Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children From Nature-Deficit Disorder
“We have such a brief opportunity to pass on to our children our love for this Earth, and to tell our stories. These are the moments when the world is made whole. In my children’s memories, the adventures we’ve had together in nature will always exist.”
“”I had a place. There was a big waterfall and a creek on one side of it. I’d dug a big hole there, and sometimes I’d take a tent back there, or a blanket, and just lie down in the hole, and look up at the trees and sky. Sometimes I’d fall asleep back there. I just felt free; it was like my place, and I could do what I wanted, with nobody to stop me. I used to go down there almost every day.’
The young poet’s face flushed. Her voice thickened.
‘And then they just cut the woods down. It was like they cut down part of me.’”
Written in 2006, this book was about the declining amount of time that our children spent in nature, and the impact it was having on their wellbeing. The most powerful part are the interviews with children about their relationships with the natural world.
It’s a poignant read in the age of the smartphone.