Use All Of Your Senses.

Now, More Than Ever, We Need Nature As A Balancing Agent.

Research Suggests That Exposure To The Natural World - Including Nearby Nature In Cities - Helps Improve Human Health, Well-being, And Intellectual Capacity In Ways That Science Is Only Recently Beginning To Understand.

What Happens When All The Parts Of Childhood Are Soldered Down, When The Young No Longer Have The Time Or Space To Play In Their Family's Garden, Cycle Home In The Dark With The Stars And Moon Illuminating Their Route, Walk Down Through The Woods To The River, Lie On Their Backs On Hot July Days In The Long Grass, Or Watch Cockleburs, Lit By Morning Sun, Like Bumblees Quivering On Harp Wires? What Then?

In A Famous Middletown Study Of Muncie, Indiana, In 1924, Mothers Were Asked To Rank The Qualities They Most Desire In Their Children. At The Top Of The List Were Conformity And Strict Obedience. More Than Fifty Years Later, When The Middletown Survey Was Replicated, Mothers Placed Autonomy And Independence First. The Healthiest Parenting Probably Promotes A Balance Of These Qualities In Children.

A Widening Circle Of Researchers Believes That The Loss Of Natural Habitat, Or The Disconnection From Nature Even When It Is Available, Has Enormous Implications For Human Health And Child Development. They Say The Quality Of Exposure To Nature Affects Our Health At An Almost Cellular Level.