Richard Louv, 2010, 416

“Our lives may be more productive, but less inventive. In an effort to value and structure time, some of us unintentionally may be killing dreamtime. In our worry about our children’s safety we may take actions that, in some ways, decrease our children’s safety.”

Can we foster environmental awareness in future generations just by talking about nature in the classroom? Richard Louv will convince you of the fundamental importance of letting kids play in natural open spaces, freely and without pressures. To take this away from them is tantamount to boxing them in a one-dimensional reality that stumps their cognitive and emotional development, and leads to what Louv calls "nature deficit disorder".