What would our lives be like if our days and nights were as immersed in nature as they are in technology?

This seems clear enough: When truly present in nature, we do use all our senses at the same time, which is the optimum state of learning.

Nature introduces children to the idea—to the knowing—that they are not alone in this world, and that realities and dimensions exist alongside their own.

Progress does not have to be patented to be worthwhile. Progress can also be measured by our interactions with nature and its preservation. Can we teach children to look at a flower and see all the things it represents: beauty, the health of an ecosystem, and the potential for healing?

One of my students told me that every time she learns the name of a plant, she feels as if she is meeting someone new. Giving a name to something is a way of knowing it.

In our bones we need the natural curves of hills, the scent of chaparral, the whisper of pines, the possibility of wildness.

As a species, we are most animated when our days and nights on Earth are touched by the natural world. We can find immeasurable joy in the birth of a child, a great work of art, or falling in love.