Last Child in the Woods:

PART VI & PART VII

Review by: http://lastchildinthewoodsedpsych.blogspot.com/
Excerpts by: http://www.holry.org/essays/Last_Child_in_the_Woods.pdf

Format for your review of Last Child in the Woods is essay.

Each section (indicated by bold/italic/underlined) should be a minimum of 1/2-2 pages [each
section indicates the minimum required (equals C level) be more thorough for a higher grade
but do not exceed 2 pages for each of the 4 sections)
Through an essay format tie the concept in each section review together in a summary statement
Each section should reflect what the author says and your views on what he says. You should also
consider incorporating ideas from other sources when appropriate. Be thorough
To show me you are using the text provide an occasional page number to reference an idea you
take from the text (i.e. page 3). You must use the book to gain credit for each section

18. THE EDUCATION OF JUDGE THATCHER: DECRIMINALIZING NATURAL PLAY

Richard Louv describes in this section how the fear of liability has become a powerful deterrent to natural
play. He is referring to how todays society has become sue crazy.
19. CITIES GONE WILD
Louv goes on to talk about the issues of cities, and how they are not very green environments. He
explains a psychological need called biophilia, or the life-enhancing sense of rootedness in nature. The
Zoopolis Movement started in the 1870s. In that time, nature was presented as health benefits for
working-class Americans.
20. WHERE THE WILD THINGS WILL BE: A NEW BACK-TO-THE-LAND MOVEMENT
Louv starts this section by saying that if we hope to improve the quality of life for our children, and for
generations to come, we need a larger vision, (pg. 272). He has shown that making greener cities is
possible through more public parks. He explains Village Homes, a green community where children show
interest in the outdoors and wildlife without any motivation. Also, he explains that Chicago is making
movements towards a greener city with more parks, rooftop gardens, and re-creating wildlife habitats.
A child said What is the grass? fetching
it to me with full hands;
How could I answer the child? I do not
know what it is anymore than he.
-Walt Whitman
(2 page minimum): What is the Zoopolis movement? What have been some milestones or great
achievements of this movement? What is Biophilia? How are these two concepts related? On a scale of
1-10 how important are these concepts/movements to you? Using the internet what was the LEnfant
Plan for Washington D.C. What were his goals? Do you believe they have been reached? What do you
think he would think about these following stories and why:

The zoopolis movement is one that concerns more about nature than it does swing sets
and baseball fields in urban cities. This is an idea that the benefits of nature are healing and
should be practiced by people living in American cities. In the 1870s the playground movement
valued nature as a health benefit for the working class Americans and their children. They saw
this as a great way for a family to spend more time together with jobs rising in the times. Early
they saw this as a way to keep healthy cities in America, and set the standards for living in a city.
They wanted to keep the city feel but also bring nature into the city. Going as far to set parks up a
certain amount of feet from the nearest homes. Schools began to aid in the public health scheme
by connecting public health to urban design, even coding how far parks were allowed to be from
a school. Nature has and will always be a part of the world we live in today and tomorrow, but
finding that perfect equilibrium might be a goal that we cannot reach as a society due to the fact
that everybody is different and each person will have their own values. Take for instance
someone who lives in the mountains of North Carolina, they will want more contact with nature
than they would want to spend time in a city where there are always people around you and
fewer trees. To live in a city people cannot want as much exposure to nature as someone who
lives in it, otherwise they wouldnt live in the city. The idea of biophilia intrigues me and my
thought process about exposure to nature, and the benefits that it has not just on the child but also
the parent. We are believing that children suffer from this but realistically everybody who is
anybody can suffer from it. The amount of nature exposure can lead to connections of better
mental, physical, social, and spiritual health for all. It is believed that people of the next
generation will suffer from this idea that indicates that someone needs more exposure to the
outdoors and in return they will become more aware with the world they live in, and their senses

will be more elaborate than someone who does not spend time outside. The thought is that nature
puts people through challenges that they have to overcome and the way that we overcome those
challenges are the way that we deal with problem solving later in life. The two ideas have a
strong connection to nature and to society that we live in today. We are the generation that is
really beginning to see the alternation of the nation that was once the homestead to one that is
fighting to keep all its resources because there has been such a rise in population. Could a
decrease in outdoor activities be related to all the rules and regulations that are to be followed at
a nation park? I would rate the importance on a scale of 1-10 at about an 8 because we cannot
control what everyone does and if we push too hard for outdoor recreation at a young age it may
push them further away from it. So putting importance on the movements should be done but to
how much pressure we put on a certain area should depend on that areas forest around it and all
that is already implemented. The LEnfant Plan for the city was a plan to design the city in a
manner that gives it its own personality. History and geological monuments are parts of the cities
history and would help design the roads and design they followed. Bringing a new culture to a
place is difficult but when using monuments of significant value to the people of the area will
only help promote the purpose and culture of the city and how it is viewed. It allowed a place of
unity where the history builds on the culture of the city. I do believe that the goals have been
reached and people in MD and the US have a strong connection with the city. There was artifacts
that help build a community and the beliefs of that community. I believe that he would appreciate
the people of New York trying to bring together a culture and get different views from different
organization on how to achieve this new look to New York. I believe that he would support the
building of public bridge parks because it takes something that already has a historical value to
people and improving it. Again I believe that he would support this because they are conserving

an area that already has historical value to some people and turning it into something that will
only make the city prosper.

http://www.museumofthecity.org/project/lenfant-plan-of-washington-d-c/
http://www.gothamgazette.com/index.php/topics/102-parks/1424-four-trends-urban-parks
http://bridgepark.org/
http://gizmodo.com/five-cities-turning-ugly-overpasses-into-vibrant-parks-1259568561

21. THE SPIRITUAL NECESSITY OF NATURE FOR THE YOUNG

To be spiritual is to be constantly amazed, Rabbi Martin Levin
Louv talks about the mixing of religious groups and the science of environmentalism, saying when
worship centers start going green, environmentalists will start evoke the spiritual. Louv overall, tries to
make a connection between God and Mother Nature, making the case that conservation, respect, and
the simple awe of nature is a directly spiritual thing, that is true in children and adults alike.

How does Louv describe the spiritual value of nature? What are some examples he provides?
Do you think there are some religious or spiritual groups that put a greater emphasis on
nature? What are some? Compare and contrast what Louv says in chapter 21 with the PDF
file on spiritual benefits under resources in Sakai. Finish with a discussion on whether you
find any spiritual value in nature personally. (1 page)

I would like to start out by stating a quote, there was a time when meadow, grove, and stream
the earth, and every common sight, to me did seem appareled in-celestial light, the glory and the
freshness of a dream to me this quote means that they get the joys of life out of nature and its
beauty, and if it was not for nature and its beauty this person would not be the person they are
today. There was a group of religious people that sat down to talk about living life and the way
they put it is that the goal of life is to live in radical amazement. See everything for the
phenomenal that it is and take nothing in life for granted. To be spiritual is to be amazed at life at
all times. If you go into an event in amazement you will not see the flaws in it but rather the pure
joy that it can bring you. It is a mindset that is to be compassed into your brain that everything
happens for a reason and this rock wouldnt be here in that specific spot if it did not have a
purpose to be. The enduring is a result, all of our mundane hopes are doomed to failure, for if
everything changes, nothing can be accomplished-not, anyway, as a permeate achievement. This
is seen through the chapter by talking about living in amazement every day and take no day for
granted. The sublime is the observing of nature and its beauty, the power that we feel when
climbing a mountain, you will have your own power plus the power radiating from the mountain.
Beauty and competence go hand and hand to me because to see the beauty you have to become
competent with the land, and experience is the key to comprehending. The experience of peace
while out in the outdoors is probably one of the most influential ways to increase your spiritual
bond with nature. The last one is self-forgetting, which allows the person to go outside of their
norm and start to see nature for the peaceful beauty that it is. This will surely help aid in ones
spiritual health. The combination of material in the article only helps build off of what was said
in the book about spiritual health and the connection that nature has on that health.

22. FIRE AND FERMENTATION: BUILDING A MOVEMENT

Louv uses the metaphor of a forest fire burning up all the old brush and then the rebirth of the forest that
comes out of it to the current situation of our childrens relationship with nature.
23. WHILE IT LASTS
This chapter is a conclusion on the book expressing Louvs experience as a father and the importance of
exposing our children to the beauty of nature. These experiences are necessary for our childrens growth
as a whole person.

Using the last 2 chapters provide me a synopsis of the book that you have just read/reviewed by
Louv. Have there been any changes to your view on the environment and what are they? Has
your opinion changed regarding the value of nature for children today and the future? ( 1
page)

From the beginning of the book it talked about how the connection between the youth and nature
has only dissipated over the last generations, calling this the last generation that will get the full
positive effects of the outdoors. There are many factors that need to be taken into account when
dealing with this disconnection. One including the fact that this world has become one in which
most people wish to live their lives at a fast pace by spending money and traveling all over the
world to shop at the latest and greatest shopping stores. Or its the fact that the parents do not
indulge in nature filled outdoor activities. This can lead to the child not wanting to participate
and lead them to the Xbox or PS instead on receiving the benefits of exploring outside in the
woods. Yes the world is a scary place but I believe it is apparent now because everyone has a cell
phone and can call or video chat whenever they feel so news gets out to the rest of the world
faster than it ever has before. Lastly children do not participate in the outdoors due to the fear
that has been placed in their heads about the dangers of being left out in the woods alone. But
just think if we could eliminate that fear by encouraging more outdoor activities. The children
would see an increase in mental, physical, social, and spiritual health all at once just by being
exposed to nature. There was one study that stuck out to me, they did research on a couple
schools and kids from those schools where there was a control group that was taught in standard
white wall classrooms and the other group which was the experimental group took three or four
outdoors adventures throughout the semester and ended up receiving a higher score than those
who did not go on adventures. Plus in Finland they have adopted classrooms outside in nature to
allow for a better connection of things that are being taught in school and the place where they
live. There has been a change in mind about the importance of outdoor recreation in nature and
the benefits it has on not just the child but also the parent and childs relationship. I believe that
in the future schools need to do more research on nature learning as a core curriculum course that

needs to be passed by everyone. Whether it is done in early childhood, which I feel it should for
better retention later in life, or if it is done later in life during high school or college it needs to be
a part of the next generation because of the qualities they are not allowing themselves to get from
nature.