This issue of Earth Letter focuses on children and nature.There was a time in America’s past when most children played outside. There were nearby fields, streams, and forests to be explored. There were birds and wild animals to be seen, “forts” to be built, adventures to be had!
Now with increasing urbanization and mushrooming of crowded suburbs, children’s exposure to natural habitats is much more limited. There are also increasing distractions from playing outside – television, electronic games, mountains of toys, structured children’s activity groups and daycare centers. In addition we seem to be building more crowded subdivisions, with small lots, few trees, and no open spaces. This leads to what Richard Louv has called “nature deficit disorder” – a lack of un-programmed exposure to a fuller spectrum of God’s Creation (see his article on page one.) Erica Gies adds to our understanding of the problem in her article, “Playing It Smart.” Susan Mattison completes our exploration of this issue with her thoughtful article “Nurture Nature in Our Children.”
Moving to another issue, Joan Chittister brings our attention to a movement coming in November, the Charter for Compassion, see charterforcompassion.com. This is an interfaith effort that sees compassion as “the glue meant to hold the world together
Inside this issue:
- Leave No Child Inside by Richard Louv
- Two Ways to Support Earth Ministry
- Nurture Nature in Our Children by Susan Mattison
- Playing it Smart by Erica Gies
- The Glue Holding the World Together by Joan Chittister, OSB
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