Where do people currently experience nature in Australia? What activities, groups or organisations are involved? What are the new opportunities in this space?
As Richard Louv has extensively documents in The last child in the woods, saving our children from nature deficit disorder, future environmentalists are formed through childhood experiences of play in nature.
And as Common Cause research into values shows, engaging intrinsic values primes people to care and act on behalf of the environment. Nature connection engages the following values:
• A world of beauty
• Unity with nature
• Protecting the environment
• Care for future generations
I am fortunate in my work at ACF, to have the opportunity to explore some powerful questions about how we can be more effective in our work, and how social and cultural change relates to our environmental goals. One of the question we’ve been exploring this week is where the opportunities lie to reengage and animate people in their connection to the natural world.
The “great outdoors” is an Australian myth and reality, rated highly by Australians when they talk about what makes this country unique.
Healthy Parks, Healthy People is an extensive literature review, by Deakin University in 2002, updated in 2008, examining over two hundred studies indicating significant human health benefits of contact with nature.
