in health and test scores 19% increase in Student Oral Reading Fluency scores
KGHS
21 regional schools have chosen to participate Will do improvement p j p projects involving
Water, waste, energy Health d f t H lth and safety Transportation Instructional leadership p Green spaces Indoor air quality and hazardous chemicals
Therapeutic Schools
Children with mental health issues are seen one-ata-time by pediatricians and psychiatrists Interventions such as therapy and medications are falling short Perhaps our focus is off: We are trying to return the most affected t il of population di t ib ti t the t ff t d tail f l ti distribution to th mean, rather than recognizing that the entire population needs to move toward mental well-being bringing l b i i along th di ff t d - a shift that can only the disaffected hift th t l occur by shaping the environment at large. (Jackson, 2008)
Physical Health
The Nations Health (Oct 2007): For public health workers, the effects of sedentary indoor lifestyles are already d t i d lif t l l d evident among children: startling rates of obesity, the onset of one-time adult one time conditions such as diabetes and a shortened life expectancy. Thankfully, though, the movement t reconnect kid with nature has t to t kids ith t h seen a rejuvenation in the last few years, and e pe s predict a experts p ed c that good health will be a ea major motivator in bringing families back to nature.
Mental Health
UK study (April 2007): showed benefits of green green treatment (ecotherapy) 71% of those with mental health disorders report decrease in depression or tension after taking a walk in the woods or gardening Mind (UK National Association for Mental Health), chief executive: Mi d sees ecotherapy as an hi f ti Mind th important part of the future for mental health. Its a credible, clinically-valid treatment option and needs to be b prescribed b GP especially when f many ib d by GPs, i ll h for people access to treatments other than antidepressants is extremely limited.
Therapeutic Gardens
Experiential learning through gardening and other nature connections can be therapeutic Mental health pioneer Dr. Benjamin Rush - Digging in the soil has a gg g curative effect on the mentally ill. Frumkin (CDC): Perhaps we will advise patients t t k a f d i ti t to take few d days i in the country, to spend time gardening. Psychiatry pioneer Carl Menninger horticulture therapy movement
Therapeutic Schools
University of Illinois study on ADHD and Nature (Taylor, Kuo, Sullivan; 2001) recommendations:
Encourage kids to study or play in rooms with a view of nature Encourage kids to play outdoors in green spaces, and advocate recess in green schoolyards. This may be especially helpful for renewing childrens children s concentration. Plant and care for trees and vegetation; caring for trees means caring for people people.
Learning at a critical period in development that play and movement relieves stress and enhances mood may help children sustain physical activity patterns over their lifetime. Burdette (2005)
Healthy Schools
James Sallis (Active Living Research Program for Robert Wood Johnson Foundation): Based on previous studies we can definitely say that the best studies, predictor of preschool childrens physical activity is simply being outdoors, and that an indoor, sedentary childhood is linked to mental health problems. Start with pre-schools for healthy development
What Do We Do?
The decline in childrens experience of nature will not change until a fundamental shift occurs in attitudes and practices of developers, designers, educators, political leaders, and ordinary citizens. The enormous , y challenge facing us is how to minimize and mitigate the adverse environmental impacts of the modern built environment and how to provide more positive opportunities for contact with nature among children and adults as an integral part of everyday life. - Dr. Stephen R. Kellert, Building for Life
Call to Action
Last Child in the Woods, by Richard Louv, published 2005 April 24, 2006: Louv calls for a nationwide campaign to Leave No Child Inside and a movement to reconnect children with nature Leave No Child Inside vs. No Child Left Behind
Call to Action
Concerns about long-term consequences affecting emotional well-being, physical health, health learning abilities environmental abilities, consciousness - have spawned a national movement to leave no child inside. In recent months, it has been the focus of Capitol Hill hearings, state legislative action, grassroots projects, U.S. projects a U S Forest Service initiative to get more children into the woods and a national effort to promote a green hour in each day. -Washington Post, June, 2007
Legislative Action
Outdoor Classroom initiative approved in New Mexico M i Leave No Child Inside initiative by Washington Gov. g y Christine Gregoire allocates $1.5 million/year to outdoor programs working with underserved children California has established long-term funding for outdoor education and recreation programs serving at-risk youth Nationally: New caucus in the US House of Representatives to raise awareness of and promote the benefits of green schools Nationally: No Child Left Inside Act introduced in the House and S H d Senate, d i t designed t b i environmental d to bring i t l education back to the classroom
Program Support
Parents don t act because of fear dont (stranger danger) and generational amnesia Need to support organizations and institutions that help reconnect children with nature:
Green schools Camps p Outdoor education programs Scouts Nature centers N t t
Local Government
Could help launch a Leave No Child Inside p campaign in our area Legislators can introduce bills to establish nature education partnerships among parks and schools, d i hi k d h l educators and farmers Build collaborations between the Departments of Interior, Education, Agriculture, and Health and Human Services that focus on children and nature
Education Reform
Return nature to our schools R t t t h l Encourage field trips, natural playgrounds, outdoor classrooms Support educators who are sponsoring nature clubs, nature classroom activities, and nature , , field trips Support environmental education in the classroom and experiential l l d i ti l learning outdoors i td Support existing and new nature-themed schools
Education Reform
Green the schoolyards and the K-12 curricula U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services Schoolyard Habitat program Project Learning Tree and Project WILD
Establish farms and ranches as the new schoolyards (New Mexico is looking into this already) Work f W k for reform of the No Child Left Behind f f th N L ft B hi d Act, at the national, state and local levels
Research
Interest in the relationship of nature experiences to human health, cognition, creativity and well being is growing well-being Need to conceptually expand areas of study for future research Economic studies of the regional and national impact of the nature-deficit
Measure potential health savings Improved school performance Financial impact of expanded nature recreation for children and young people
Research - Economic
Establish ways to measure the economic importance of nature
Include th I l d the positive economic impact on the iti i i t th publics mental and physical health, education, and jobs
Establish baseline measurements of the nature deficit, so that progress can be measured and reported Include annual progress measurements in new or existing reports on childrens health g p and educational status
Research
*While most research has been done on adults, a growing body of evidence suggests the positive power of nature engagement during the most vulnerable years of human development*
Case Study
The back page of the October issue of San Francisco magazine displays a vivid photograph of a small boy, eyes wide with excitement and joy leaping and running on a joy, great expanse of California beach, storm clouds and towering waves behind him. A short article explains that the boy was hyperactive, he had been kicked out of his school, school and his parents had not know what to do with him - but they observed how nature engaged and soothed him. So for years they took their t k th i son t b to beaches, f h forests, d t dunes and d rivers to let nature do its work.
Case Study
The photograph was taken in 1907. The boy was Ansel Adams Adams.
Questions
References
1) 2) Bell, A.C. Bell A C and Dyment J E Grounds for Action: Promoting Physical Dyment, J.E. Grounds Activity through School Ground Greening in Canada. 2006 Evergreen. Burdette, H.L., MD, MS; and Whitaker. R.C., MD, MPH. Resurrecting Free Play in Young Children: Looking Beyond Fitness and Fatness to Attention, Affiliation and Affect. Arch Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine. 2005; 159:46-50. California Student Assessment Project Phase Two: The Effects of j Environment-Based Education on Student Achievement. SEER: Poway, CA, 2005. Available at www.seer.org Charles, C., Louv, R., Bodner, L., and Guns, B. (2008). Children and Nature 2008: A Report on the Movement to Reconnect Children to the Natural World. Children and Nature Network. Available at: http://www.cnaturenet.org Effects of Outdoor Education Programs for Children in California. American Institutes for Research: Palo Alto CA: 2005 Available on Alto, 2005. the Sierra Club web site.
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References
6) 7) Frumkin, H, MD and Louv, R. Conserving Land; Preserving Human Health. Land Trust Alliance - Special Report in The Future of Land Conservation in America; 23-25. Jackson, R.J., MD, Jackson R J MD MPH and Tester J MD MPH Environment Tester, J., MD, MPH. Environment Shapes Health, Including Childrens Mental Health. JAACAP, 2008; 47(2), 129-31. Kats, Gregory (2006). Greening Americas Schools: Costs and Benefits. Available at: http://www.cap-e.com Kellert, Stephen R. Nature and Childhood Development. In Building for Life: Designing and Understanding the Human-Nature Connection. Washington, DC: Island Press, 2005. g , , Kuo, F.E. and Taylor, A.F. A Potential Natural Treatment for Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder: Evidence from a National Study. In American Journal of Public Health, 94(9). 2004. American Public Health Association Association.
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References
11) Lieberman, G A and Hoody L L Closing the Achievement Gap: Lieberman G.A. Hoody, L.L. Closing Using the Environment as an Integrating Context for Learning. SEER: Poway, CA, 1998. California Student Assessment Project. SEER: Poway, CA, 2000. Available at: www.seer.org 12) Louv, Richard. Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children from Louv Richard Nature-Deficit Disorder. Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill. 2005. 13) Nature Nurtures: Investigating the Potential of School Grounds. 2000 Evergreen. www.evergreen.ca 14) Taylor, A.F., Kuo, F. Is Contact with Nature Important for Healthy Child Development? State of the Evidence. In Spencer, C & Blades, M (Eds), Children and Their Environments: Learning, Using and Designing Spaces. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, g g p g , g y , 2006.
References
15) Taylor, A.F., Kuo, F., and Sullivan, W.C. (2001). Coping with ADD: The Surprising Connection to Green Play Settings. Environment and Behavior, 33(1), 54-77. Available at: http://www.lhhl.uiuc.edu 16) Taylor, A.F., Kuo, F., and Sullivan, W.C. (2001). Views of Nature and Self-Discipline: E id S lf Di i li Evidence f from I Inner Cit Child City Children. I Th J In The Journal of l f Environmental Psychology, 21. 17) Wallis, C. and Steptoe, S. How to Fix No Child Left Behind, Education Special Report Time Magazine; 169 (23) 34-41 Report. (23), 34-41. 18) Wells, N.M. At Home with Nature: Effects of Greenness on Childrens Cognitive Functioning. Environment and Behavior, 32(6), 775-795. 19) Wells, N.M. and Evans, G.W. Nearby Nature: A Buffer of Life Stress Among Rural Children. Environment and Behavior, 35(3), 311-330.
Additional Resources
Children and Nature Network Child dN t N t k www.cnaturenet.org The Sheltowee School www.sheltoweeschool.org KY Green and Healthy Schools Initiative www.greenschools.ky.gov Green Schools www.buildgreenschools.org Life Adventure Center www.lifeadventurecenter.org