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A Grassroots Remedy
A) Most of us spend our lives seeking the natural world. To this end, we
walk the dog, play golf, go fishing, sit in the garden, drink outside rather
than inside the pub, have a picnic, live in the suburbs, go to the seaside, buy
a weekend place in the country. The most popular leisure activity in Britain is
going for a walk. And when joggers (慢跑者) jog, they don't run the streets. Every
one of the minstinctively heads to the park or the river. It is my profound
belief that not only do we all need nature, but we all seek nature, whether we
know we are doing so or not.
B) But despite this, our children are growing up nature-deprived ( 丧失) , I
spent my boyhood climbing trees on Stratham Common, south London. These days,
children are robbed of these an cientfreedoms, due to problems like crime,
traffic, the loss of the open spaces and odd new perceptions about what is best
for children, that is to say, things that can be bought, rather than things that
can be found.
C) The truth is to be found elsewhere. A study in the U.S. families had
moved to better housing and the children were assessed for ADHD -- attention
deficit hyperactivity disorder ( 多动症) .Those whose accommodation had more
natural views showed an improvement of 19%; those who had the same improvement
in material surroundings but no nice view improved just 4%.
D) A study in Sweden indicated that kindergarten children who could play in
a natural environment had less illness and greater physical ability than
children used only to a normal playground. A U.S. study suggested that when a
school gave children access to a natural environment, academic levels
were raised across the entire school.
E) Another study found that children play differently in a natural
environment. In playgrounds, children create a hierarchy (等级) based on physical
abilities, with the tough ones taking the lead. But when a grassy area was
planted with bushes, the children got much more into fantasy play, and the
social hierarchy was now based on imagination and creativity.
F) Most bullying (持枪凌弱) is found in schools where there is a tarmac (柏油碎石)
play ground; the least bullying is in a natural area that the children are
encouraged to explore. This reminds mean pleasantly of Sunny hill School in
Stratham, with its harsh tarmac, where I used to hang about incomers fantasizing
about wildlife. The children are frequently discouraged from involvement with
natural spaces, for health and safety reasons, for fear that they might get
dirty or that they might cause damage. So, instead, the damage is done to the
children themselves: not to their bodies but to their souls.
G) One of the great problems of modem childhood is ADHD, now increasingly
and expensively treated with drugs. Yet one study after another indicates that
contact with nature gives huge benefits to ADHD children. However, we spend
money on drugs rather than on green places.
H) The life of old people is measurably better when they have access to
nature. The increasing emphasis for the growing population of old people is in
quality rather than quantity of years. And study after study finds that a garden
is the single most important thing in finding that quality.
I) In wider and more difficult areas of life, there is evidence to indicate
that natural surroundingsim prove all kinds of things. Even problems with crime
and aggressive behavior are reduced when there is contact with the natural
world. Dr. William Bird, researcher from the Royal Society for the Protection of
birds, states in his study, "A natural environment can reduce violent behavior
because its restorative process helps reduce anger and impulsive behavior." Wild
places need encouraging for this reason, no matter how small their
contribution.
J) We tend to look on nature conservation as some kind of favor that human
beings are granting to the natural world. The error here is far too deep: not
only do humans need nature for themselves, but the very idea that humanity and
the natural world are separable things is profoundly damaging. Human beings are
a species of mammals (哺乳动物) . For seven million years they lived on the planet
as part of nature. Our ancestral selves miss the natural world and long for
contact with nonhuman life. Anyone who has patted a dog, stoked a cat, sat under
a tree with a pint of beer, given or received a bunch of flowers or chosen to
walk through the park on a nice day, understands that. We need the wild world.
It is essential to our well-being, our health, our happiness. Without the wild
world we are not more but less civilized. Without other living things around us
we are less than human.
K) Five Ways to Find Harmony with the Natural World Walk: Break the rhythm
of permanently being under a roof. Get off a stop earlier, make a circuit of the
park at lunchtime, walk the child to and from school, get a dog, feel yourself
moving in moving air, look, listen, absorb.
Sit: Take a moment, every now and then, to be still in an open space. In
the garden, anywhere that's not in the office, anywhere out of the house, away
from the routine. Sit under a tree, look at water, feel refreshed, ever so
slightly renewed.
Drink: The best way to enjoy the natural world is by oneself; the second
best way is in company. Take a drink outside with a good person, a good
gathering: talk with the sun and the wind with bird-song for background.
Learn: Expand your boundaries. Leam five species of bird, five butterflies,
five trees, five bird songs. That way, you see and hear more: and your mind
responds gratefully to the greater amount of wildness in your life.
Travel: The places you always wanted to visit: by the seaside, in the
country, in the hills. Take a week-end break, a day-trip, get out these and do
it: for the scenery, for the way through the woods, for the birds, for the bees.
Go somewhere special and bring specialness home. It lasts forever, after
all.
46. The study in Sweden shows that more access to nature makes children
less likely to fall ill.
47. The author's profound belief is that people instinctively seek nature
in different ways.
48. It can be very helpful to provide more green spaces for children with
ADHD.
49. Elderly people will enjoy a life of better quality when they contact
more with nature.
50. Nowadays, people think things that can be bought are best for children,
rather than things that can be found.
51. Dr. William Bird suggests in his study that access to nature
contributes to the reduction of violence.52. According to a study in the U. S.
Children with ADHD whose accommodation had more natural views showed much better
improvement.
53. Children who have chances to explore natural areas are less likely to
be involved in bullying.
54. We can find harmony with the natural world in various ways, among which
there are walking, sitting, drinking, learning and traveling.
55. It is extremely harmful to think that humanity and the natural world
can be separated.
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发表于 2018-6-2 19:54:54