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It makes me sad to think that our environment is suffering and young people don't know about nature. The only way for us to really help our planet is by raising an aware and compassionate generation of youth.
On a windy day when the sky looked like a grey sea I went for a walk and fell in love with nature all over again. I felt my heart surging and I was so happy. I sat on my bench, looking out at the view, and soaked up the scenery. All the leaves looked vibrant and the world seemed new. It was as if I had been swimming in silty water all my life and had just surfaced for air and seen trees and color for the first time. After I got up I felt my soul singing and I felt as if I were eight years old. I skipped down the path in the woods and hugged a tree.
I felt free and silly and I let myself go. But it didn't occur to me then that a lot of kids don't have such experiences. For one, the very studious students are locked away in a house or a school most days reading about how wonderful the environment is and how we need to save it. For another, a lot of kids are in the malls when they have free time or else they live in a big city full of smog. I know I'm being stereotypical but a lot of people just aren't in touch with nature.
If we're going to save our planet we first must gain an appreciation for it. I'm never more passionate for trees than when I am outside with trees. I don't see how many people could be passionate about trees by reading or hearing about them. What we need is lots of time to be outside. I don't mean outside on asphalt in a city but outside in nature. If you can be in nature and be completely present in the moment you will be amazed over and over again. We must go about saving our planet by first instilling an appreciation of nature in our children. The best way to do this is by being in nature. After the appreciation and love is there, there will be a connection and saving the planet will become a strong and passionate conviction rather than just another chore passed on by adults. If kids are passionate about something, they will be eager to help to conserve it.
So many of our youth feel completely detached from nature, from other people, and from themselves. It should be a goal to begin to forge the connections with our Earth. It is urgent that we value what we do have around us and that we feel a sense of connectedness with it. Many children get turned off about nature when they hear all the disturbing facts in class about rainforest and ozone depletion and feel powerless -as if there's nothing they can do and their voice isn't going to be heard. This is an attitude we must alter! Start going out into nature and examining how amazing it is! I am always in awe when I watch a slug as it slowly ingests a piece of decaying leaf or when a great blue heron glides overhead or when I come across a wild strawberry patch and the berries are ripe!
The best way to see how we are interconnected is by experiencing it. We must give children room to breathe and grow and explore their environment. This is the first step. If we know what it is we're trying to save and why it's important and how it relates to us we will find ways to help!
Start getting more in touch with nature right now! Go outside and start a garden, go for a walk and stop to feel the different textures of each leaf, dance in the rain with bare feet, climb a tree and feel how satisfying it is. The more you get outside, the more you'll feel peaceful and in touch with your own spirit. So go ahead, turn that nature-loving spark into a flame!
Nature Appreciation Day is every day!
~ Laura
Here are some links you might want to visit if you're already fired up about nature!
www.therainforestsite.com
all you have to do is click!
www.ran.org/
www.greenpeace.org/others/
www.emagazine.com