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Richard Louv, in his 2005 book Last Child in the Woods, argues that a trend of children spending less time outdoors is having a detrimental effect on today’s youth. Louv claims that sensationalized media coverage and paranoid parents have "scared children straight out of the woods and fields." Louv contends that children are so involved with video games and television that they have lost their connection to the natural world. Furthermore, a 2005 study by the California Department of Education found that students in outdoor science programs improved their science testing scores by 27 percent. Ken Leinbach, director of the Milwaukee Urban Ecology Center wants to see every school connected to an outdoor classroom, and for school districts to partner with nature centers, nature preserves, ranches, and farms, to create a new type of schoolyard. Our partnerships strive to achieve these goals, connecting Los Angeles youth with nature.
Unfortunately, many elementary school teachers do not feel adequately trained to teach natural science, but by partnering with the Wildlife Learning Center they don't have to worry about their training – WLC will do the educating for them. |
