Last Child In The Woods: Intro

Today we are officially kicking off our Huawni Parents’ Book Club! As we begin reading the book Last Child In The Woods by Richard Louv, I will begin blogging chapter by chapter about what I am learning. I also would love to hear from you and what you are learning.

At Huawni we believe that we were made to play outdoors, and we believe that being in nature can play a unique role in us really understanding our true significance and purpose. This particular book has some great research that links being in the woods with healthy childhood development.

Also, if you have not received a free book and would like one, please reply below where it says What are you gonna say?.

So let’s get started! Today I’ll cover the introduction, pages 1-4.

Introduction

As I began to dive into this book, two questions surfaced:

1. What contact with nature did I personally experience that I now take for granted?

2. Why is it important to me that Camp Huawni stay true to its roots— a rustic youth development summer camp truly hidden in the pineywoods of East Texas?

Growing up on of my best camp friends who also lived in my hometown was Micah Howard. Micah lived in a wooded subdivision outside of Henderson, and as far as we were concerned, the neighborhood and surrounding woods were our domain. I remember one time building a fort in the woods. Micah kindly made fun of me for making wood chips that I spread across the fort floor because I said, “It made it smell better.” I guess it was my imaginary version of febreze! Nonetheless, I look back at our time running around the Wood Box subdivision as a special time surrounded by nature. I could name countless other stories of running around at Camp as a camper. I want this same experience for Barrett and John Brooks, and I probably take it for granted.

But I knew my woods and my fields; I knew every bend in the creek and dip in the beaten dirt paths. I wandered those woods even in my dreams. – Richard Louv

So why is important that Huawni stay a rustic youth development camp that is truly in the woods? A lot of attributes about Huawni did not start off by design. We are finding out thought that many things that make Huawni special, specifically our vicinity to nature, is becoming more and more of a dire need for children in the 21st Century. Huawni truly is remotely located, and it just what our campers need.

but as the young spend less and less of their lives in natural surroundings, their sense narrow, physiologically and psychologically, and this reduces the richness of human experience. – Richard Louv

Several of these studies suggest that thoughful exposure of youngsters to nature can even be a more powerful form of therapy for attention-deficit disorder and other maladies. – Richard Louv

What are you learning as you begin reading this book?