Podcast: Connecting kids and ourselves to nature
by Mike Gaworecki on 30 June 2021
On today’s episode of the Mongabay Newscast, we discuss the latest research showing how important it is to connect kids to nature and educate them about the environment.
We’re joined by author and journalist Richard Louv, who created the ‘nature deficit disorder’ concept in 2005 to facilitate discussion of the impacts our disconnectedness from nature has on human health and wellbeing. His latest book is Our Wild Calling: How Connecting With Animals Can Transform Our Lives and Save Theirs.
We’re also joined by Megan Strauss, an editor with Mongabay Kids, who tells us about how the site delivers the news and inspiration from nature’s frontline for young readers and discusses the importance of environmental education.
Less screen time and more green time have been linked with better psychological and intellectual outcomes among children and adolescents, according to a new Australian study.
Conducted by researchers at the University of Adelaide, the systematic review of almost 200 studies found that screen time can have a negative impact not only on children’s emotional wellbeing, but also on their academic achievement. It also found that green time (time spent in nature outdoors) could potentially ‘cure’ or act as a buffer against this negative impact of screen time.
With a large proportion of schooling in the UAE happening online at the moment, and many children spending more time on screens than ever before, it’s never been more important to understand the impact on our kids and what can be done about.