An Extinction of Experience

We do not get out into the natural world as often as we once did. It’s not intentional, but more of a creeping indifference. A recent UK study found that the human connection to nature has declined 60% in the last 200 years. Essentially, many of us in our modern, western world seem to have lost that bond with the natural world. It may even be that it’s not lost, but rather not cultivated. The study found that two of the largest contributors to this disconnection with nature are urbanisation and the loss of wildlife in our neighborhoods. But the largest factor is the failure of parents to teach children to appreciate the natural world. In order to teach a love for nature, one must be in nature. All of the way in. Watching a wildlife series on a streaming service is a passive experience and can not replicate the feel of walking on a muddy path in the woods, the beauty of the sunrise on the beach, or the sounds and smells of canoeing in a swamp amongst the cypress knees.

I see it every morning. The bus stop is full of elementary-aged kids, but where are they in the afternoons and on the weekends?. They are not to be found on the streets and in the fields in this neighborhood. They are either out in the forests with their parents or in their homes, their faces bathed in a blueish glow from a screen they are watching. I suspect the latter.

There is an “extinction of experience” taking place. But that is easily corrected, isn't it? Get outside. Take your children or grandchildren hiking in the woods or go fishing. Book an ecotour or swim in a river. Make a connection to nature and build on it.

Schedule your ecotour to explore this environmental wonderland.