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Midwest family’s move to Costa Rica sparks major project to get kids outside again.
A nationwide movement to reconnect children with nature seeks to address the disturbing fact that, according to the National Wildlife Federation, today’s kids are more disconnected from the natural world than any generation before. There are parents, educators, and experts everywhere talking about it. But who’s talking to the kids?
Super Natural Adventures is. The Web site features videos created by three brothers—Ryan (13), Michael (11) and Will (10)—who moved with their parents from the suburbs of Milwaukee, WI to the jungles of Costa Rica in 2005. The intention behind the family’s move was to live a simpler life, closer to nature. Super Natural Adventures brings viewers along on their rain forest adventures.
"As a society, we are raising the first generation of Americans to grow up disconnected from nature," according to the National Wildlife Federation in the United States. It appears we've scheduled unstructured play time outdoors right out of our children's lives.
Richard Louv, author of Last Child in the Woods (review here), has coined the phrase "nature deficit disorder" to refer to this growing trend of our kids growing up disconnected from nature. This trend is particularly disturbing, given that it's taking place at a time when what we need most is to be raising stewards of nature and the environment.
Using local experts and educators, the Jacobus brothers explore rain forest creatures like sloths and cultural traditions such as the ancient process of making chocolate. The show isn’t just something to kick back and watch, however. The call to action is for kids everywhere to head outside and explore their own backyards, parks and forests. SNA offers a modern-day reward to young people who engage in this old-fashioned activity: a kids-only venue on which to post their nature-focused videos, photos and essays.
“SNA has a dual purpose,” said Maggie Jacobus, the boys’ mother and the director/producer of the videos. “The first is for our boys to share, on a kid-to-kid level, what they’re learning and discovering while exploring the rain forest. The second is to inspire kids everywhere to get excited about nature, especially their local environment. Kids don’t want to be preached to about the environment. If you just get them outside and connected to it, the desire to protect it is a natural outcome.”
The SNA site also has information for parents and educators, including a blog from Jacobus, aka Jungle Mama. Jacobus, a professional journalist and internationally published author, has yet one more personal goal with SNA: “The advent of User-Generated Content (UGC) on the web is an exciting trend. Anyone can now be a ‘published’ reporter,” she says. “I want to guide kids to create interesting, thoughtful, well-written content. Our site can play a role in taking the UGC trend to a new level of quality.”
For more information visit, www.supernaturaladventures.com.
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written by OneMom , November 14, 2008
