I want to draw your attention to the US best seller titled 'Last Child in the Woods'. This book is full of interesting facts and figures about our disconnection with nature and what this means for the future of wo/mankind.

The author, Louv, highlights that this generation of children are the first to be raised indoors, without meaningful contact with nature. He wants parents to understand how they can protect their children from Nature Deficit Disorder.  Louv's work ultimately inspired the international movement of Leave No Child Inside which is about environmental education. 

There are some significant differences between educational and therapeutic models of working alongside children in nature - but educating them about their surroundings and inspiring a love of nature is a wonderful start.  Sadly this is a start in life that many children in today's society are not given.

Nature Therapy is about interacting with nature through the senses. One of the human costs to progression is the diminishment of sensory experience. In other words, our sensory world has shrunk. Being immersed in nature means smelling, hearing, tasting and touching. Getting out into the woods provides us with the opportunity to fine tune our senses, to put meaning in to our lives and understand our place in this world. 

Getting out into the big wide world of nature is the finest gift you can give a child. Whilst X boxes break and computer games come and go, the gift of a love of our natural world will stay with them the rest of their lives. It will sustain them during tough times, provide them with inspiration, passion, insight, creativity, meaning and purpose.  It has the potential to help them deal with the stress of modern existence in a positive way. Go on - inspire a child today.

The basis of all the programmes we run at Nature Therapy CIC are that they involve all the senses. Much of the therapeutic work that takes place within psychological and treatment services is only taking based.  In fact they are referred to as 'talking therapies'.  Of course it is very much dependent on the model of talking therapy used, but they do not generally approach the person from a holistic viewpoint.

The term holistic can mean many different things, but to me it means involving the whole person in reaching their own solutions and that includes involving their senses. We were born into this world with the gift of senses and it is how we first experienced life. So, I fail to understand how language alone can help us understand our own personal way of being. In fact it can often limit our understanding.  How often have you said 'I cant quite put it into words but....'

Memories are not just expressed in language. For example,  we have a gustatory memory and an olfactory memory. Our first memories were formed from being fed milk, held close and soothed. Those first sensory experiences will help us form patterns of behaviour that will stay with us for life. 

Sensory memories are stored in different parts of the brain, so in conditions such as dementia as the brain becomes more fragile and language becomes harder to grasp, we still retain sensory memories.

This is the basis of the Haven programme of nature therapy and dementia care - helping people to retain communication through sensory experiences.