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Taproot: A Journal of Outdoor Education

Abstract

It appears we humans are slow to learn some lessons. Recent, and greatly deserved, attention given to Richard Louv’s new book, Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children from Nature- Deficit Disorder (see book review, p. 19) prompts one to recall prophetic words penned by Henry David Thoreau more than 140 years ago. He had much to say concerning what happens when a culture divorces itself from nature. The summer, 1995 issue of Taproot featured an article, Thoreau’s Legacy, that examined the 19th century philosopher’s thoughts regarding healthy human relationship with the natural world. That article is presented here in revised form to illustrate Thoreau’s (and others’) anticipation of the nature deficit disorder that Richard Louv defines as “the human costs of alienation from nature, among them: diminished uses of the senses, attention difficulties, and higher rates of physical and emotional illnesses” (Louv, 2005, p. 34).

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