By letting our children lead us to their own special places we can rediscover the joy and wonder of nature.

By letting our children lead us to their own special places we can rediscover the joy and wonder of nature.

Green exercise improves psychological health.

Natural playgrounds may decrease bullying.

Natural play strengthens children's self-confidence and arouses their senses-their awareness of the world and all that moves in it, seen and unseen.

Now, my tree-climbing days long behind me, I often think about the lasting value of those early, deliciously idle days. I have come to appreciate the long view afforded by those treetops. The woods were my Ritalin. Nature calmed me, focused me, and yet excited my senses.

How can our kids really understand the moral complexities of being alive if they are not allowed to engage in those complexities outdoors?