What's important is that children have an opportunity to bond with the natural world, to learn to love it and feel comfortable in it, before being asked to heal its wounds.

The heart of childhood, from seven to eleven, is the critical period for bonding with the earth.

You can’t bounce off the walls If there are no walls: outdoor schools make kids happier—and smarter

We tiptoed the tops of beaver dams, hopped hummocks, went wading, looked at spring flowers, tried to catcha snake, got lost and found. How fine it was to move at a meandery, child's pace.

What's important is that children have an opportunity to bond with the natural world, to learn to love it and feel comfortable in it, before being asked to heal its wounds.

Wet sneakers and muddy clothes are prerequisites for understanding the water cycle.

Exploration of the natural world begins in early childhood, flourishes in middle childhood, and continues in adolescence as a pleasure and a source of strength for social action.