林间最后的小孩 (2008)

《林间最后的小孩：拯救自然缺失症儿童》是一本关于自然教育的图书，作者理查德·洛夫指出，在美国社会中，儿童与大自然的接触已经越发减少，这一现象被他称为“自然缺失症”，他认为，这一现象将有损于儿童与社会，并在书中阐述了其理由。该书根据一些研究得出结论认为，直接与自然的接触对健康的童年发展、儿童和成年人的身心健康而言都是必不可少的。作者还提出了针对这一问题的解决方案。2008年，作者又出版了一个经过修订和扩充的版本。

评价

这本书入选了纽约时报最佳纸质本非虚构作品畅销书的列表中。作者因“为儿童远离自然的问题及其健康和社会代价拉响了警钟，并引发了一场社会运动来补救这一问题”而荣获了奥杜邦奖。

版本

英语：The Last Child in the Woods,

精装版（2005年4月15日），ISBN 978-1-56512-391-5

更新和扩展版，平装（2008年4月10日），ISBN 978-1-56512-605-3

CD版有声图书：未删节版（2007年12月20日）ISBN 978-1-4281-6967-8

Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children From Nature-Deficit Disorder is a 2005 book by author Richard Louv that documents decreased exposure of children to nature in American society and how this "nature-deficit disorder" harms children and society. The author also suggests solutions to the problems he describes. A revised and expanded edition was published in 2008.

Synopsis

In the book, Louv argues that modern children are increasingly separated from nature compared to previous generations and that direct outdoor experience is essential for healthy development. He draws on research suggesting that reduced exposure to natural environments contributes to behavioral and emotional problems in children and that exposure can be therapeutic for children and adults suffering from traumatic stress, depression, obesity and many other disorders. Louv introduces the term "nature-deficit disorder" to describe the growing disconnection and writes that it affects "health, spiritual well-being, and many other areas, including [people's] ability to feel ultimately alive."

Louv argues imaginative outdoor play have been displaced by organized activities such as sports, electronic media, and parental fears about safety. He attributes these shifts to cultural anxieties, media sensationalism, and restrictions that limit children's access to natural spaces. Louv notes that these government imposed restrictions, such as regulations on treehouse construction and limits that discourage children from roaming in the nearby woods, further reduce opportunities for unstructured outdoor play. Louv argues that classrooms have likewise become increasingly sanitized, with outdoor learning and natural sciences removed or reduced to make room for preparation for standardized testing. Demonstrating the appeal of indoor activities, one fifth grader stated, "I like to play indoors better ’cause that’s where all the electrical outlets are." Louv further asserts that statistical dangers associated with outdoor play are very low and that media sensationalism has fueled disproportionate fears about children's safety.

Reception

The book was on the New York Times Best Seller list for best paper nonfiction. The author received the Audubon Medal "for sounding the alarm about the health and societal costs of children's isolation from the natural world—and for sparking a growing movement to remedy the problem."

During the second Obama administration, Sally Jewell, a CEO of REI and Obama's secretary of the interior, took an REI daypack filled with copies of Louv's book, went to the White House, and handed them out to staff and the President.

Versions

English: The Last Child in the Woods,

Hardcover (April 15, 2005), ISBN 978-1-56512-391-5

Paperback Updated and Expanded (April 10, 2008), ISBN 978-1-56512-605-3 audio CD: Recorded Books; Unabridged edition (December 20, 2007), ISBN 978-1-4281-6967-8

Japanese: Anatano Kodomoniwa Shizenga Tarinai, Hardcover (July 20, 2006), ISBN 978-4152087515

Children & Nature Network

The success of Last Child in the Woods inspired the creation of Children & Nature Network co-founded and chaired by the book's author, Richard Louv, to encourage and support the people and organizations working to reconnect children with nature.

Green Hour

Green Hour is an organization that provides information on how to reverse Nature-Deficit Disorder, and encourages parents to let their children explore and reconnect with the outdoors.