Ocean Book of the Month
Every month, The Ocean Project highlights a book focused on our blue planet or environmental sustainability. Books for all age groups will be covered, non-fiction and fiction, prose and poetry. If you have a suggestion, please let us know.
Beyond Ecophobia:
Reclaiming the Heart in Nature Education
By David Sobel
The life of a child can include outdoor activities everyday, all year round. Outdoor experiences combat ecophobia, the fear of rainforest destruction, acid rain, and Lyme disease — the fear of just being outside. If we prematurely ask children to deal with problems of an adult world before we've let them explore it on their own, we cut them off from the possible sources of their strength. Beyond Ecophobia describes better ways to support a child's biological tendency to bond with the natural world.
Beyond Ecophobia reminds us all that being outdoors is one of life's simple pleasures. In fact, David Sobel hammers the point home so often from different angles of consideration that you may see the world in a new light. For children, outdoor play enhances development as they can learn to label, classify and experiment with the elements of nature. Kids can get in touch and define new emotions of wonderment that never end. Biophilia (the love of the outdoors), if experienced as Beyond Ecophobia suggests it can and should be, allows us all to relate with our inner child and develop a sixth sense for nature that other authors like John Muir have expressed to us so eloquently. Words that can help us commit to personal action on behalf of the ocean.
As suggested by Orion Magazine:
David Sobel writes, "What's important is that children have an opportunity to bond with the natural world, to learn to love it, before being asked to heal its wounds." Beyond Ecophobia speaks to teachers, parents, and others interested in nurturing in children the ability to understand and care deeply for nature from an early age. This expanded version of one of Orion's most popular articles includes descriptions of developmentally appropriate environmental education activities and a list of related children's books.
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Check out some more of the author's thoughts about nature education.
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Find out how you can help do more at the Seas the Day action pages.
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If you are interested in reading this book but also want to be a conscious consumer, please visit your local library and check it out.
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If you have any suggestions for a future "Ocean Book of the Month", please let us know. Send us your favorite recent or not-so-recent read so we can share it with all!
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If you're interested in purchasing this book, and then perhaps passing it along to a friend to spread the word, we encourage you to buy locally and from an independent bookseller. Please click on one of the two logos below to purchase a good read and help The Ocean Project.
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