Movement Fights Nature Deficit, Says Leave No Child Inside

Like many parents, Barrington resident Susan Lenz recalls summers spent outside from sunup to sundown.

“I grew up in Elmhurst.  I was of the era you would go out and literally be gone the entire day. I lived by a park with ditches and trees. Everyone would go out and play. Today, unfortunately, that’s not so common,” said Lenz, an educator and part of the greater Barrington and Lake Zurich Area Leave No Child Inside (LNCI) initiative. “A lot of people are afraid to let their kids go outside. They’re afraid of stranger danger and bugs.”

And, screen time far outweighs time spent outdoors for today’s average child.

In 2007, Chicago Wilderness spearheaded a local movement to reconnect kids and nature, Leave No Child Inside. Chicago Wilderness is a regional alliance of 250 organizations dedicated to preserving nature and connecting people with nature.

“The organizations that are part of Chicago Wilderness decided to better promote outdoor programs, sites where families could get outside and explore the outdoors,” said Emilian Geczi, LNCI coordinator for Chicago Wilderness.

Geczi said the LNCI effort was a response to studies that showed children spending more and more time on screens and less time outside. The effort was also sparked to action by author Richard Louv’s book Last Child in the Woods, published in 2005, Geczi said.

Louv shed light on the consequences of nature deprivation and coined the term nature-deficit disorder. He wrote about how the lack of nature relates to disturbing childhood health trends, such as attention disorders, obesity and depression.

Nature Offers Gifts for All Kids

“Kids really do benefit from going outside,” said Dr. Everett Weiss, a Crystal Lake pediatrician and member of the Barrington Area LNCI initiative, which extends beyond the Barrington borders.

Weiss said spending time outdoors can help combat health issues, such as obesity and diabetes. He said children with behavioral issues could also benefit from time spent outside.

“They may not be cured in the traditional sense of the word, but getting kids engaged in natural, unstructured play and activities helps augment their development and really serves as a source of therapy for children and their families,” Weiss said.

But Weiss stresses that spending time outside is important for all kids, because unstructured play in wide-open spaces aids learning. He said he often talks to his patients during well-child visits, encouraging parents to get outside with their children.

“Engaging in unstructured, open-ended play outside really opens up imagination and creativity. It can only serve to benefit children when they grow up to be adults and will really need to rely on ingenuity and creativity, which can be stifled when engaging their thumbs in video games,” Weiss said.

Lenz said she became involved with LNCI, because she loves the outdoors and believes kids don’t play outside enough.

“Being outside in nature, you use all your senses. It helps with problem solving. I want my children and all children to have those benefits from being outdoors and exploring,” Lenz said.

Research collected by LNCI shows that nature stimulates creativity, helps manage stress, promotes healthy social, emotional and physical development, and offers many more benefits.

The importance of nature in children’s lives was stressed back in 1965 when environmental activist Rachel Carson wrote A Sense of Wonder, a book encouraging nature exploration with children. She believed a sense of wonder could be lost if it is not encouraged at an early age. She wrote that knowledge of the natural world is important because it can help people find inner contentment and excitement for living. It can be a source of strength during troubled times. “There is something infinitely healing in the repeated refrains of nature . . . “  wrote Carson.

As part of the Nature Ladies program in Barrington School District 220, Lenz takes children on nature outings. On a recent field trip, she took second-graders to Bakers Lake to see spring flowers and the heron rookery.

“I love when kids’ eyes light up and they say ‘this is cool.’ They are looking at great blue herons and to me the biggest reward is when they have that ‘aha’ moment,” Lenz said.

Lenz said she encourages further nature exploration by telling children that they can bring their parents to a nature preserve and that they can explore nature in their own backyards.

“What we’re trying to do is get the kids outside and then hopefully get the families outside too,” Lenz said.

Get a Taste of Nature at Family Nature Fun Fest

To kick off Leave No Child Inside month, the Barrington initiative is holding a Family Nature Fun Fest, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., May 21, at Citizens Park in Barrington. At the festive and free event, participants can hike Cuba Marsh Trail with the Lake County Forest Preserve, dissect owl pellets with Stillman Nature Center, plant seeds with Water’s Edge Waldorf School and much more.

There are many regional activities planned for Leave No Child Inside month. Some local events include:

June 4, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. -- --The Chicago Botanic Garden in Glencoe explores how people of all ages can protect the earth at World Environment Day.

June 11, 12-3:30 p.m.-- Learn a new outdoor sport at Family Fly Fishing and Nature Exploration Day at Moraine Hills State Park in McHenry

June 12, 12-3:30 p.m. --Trees are the Tops, explores the Trail of Twelve Trees. Learn tree identification, built a fort and get close-up views of wildlife at Volo Bog in Ingleside.

June 25, 2-11 p.m., Explore the camping experience at Family Camping Sampler at Marengo Ridge Conservation Area, Marengo.

June 26, 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., explore the wetlands at Crabtree Nature Center in Barrington.