Putting Nature Back on Your Calendar and
By: Carli Herz
Tags: Environmentalism, Nature, Advocacy, Climate, Mental Health

Reframing Nature-Deficit Disorder

I’m sitting by the edge of a pond surrounded by trees and crisp fall air. This scene isn’t out of the ordinary for me but something about this moment feels different. Maybe it’s the families milling about, all keeping socially distant in their pods of familiarity, or that it has become abundantly clear the past few months that the environment and humanity’s health are inextricably intertwined.

When I was researching my thesis for undergraduate school I came across a book called The Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children from Nature-Deficit Disorder by Richard Louv. I thought it was revolutionary and it was because Louv was giving a persistent, unnamed problem in our community the language it needed to be discussed.

And that is the beginning of the term Nature-Deficit Disorder.

Louv says about his use of the phrase, “I coined the phrase to serve as a description of the human costs of alienation from nature and it is not meant to be a medical diagnosis (although perhaps it should be), but as a way to talk about an urgent problem that many of us knew was growing, but had no language to describe it.” (Louv 2019).

As years passed and I studied more, taught more, and struggled with maintaining my own mental well-being at times, I began to recoil at the word “deficit”. It was as if our states of mind were holes to be filled as if by shoveling dirt into our emotional and mental wounds we’d be cured. It was the idea that we were less than human because we were struggling with the effects of an increasingly technologically savvy world.

With that deficit state of mind, it is easy to become paralyzed by the largeness of the problem. The “save the environment and save ourselves” mentality frightens even me. In an effort to break that immense call to action down into less intimidating goals, I challenge us all to shift our focus from the nature-sized hole in our hearts and minds to the actions we can take that allow us to see ourselves IN nature, and with nature, not separate from.

I try to take these 3 actions daily to make sure nature has a prime spot in my calendar and my hope is that I can present them as universal actions, that anyone, anywhere can take.

Bring your interests/passions/work outside

Going hiking and watching for birds, might all be activities I enjoy but I’m not naive enough to think that everyone will connect with the environment in the same way. Do you like video games and have a handheld system? Take it outside! Are you a sports fan? Easy! Play or watch your favorite sports outside. Is art more your thing? Nature has endless opportunities for creative inspiration.

2. Take a walk down memory lane and reminisce on memories that involved nature.

As kids, we have a much lower threshold for “awe”. The tiniest of bugs can instill a sense of wonder in us and as we age that threshold slowly gets higher. We need bigger and better moments, brighter colors, and larger views for us to experience awe. Remembering moments that left us awestruck as kids can remind us that the point of connection with nature is a lot easier to reach than we think. It’s not “silly” to find joy in the little things.

3. Make an effort to learn about the environmental issues in your local community.

We are bombarded every day by news stories that tell us our environment is in a dire situation but for those of us who are separated from the tragedy by a screen, seeing ourselves reflected in most circumstances becomes difficult. That is why learning about your own community will give you the chance to see your own reflection on these larger issues. It could be the story of a town with a lake overrun by Blue Algae as a result of run-off from surrounding suburb development or maybe it is a town struggling with building a sustainable recycling program. Whatever the case may be, paying attention to the state of your own backyard is a good first step in finding your role in the larger system.

If you’ve read this far I encourage you to try any of the three activities above every day for one week and see what happens. You might just find yourself making more space for nature at the end of the day.

I’m rooting for you and the planet.