A Loving Connection with Nature

According to some environmental psychologists, children are happiest when they have access to nature—even if it is as slight as a view looking outside. Research proves that children with disabilities show an improvement in self-image and behavior when they are able to play in nature. rnIn the 1990’s, studies confirmed that students who spent a significant proportion of their classes outdoors performed better on standardized tests, increased their overall grade-point average, showed an increase in their problem-solving skills, critical thinking and decision making abilities. rnThere is also evidence that suggests that interaction with nature improves a child’s creativity. The theory is that allowing children to play in nature—on grass, climbing trees, walking in the woods—encourages them to devise creative games as they learn to see beyond the ubiquitous asphalt playground. rnGrowing up, I felt a strong connection with nature. The house I grew up in was surrounded by woods, with a pond next to it. Many of my childhood memories were based on being in those woods. Prior to age six, there were no other children in the neighborhood and I spent a lot of time amusing myself in our backyard close to the woods. I remember feeling attached to some of the trees and crying when one of them had to be cut down. I was four or five when I asked my mother if I could take a walk alone in the woods behind my home. rnWhen I was seven, a family moved in next door. The daughter, Lynn, and I became great friends and played outside constantly. We developed a system of sounds that could be heard between our houses and we would use them to arrange to meet in one of several secret spots. We created forts in the woods and would meet and just hang out in them. We played “Pioneer Days” and made mud pies filled with berries and rocks and other delicacies. In summer we swam in the pond and skated on it in winter. The two of us were known for our legendary abilities at frog catching. (We would catch them and always place them back—we never kept or hurt them.) Once, we found a huge dead bullfrog. I grabbed a knife from my parent’s house and we proceeded to dissect the frog. I remember feeling repulsed and fascinated simultaneously. rnAs I grew up, I paid less and less attention to nature. The woods were just there—handy for sly teenagers like Lynn and I. The summer when we were fifteen, we would “go camping” in the woods. We would set up a couple of sleeping bags—then we would proceed to cut through the woods and pick up a few of our friends along the way to the town swimming pool. Our years of playing in the woods paid off—we were totally unafraid to walk the considerable distance required to get from our houses to theirs in the pitch black of the forest. rnIt would be years before I regained consciousness of the wonders of nature that had become invisible to me in my adolescence and early adulthood. But thankfully my connection did come back and now it nurtures me on so many levels, emotionally and spiritually. rnExcerpt from Harmonious Environment: Beautify, Detoxify & Energize Your Life, Your Home & Your Planet.