AGrassrootsRemedyMostofusspendourlivesseekingthenaturalworld.Tothisend,wewalkthedog,playgolf,gofishing,sitinthegarden,drinkoutsideratherthaninsidethepub酒馆,haveapicnic,liveinthesuburbs在郊外,gototheseaside,buyaweekendplaceinthecountry.Themostpopularleisure休闲的activityinBritainisgoingforawalk.Andwhenjoggers(慢跑者)jog,theydon’trunthestreets.Everyoneoftheminstinctively本能的headstotheparkortheriver.Itismyprofound深厚的beliefthatnotonlydoweallneednature,butweallseeknature,whetherweknowwearedoingsoornot.Butdespitethis尽管如此,ourchildrenaregrowingupnature-deprived(丧失).Ispentmyboyhood童年climbingtreesonStreathamCommon,SouthLondon.Thesedays,childrenarerobbedof被剥夺了theseancientfreedoms,dueto由于problemslikecrime,traffic,thelossoftheopenspacesandodd古怪的newperceptionsaboutwhatisbestforchildren,thatistosay,thingsthatcanbebought,ratherthanthingsthatcanbefound.Thetruthistobefoundelsewhere.AstudyintheUS:familieshadmovedtobetterhousingandthechildrenwereassessedforADHD—attentiondeficithyperactivitydisorder(多动症).Thosewhoseaccommodation住宿hadmorenaturalviewsshowedanimprovementof19%;thosewhohadthesameimprovementinmaterialsurroundingsbutnoniceviewimprovedjust4%.AstudyinSwedenindicatedthatkindergarten幼儿园childrenwhocouldplayinanaturalenvironmenthadlessillnessandgreaterphysicalabilitythanchildrenusedonlytoanormalplayground.AUSstudysuggestedthatwhenaschoolgavechildrenaccesstoanaturalenvironment,academiclevelswereraisedacrosstheentireschool.Anotherstudyfoundthatchildrenplaydifferentlyinanaturalenvironment.Inplaygrounds,childrencreateahierarchy(等级)basedonphysicalabilities,withthetough强壮的onestakingthelead.Butwhenagrassyareawasplantedwithbushes,thechildrengotmuchmoreintofantasyplay幻想玩,andthesocialhierarchywasnowbasedonimaginationandcreativity.Mostbullying(恃强凌弱)isfoundinschoolswherethereisatarmac(柏油碎石)playground;theleast最少bullyingisinanaturalareathatthechildrenareencouragedtoexplore.ThisremindsmeunpleasantlyofSunnyhillSchoolinStreatham,withitsharshtarmac,whereIusedtohangaboutincornersfantasising幻想aboutwildlife.Butchildrenarefrequentlydiscouragedfrominvolvementwithnaturalspaces,forhealthandsafetyreasons,forfearthattheymightgetdirtyorthattheymightcausedamage.So,instead,thedamageisdonetothechildrenthemselves:nottotheirbodiesbuttotheirsouls.OneofthegreatproblemsofmodernchildhoodisADHD,nowincreasinglyandexpensivelytreatedwith处理，治疗drugs.Yetonestudyafteranotherindicatesthatcontactwithnaturegiveshugebenefits效益利益toADHDchildren.However,wespendmoneyondrugsratherthanongreenplaces.Thelifeofoldpeopleismeasurablybetterwhentheyhaveaccesstonature.Theincreasingemphasisforthegrowingpopulationofoldpeopleisinqualityratherthanquantityofyears.Andstudyafterstudyfindsthatagardenisthesinglemostimportantthinginfindingthatquality.Inwiderandmoredifficultareasoflife,thereisevidencetoindicatethatnaturalsurroundingsimproveallkindsofthings.Evenproblemswithcrimeandaggressive好斗的behaviourarereducedwhenthereiscontactwiththenaturalworld.DrWilliamBird,researcherfromtheRoyalSocietyfortheProtection保护防护ofBirds,statesinhisstudy,“Anaturalenvironmentcanreduceviolent暴力的behaviourbecauseitsrestorativeprocesshelpsreduceangerandimpulsive冲动的behaviour.”Wildplacesneedencouragingforthisreason,nomatterhowsmalltheircontribution.Wetendtolookonnatureconservation保护assomekindoffavourthathuman...
