What do children lose when they lose regular, direct connection with the natural world? And what might all of us recover when we begin to notice again?
In the first episode of Raising Wild, Ashley talks with Richard Louv, author of Last Child in the Woods and Noticing: Intimate Encounters with the Natural World, about what has happened as childhood has moved farther indoors—and why the answer is not as simple as blaming screens.
Richard traces the roots of nature-deficit disorder through technology, parental fear, urban design, over-structured childhood and the way modern life has made outdoor freedom harder to come by. But this conversation is also about what remains possible: taking children outside, following their attention, making room for awe and wonder, and remembering that the natural world is still a source of healing, imagination and connection.
Ashley and Richard talk about why kids do not need parents to know every plant name or turn every moment outside into a lesson. What they remember, Richard says, is discovering something in nature with an adult who feels the same sense of wonder they do.
They also talk about environmental grief, climate anxiety and the strange comfort of paying closer attention to the very world we are afraid of losing. From frogs resurfacing in a pond to mountain lions outside Richard’s window, from a child watching water move through a canal to the “great conversation” happening among trees, animals, birds and fungi, this episode is an invitation to slow down long enough to notice what is still alive around us.
Because, as Richard says near the end of the conversation, “Nothing was ever protected that wasn’t loved. And nothing is loved if it’s not noticed.”
In this episode:
Ashley and Richard talk about:
- Richard’s childhood in the woods and how those early experiences shaped his life and work
- Why Last Child in the Woods sparked a broader conversation about children, nature and modern childhood
- Why technology is only one part of the story—and how parental fear, urban design and over-structured lives also keep kids inside
- Richard’s idea that “the more high-tech our lives become, the more nature we need”
- The growing body of research on children, nature, physical health, mental health, attention and learning
- Pediatricians prescribing nature and what that reveals about what children are missing
- Why parents do not need to know every plant name or have all the answers
- The importance of shared awe and wonder between children and adults
- How noticing can help us move through climate grief, environmental anxiety and despair
- The “great conversation” happening all around us in the natural world
- Why children are often our best teachers when it comes to slowing down and paying attention
- Nature journaling, photography, art and other ways to practice noticing
- Why love, attention and protection are connected
A few moments from the conversation
Richard talks about spending much of his childhood in the woods and finding “something bigger” there than what he saw in the human world. That experience, he says, is where much of his work comes from.
He also reminds parents that we do not have to recreate the exact kind of freedom many of us had as children. The world has changed. Fear, traffic, design and daily life are real. But we can still take children outside, enjoy nature with them and make room for discovery.
One of the most beautiful threads in the conversation is Richard’s reminder that what children remember is not always the lesson or the scientific name. What they remember is discovering something in nature alongside an adult who shared their sense of awe.
Ashley and Richard also talk about the ache of paying attention in a world where so much of the natural world is under threat. Richard’s answer is not denial or easy optimism. Instead, he points back to the world itself — to water, animals, trees, birds, insects, fungi, beauty and the living conversation around us — as a source of comfort and strength.
Links & Resources
- Learn more about Richard Louv: https://richardlouv.com/
- Richard Louv’s new book, Noticing: Intimate Encounters with the Natural World: https://www.hachettebookgroup.com/titles/richard-louv/noticing/9781643753034/
- Purchase Noticing: https://richardlouv.com/books/noticing/purchase
- Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children from Nature-Deficit Disorder: https://richardlouv.com/books/last-child
- Children & Nature Network: https://www.childrenandnature.org/
- Children & Nature Network Research Library: https://research.childrenandnature.org/
- Children & Nature Network resources: https://www.childrenandnature.org/resource-hub/resources/
Subscribe to Raising Wild today and follow along as the first season begins.
About Raising Wild
Raising Wild is a podcast from Wild Idea Media, hosted by Ashley Arnold, about what wild places build in us — and what happens when childhood drifts too far from them.
Every other Wednesday, Ashley talks with writers, scientists, educators, leaders, artists, athletes and parents about childhood, nature, freedom, risk, resilience and the wild, capable kid in all of us.
Together, they explore how time outside shapes us into more capable, curious and connected people. And why the wild places that made us who we are are worth paying attention to, caring for and protecting.
Meet Today’s Guest
Richard Louv is a journalist and author whose work helped launch an international movement to reconnect children, families, and communities with nature. He is the author of ten books, including Last Child in the Woods, The Nature Principle, Vitamin N, Our Wild Calling, and Noticing. Louv is co-founder and Chairman Emeritus of the Children & Nature Network, and is widely known for introducing the concept of nature-deficit disorder.