KIDS PICKING TV OVER TREES:
New Research Raises Questions about the Future of Conservation
Nature Conservancy-Funded Study Reveals More Evidence of Growing Trend;
Children Spending More Time Inside, with Consequences for Human Health, National Parks and Environmental Movement
OMAHA, Neb.— July 23, 2007 — A new Nature Conservancy-funded study has confirmed evidence of a growing trend: more American families are spending time in front of the television and away from the great outdoors. The study, published last month in the Journal of Development Processes, also cited serious consequences for the future of conservation.
“The greatest threat to conservation…may be more subtle than bulldozers and chainsaws,” wrote authors Patricia Zaradic, Ph.D and Oliver Pergams, Ph.D. “Direct experience with nature is the most highly cited influence on environmental attitude and conservation activism.” Researchers added if the youngest generation loses that experience, the future of conservation is in jeopardy.
The researchers also found that “videophilila,” as they call it, can have disturbing implications for children’s mental and physical health, educational achievement, well-being, and their personal values and priorities later in life. They are following up on the results of an earlier study, published last year, which found that per capita visits to U.S. national parks have been declining since 1987, after having risen for the previous 50 years. Video games, home movie rentals, Internet use and rising fuel prices explained almost 98 percent of the decline in people visiting national parks.
Mace Hack, director of The Nature Conservancy in Nebraska, expressed concern about the findings and reiterated the importance of connecting children with nature at an early age.
“I didn’t just wake up one morning and decide to become a conservationist. My passion for wildlife and wild places started many years ago as a kid turning over rocks on the beach looking for crabs, fishing in the pond down the road from my house, and catching frogs with my grandfather” said Hack “I’m a big believer in letting kids just play outdoors, giving them the freedom to poke around as they want and discover for themselves all the interesting life out there, even in just their backyards. I’m worried about what children will lose by staying cooped up inside – and I’m worried about losing the next generation of conservationists, too.”
In the study, researchers pointed out that outdoor play and nature experience have proven beneficial for cognitive functioning, reduction in symptoms of Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD), and an increase in self-discipline and emotional well being at all developmental stages. But American children, on average, are spending only 30 minutes of unstructured time outdoors each week.
“My kids like video games and home movies as much as others, but when I get them outdoors, they explore. They ask questions. They don’t get bored,” continued Hack. “Our children need these experiences, and I think they have a natural pull towards them. It’s our job to help them get outdoors.”
Peter Kareiva, Chief Scientist for The Conservancy noted that, “This alienation from nature is a growing trend worldwide and could be the most serious threat to conservation for future generations.” He added, “Today, the majority of humans live in cities, and urbanization is accelerating so rapidly that by 2050 only a small portion of the human population will live outside urban areas. The more disconnected city dwellers are from natural landscapes, the less people understand how their well being is inextricably linked to the health of the natural world.”
The Conservancy in Nebraska offers a variety of opportunities to engage young people in discovering the unique and beautiful landscapes of the state, such as public hiking trails on the Conservancy’s Niobrara Valley Preserve near Valentine and the Little Salt Fork Marsh Preserve outside Lincoln. There are also volunteer opportunities for hands-on conservation work on Conservancy preserves around the state, annual open houses, and facilities on the Niobrara Valley Preserve for college and school groups to make longer visits.
Nationwide, the Conservancy has also worked with parents on a “Take Your Child To Nature Day” and on other education activities. More information on opportunities to get your kids outdoors can be found by joining the Great Places Network via email.
Researchers are recommending that long-term research be conducted to track children’s development through adulthood and assess their health, achievement, and professional success, in addition to their environmental awareness.
The Nature Conservancy is a leading conservation organization working around the world to protect ecologically important lands and waters for nature and people. To date, the Conservancy and its more than one million members have been responsible for the protection of more than 15 million acres in the United States and have helped preserve more than 102 million acres in Latin America, the Caribbean, Asia and the Pacific. Visit The Nature Conservancy on the Web at www.nature.org.
|
