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Taproot: A Journal of Outdoor Education

Martin Ogle

Abstract

Let's back up and define "Nature Deficit Disorder" a bit. The one sentence description of this disorder most often posited goes something like this: "Kids don't spend as much time outside as they used to, and this is compromising the health. and well-being of kids, the adults they become, and society." There is a lot of truth in this, and efforts to simply get kids outside more are needed and powerful in their own right. But the problem goes deep~r than that. Increasingly, the word "unstructured" is being added to the basic sentence, above: "Kids don't spend as much unstructured time outside as they used to ... " This recognizes that, in addition to the amount of time spent outdoors, our sense of time, itself, has undergone a big transition in the last few decades. It is important that we not neglect this reality.

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