Editor’s Note: Good morning. Today, local mom and outdoor education advocate Barb Haffner is her to kick off her regular Nature Journals column on OBE.

In my own experience, getting kids outside and letting them discover the natural world for themselves is a remarkably eye-opening experience. From the relationships that they develop with other children to their own relationship with the planet, the combination of childhood and nature has a way of reshaping us all.

While the movement to get children back outside has been organized and growing progressively larger in the United States for the last couple of years, Canadians have just recently begun to formalize their efforts with the establishment of the Child and Nature Alliance.

Our Big Earth is looking forward to being an active member of this fantastic collective of environmental and educational stewards for our children. Check it out.

Here’s Barb:

“Get outside and don’t come home until the street lights come on!” That’s the message I repeatedly heard in my childhood.

Knowing what I know now as a parent, I look back at that time and I don’t feel that was a loveless message. My mom knew it was a good thing to spend time out doors. But, can you imagine saying that to your kids now?!

I bet most of you wouldn’t dream of it.

In fact you’d probably feel judged like you were being a terrible parent for doing so, like this side of being a negligent.

We all know our society is changing.

We have more people living in cities than ever before, as high as 87 % in the U.S. and we are losing nature at an alarming rate as well. In a few short decades, and for a multitude of reasons, our society has evolved into being one that over-programs our children and one that has somewhat of an irrational fear that the boogie-man lurks around every corner waiting to steal our children.

Now I don’t mean to negate the fact that child abductions do take place (about 90 stranger abductions /year in Canada) but I feel we over estimate the real risk.

Due to our changing society and urbanization our children have lost the right to roam and freely experience nature. We’re so out of touch with nature that now-a-days many kids can recognize 10 major clothing company logos but they can’t identify 2 native plants in their own back yard.

For years now many parents, professionals and researchers have been gathering an arsenal of evidence about the negative impacts the lack of access to nature has meant for our kids. But the message wasn’t getting out successfully and was not getting the attention of policy makers.

Then along comes Richard Louv, an American journalist who, in 2005, published a book called Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children From Nature Deficit Disorder.

He managed to sum up what many of us have been saying for sometime but he explains this complex phenomenon in a way that people can really understand.

“Nature-deficit disorder is not an official diagnosis but a way of viewing the problem, and describes the human costs of alienation from nature, among them: diminished use of the senses, attention difficulties, and higher rates of physical and emotional illnesses. The disorder can be detected in individuals, families, and communities.”

Wow, I agree. I have seen this firsthand in my work.

I also see a growing disregard for, and fear of, nature. Researcher and education writer David Sobel talks about how our experiences as children help shape our environmental attitudes as adults. In his book Beyond Eco-phobia, Sobel quotes Louise Chawla of Kentucky State University, saying  “Most environmentalists attributed their commitment to a combination of two sources: many hours spent outdoors in a keenly remembered wild or semi-wild place in childhood or adolescence, and an adult who taught respect for nature.”

By disconnecting from nature we’re not only harming our children we’re harming our Earth as we are losing our potential environmental stewards.

Let’s get back to our own little sweet peas.

How do we help our children reconnect with nature? Easy, just slow down and take time to smell the roses, literally.

Here are a few tips to get you started:

1. Start small, with a few minutes a day and don’t rush. If you’re a parent of a wee one try and get them out every day, even if that means just sitting outside on your lawn or deck. You’d be amazed at the detail you may find if you get down on the ground and look. Gradually expand your time outside. Don’t try and “teach” or have a specific agenda (like we have to get to the park first before we can start “experiencing nature”) Little kids do such a great job of teaching us how to be in the moment. It’s totally fun for some kids to just have a branch they find on the ground and swish the dirt around on the side walk.
2. As soon as your kids are old enough to understand, “shh listen”, then play that game. As soon as you are outside, stop and listen and tell each other what you hear. Your sense of hearing is totally heightened once you close your eyes. Do this somewhere when you can sit and relax for a bit. This is good for your self as well. Take the time to think about your breathing, how is your own body feeling? Kids are amazingly intuitive, if you haven’t already noticed they pick up on your stress too.  Happy Mama, Happy baby. Teaching your kids to finds ways and places they can relax will serve them well later in life.
3. If you are traveling far from the house (this is a relative term depending on the age of your kids) “go prepared”. For one age may mean “do I have enough diapers”? and another age this may mean “do I have a snack and appropriate clothes”? Food and drink always enhances the experience even if it’s just a jungle safari trip across the back yard to the shade under the tree.
4. Play “tourist in your own town”.  Pretend you don’t live here and make yourself a list of all the cool nature places you’ve heard about but have never been able to get to yet. (there’s oodles that have been mentioned on OBE). Exchange your list with other moms.
5. Camp out in your own yard, or just pretend too (set up the tent, eat dinner outside, lay around and read a book in the tent)

What is ultimately the most important is that you are outside with your family and they are getting the chance to check out the natural world, fall in love with a rock, collect a pocket full of baby pine cones, hear the call of a chickadee and know the song birds have come.

We can reverse our nature deficit, one step outside at a time.