Serenbe Stories Richard Louv Wants Us to Reconnect with Nature and Animals
The Nygrens intuitively realized that nature was having a positive impact on their children, but reading Richard Louv's book Last Child in the Woods validated their decision to make the permanent move to Chattahoochee Hills.
Richard wants people to connect with nature, and he believes a big part of that is connecting with animals. When he'd written Last Child in the Woods, he was able to find about 60 studies during his research that helped inform his writing. That information plus another ~1,000 studies, exists in a digital library on the C&NN website. When looking at those studies though, there's not much information about wild animals and their impact on our psyche. Our ancestors knew that they helped shape us and that we shaped them. We told stories about them around campfires in which we found meaning.
His new book, Our Wild Calling, is to look at that and relate the stories he's collected about life-changing encounters and ongoing relationships with companion animals and how it gives life more meaning. This will take an important role in the future of the C&NN movement. Children feel the meaning of wild animal encounters, but it can be rediscovered.
Definitions, People + Organizations Mentioned
Nature-Deficit Disorder: The importance of children's and adults' exposure to nature for their health, and on the need for environmental protection and preservation for greater access to nature and the health of the Earth.
Nature-Rich: For a city to be wealthy in nature and an engine of bio-diversity, and to have children and families connected to nature.
I and Thou: Buber's main proposition is that we may address existence in two ways:
That of the "I" toward an "It," toward an object that is separate in itself, which we either use or experience
That of the "I" toward "Thou," in which we move into existence in a relationship without bounds. One of the major themes of the book is that human life finds its meaningfulness in relationships.
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Serenbe Stories is a podcast about making an impact, building a better life, and the extraordinary power of nature and community. Follow Serenbe on Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, and LinkedIn.