Thank You Bixler, Carlisle, Hammitt, and Floyd!

Boy, if there was ever a case for the passing of No Child Left Inside and the adoption of environmental literacy plans by all of our States, this is it! My heart melts for these kids. It's so easy to say that they're just a bunch of yellow-bellied city slickers, but I really don't hold them responsible. They just haven't been given the opportunities to go out into nature and explore it for themselves. Instead, they've had TV and movies and probably a few urban legends paint the picture for them, and that picture looks terrifying! I found it particularly interesting that only about 1/3 of the participants were afraid of strangers. I know that when I walk down a dark street, I'm much more wary of my fellow man than of a bat or bug or a snake jumping out at me. Although I suppose that's just putting the shoe on the other foot and they might think that my fears are ridiculous!

I'm so grateful to the pioneers like Richard Louv, the authors of this article, and the champions of the NCLI Act who are bringing this issue to light. Just as we may not see the effect that factor has on the environment for many years, we are just now seeing the effects increasingly urbanizing ourselves and isolating our children from nature. I suspect that this problem of "eco-phobia"may take nearly as long to remedy as it did to create. And so the challenge as been presented, eh Cohort?! We have our work cut out for us; I'm excited to become a part of that solution...heck, to already be a part of that solution.