Recommended Reading
Bringing Nature Home: How Native Plants Sustain Wildlife in Our Gardens
by Doug Tallamy
Doug Tallamy believes that children and their families help salvage - or build - the biodiversity of our world by naturalizing their back yards. Tallamy is professor and chair of the Department of Entomology and Wildlife Ecology at the University of Delaware. Richard Louv calls Tallamy's book "the perfect antidote to the belief that nature happens somewhere else."
A Parent's Guide to Nature Play: How to Give Your Children More Outdoor Play, and Why You Should!
by Ken Finch
Ken Finch, founder of Green Hearts Institute, has published this brand new booklet for parents. Downloadable as a PDF, this 20-page guide helps parents understand the key elements of great nature play, why it is important, and how they can integrate it into their children's daily lives.
Natural Learning: Creating Environments for Rediscovering Nature's Way of Teaching
by Robin C. Moore and Herb H. Wong (1997)
This is the classic sourcebook for how to transform an asphalt playground into a rich, relevant and natural place for learning. This ten-year life history of Washington Elementary School's environmental schoolyard in Berkeley is a must-read story today. The concepts here can be applied to backyards, city parks, schoolyards and more.
The Geography of Childhood: Why Children Need Wild Places
by Gary Paul Nabhan and Stephen Trimble (1994)
Though published more than a decade ago, The Geography of Childhood remains as relevant as ever. Written by two fathers who are naturalists, it makes vivid through essays and anecdotes the importance of a direct experience of nature in childhood development.
A Natural Sense of Wonder: Connecting Kids with Nature Through the Seasons
by Rick Van Noy
Van Noy, an English professor and father, chronicles his efforts to turn his children's attention from their television and computer screens to the outdoors. In a series of essays organized mostly by season, he describes a host of outdoor adventures including swimming, hiking, gardening and fishing with his family.
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