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Thursday, August 30, 2012

Suffering Nature-Deficit Disorder? Try A Dose of Alaskan Mountains and Clouds

Never heard of Nature-Deficit Disorder?* I hadn't either until this morning, but I have known that being out in the woods, even in the mini-woods of our back yard, makes me feel better.
Saturday going to Hope was sunny and I stopped a couple of times to be near natural water.  Sunday, coming back, when it was cloudy, I had more time to stop here and there and walk around in natural settings, places where the human impact was almost invisible.  (Though the sound of traffic sometimes invaded those spaces since I wasn't far off the road.)

So I'll post some pictures of those moments over the next few days so you can take a break.  And maybe find some local natural spot.  The coolth of the air, the fresh smell of rain, the sounds of water and wind, are all more than pictures can convey.


And then I learned today:

*Richard Louv, the award-winning author of Last Child in the Woods, will be at the Wendy Williamson Auditorium on September 6th at 7:00 pm. He will talk about his recent book, the Nature Principle, Human Restoration and the End of Nature-Deficit Disorder, as well as the research from his earlier work on the connection between youth and nature.  More info at Chugach Children's Forest.
FAIRBANKS folks - you get him the day before, Wednesday, Sept. 5. More here.

Both events are billed as FREE.  (Someone's paying, but you won't have to pay at the door.  But you might consider donating to the organizations that are sponsoring Mr. Louv.)

Now go outside and stick your finger or toes in the water, smell the tree bark, taste an herb or berry or something else growing wild. 
 
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4 comments:

  1. Jakob Dugan-BrauseThursday, August 30, 2012 at 7:23:00 PM AKDT

    We were in the Sierra Nevada mountains and around smaller lakes of the larger, more well-known Tahoe today. While I may enjoy living in England, I love the American wilds. Yes, I do believe there is nature-deficit disorder.

    So good to recharge.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Jakob Dugan-BrauseThursday, August 30, 2012 at 7:25:00 PM AKDT

    Steve, it took me SIX TRIES to decipher the 'bot protection words this time! SIX!!!!!!!!! This is a bit too much.

    ReplyDelete
  3. MThursday, August 30, 2012 at 9:15:00 PM AKDT

    Wallace J. Nichols is researching the same thing -- but he is looking into Ocean-Deficiency Disorder:
    http://www.huffingtonpost.com/wallace-j-nichols/light-motion-mind-and-oce_b_919568.html

    ReplyDelete
  4. SteveThursday, August 30, 2012 at 11:21:00 PM AKDT

    Jacob - sorry about the captcha problems. But enough spam gets through with it, that I'm not ready to remove that obstacle. Are you coming this way?

    M, the ocean is important in my life as you know, but I wonder if other natural bodies of water serve the same purpose. After all, so many people have never seen the ocean. Large rivers at flood time have the same sort of power, just in different form.

    ReplyDelete

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