There is another possibility: not the end of nature, but the rebirth of wonder and even joy.

Reconnection to the natural world is fundamental to human health, well-being, spirit, and survival.

Time in nature is not leisure time; it's an essential investment in our chidlren's health (and also, by the way, in our own).

Here is the beginning of understanding: most parents are doing their best, and most children are doing their best, and they're doing pretty well, all things considered.

Prize the natural spaces and shorelines most of all, because once they're gone, with rare exceptions they're gone forever. In our bones we need the natural curves of hills, the scent of chapparal, the whisper of pines, the possibility of wildness. We require these patches of nature for our mental health and our spiritual resilience.

Mothers tend to be more direct. Fathers talk to other fathers about their kids more metaphorically. It's a different way of communication.

The future will belong to the nature-smart.