A growing disconnect with nature is increasing feelings of alienation and leading to growing fears in children, said a Saskatoon sociologist.
Bernard Schissel told those attending the Saskatchewan River Delta symposium April 3 that school lessons in microbiology and genetics teach children to break the world down to microscopic parts. Their early experiences are often “scary images” on televised nature shows.
“The dark side of all of it is they see the natural world as exploitable,” he said.
Green spaces are shrinking as are connections to the farm. He noted how parents and grandparents once shared their knowledge of the natural world with their families.
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Schissel said elders are a resource that schools and communities could better utilize to regain that connection. That could help produce a generation of stewards of the land and the rivers.
He said many children’s lives are so structured that it leaves little time for free play outdoors. Many schools have dropped recess, and summer camps are often so specialized that they leave little time for exploring and interacting with nature. Parents, in their efforts to keep children safe from harm, seek out restaurant play centres over outdoor playgrounds.
Schissel also said increased time on computers and watching television have made children less active and led to health and nutrition issues like obesity.
“Cyberspace is taking over from nature as a place where they feel safe.”
He said nature offers numerous health benefits.
“Getting young people into the natural world is fundamentally important and offers profound healing for marginalized kids.”
He cited examples of horse therapies for children and referred to a dog rescue project run by young offenders, which entrusts them with daily responsibilities for animals. Wilderness therapies have also taught troubled teens survival techniques in the wild.
Studies have also shown how windows overlooking green spaces as opposed to concrete can lead to better results at school and reduce aggression in prison populations.
For northern communities, disconnecting children from their natural surroundings makes it easier to pull up roots and be drawn to the cities, Schissel said.
