According to author Richard Louv, doctors should “consider prescribing ‘vitamin N’—‘N’ for nature—as an antidote to nature-deficit disorder, which is not a medical diagnosis (though perhaps it should be), but a metaphor for the price paid, particularly by children, for our societal disconnect from the natural world.”
In this companion handbook to Louv’s earlier books, Last Child in the Woods and The Nature Principle, he offers more than 500 activities to help people of all ages and abilities reconnect with nature. Also included are helpful resources such as websites, magazines, books, and local and national nature organizations, as well as insightful essays about the way participation in and awareness of nature has changed people’s lives.
Particularly interesting is the section on “Vitamin N for the Soul: The Potential of Faith-Based Organizations,” in which Louv asserts that religious organizations and faith-based communities need to take on a larger role to help children and adults learn from and interact with nature. (Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill)
About the Author
Sonya VanderVeen Feddema is a freelance writer and a member of Covenant CRC in St. Catharines, Ontario.
