MP3 version of Louv presentation
Why go outside? Learn more...
Lincoln Safari reaches 2,700 participants!
Sign-up continues for nature treasure hunt
Richard Louv Speaks to Full House Feb. 19 in Lincoln
His message was straightforward and compelling--the powerful impact nature has on people of all ages, particularly on young children.
The lack of unstructured time in nature has been linked to issues such as attention disorders, childhood obesity, depression, and stress. Positive impacts include growth in imagination, creativity, cognitive development, social interaction and a sense of well-being and belonging.
Join with the Healthy Families Play Outside partners (contact us) to "leave no child inside," and send us your suggestions! Watch this site for ways to restore connections to nature within your family, school and community.
Richard Louv, author of the ground breaking book Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children from Nature-Deficit Disorder and chairman of the Children & Nature Network, will address the mounting evidence showing the dwindling relationship between children and nature. Louv relates the lack of children’s outdoor play with issues such as attention disorders, childhood obesity, depression, and stress. Additionally, Louv offers suggestions to parents, teachers, policy makers, and others concerned about the future of childhood and our environment on how to ensure that the bond between children and nature is created and nurtured.
"Louv at the Lied" is brought to you through the generous gifts of these contributors:
Cooper Foundation
Peru State College
Spring Creek Prairie Audubon Center
Papio-Missouri Natural Resources District
Nebraska Alliance for Conservation & Environment Education
University of Nebraska College of Education & Human Services
The American Fisheries Society, Nebraska Chapter
University of Nebraska, Environmental Studies Program
Nebraska Chapter of the Wildlife Society
Nebraska Association of Teachers of Science
Nebraska Environmental Trust
Wachiska Audubon Society
Doane College
Great Plains Chapter, American Society of Landscape Architects
University of Nebraska College of Architecture
And through these Healthy Families Play Outside partners:
Lower Platte South Natural Resource District
Nebraska Statewide Arboretum
University of Nebraska Extension
Nebraska Game and Parks Commision
Pioneers Park Nature Center
Dimensions Educational Research Foundation
Lincoln Children's Zoo
The Groundwater Foundation
Biography of Richard Louv
Richard Louv is a futurist and journalist focused on family, nature and community. He is chairman of the Children & Nature Network and the author of seven books. His most recent, "Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children From Nature-Deficit Disorder" (Algonquin), has stimulated a national conversation about the future relationship between children and nature. Louv is the chairman of the Children & Nature Network, an organization helping build the movement to connect children with nature. He is also honorary co-chair of The National Forum on Children and Nature, co-chaired by four state governors; the Forum, sponsored by the Conservation Fund, will distribute $20 million to programs around the country designed to get kids outside.
In January, the National Audubon Society will present Richard Louv the Audubon Medal. Past recipients have been Rachel Carson, E.O. Wilson, Robert Redford, Jimmy Carter, and the Rockefeller Family. The medal will be awarded for Louv's “exceptional contributions promoting the importance of connecting people to nature, especially children.” He is the 2008 recipient of the Cox Award, Clemson University's highest honor, awarding “sustained achievement in public service.” The National School Board Journal chose “Last Child in the Woods” as a notable book in education for 2006. In 2005, Discover Magazine named “Last Child in the Woods” one of the top science books of the year. And Spirituality & Health magazine named it one of 50 Best Spiritual Books of 2005. The book has spawned a national movement that is now moving into the international sphere. “Last Child in the Woods” has been translated into six languages.
He has written for The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Christian Science Monitor and other newspapers and magazines. Richard has appeared on the CBS Morning Show, Good Morning America, the Today Show, CBS Evening News, NBC Nightly News, NPR's Morning Edition, Fresh Air, Talk of the Nation, and many other programs. Between 1984 and 2007, he was a columnist for The San Diego Union-Tribune; he was also a columnist and member of the editorial advisory board for Parents magazine, and served as an adviser to the Ford Foundation's Leadership for a Changing World award program and the National Scientific Council on the Developing Child. He is on the board of directors of ecoAmerica and a member of the Citistates Group.
He speaks frequently nationally and internationally, having appeared before the Domestic Policy Council in the White House and at major governmental and professional conferences internationally. Richard Louv is married to Kathy Frederick Louv and the father of two young men, Jason, 25 and Matthew, 19. He is working on his eighth book. He would rather fish than write.
For more information about Healthy Families Play Outside or Louv at the Lied, contact Brooke Levey at 402/472-1478.