There is No Substitute for Immersion… Get the Kids Outside!

Although I wholeheartedly agree with it, I have to admit to stealing that line from Thom Henley and Kenny Peavy, authors of As if the Earth Matters. This book can serve as a textbook, a field guide, or an outdoor manual for teachers, parents, and children. It is full of hands-on activities which have been developed and field-tested by the authors and their students.

Thom Henley is well known in the world of conservation, having been instrumental in protecting and forming Canada’s Gwaii Haanas National Park on the Queen Charlotte Archipelago. He is an associate professor of the Stream Keeper Academy in Washington State and serves as Honorary Director of the Rediscovery International Foundation. The author or co-author of nine other books, his environmental accomplishments are too numerous to keep listing here.

• » See also: Grow Your Own Tree Hugger: 101 Activities to Teach Your Child How to Live Green
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Kenny Peavy holds a Masters of Science in Science Education from Montana State University and has taught in the field from the San Bernardino National Forest to the Malaysian rainforests. He was awarded “Volunteer of the Year” by both the Georgia Adopt-A-Stream program and the Malaysian nature Society. The founder of Malaysian Nature Guides, Kenny will also speak at the 14th International Conference on Thinking in Kuala Lampur, Malaysia June 22-26, 2009.

The thinking behind this book is to guide the children toward first becoming aware of their environment, then giving them a sense of belonging to the environment, and finally giving them the tools to become stewards of the environment by giving examples of projects in several countries around the world.

Each activity along the way is explained in easy-to-follow instructions and illustrated with beautiful photographs. Kids will learn about the cycles of the seasons, food chains, eco-systems, and so much more, all with dirty hands.

There are exercises aimed at getting kids to smell, hear, feel, and taste nature. They will learn how to sit alone and notice all the minor movements that go over-looked during or daily routines. Vision quests are introduced and examples of projects that will give children the confidence and initiative they need to become stewards of the environment.

In a world that for the first time in history has a greater population in its cities than in its rural areas, it is more important than ever to teach children that the Earth does matter.

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