The Nature Principle: Reconnecting with Life in a Virtual Age

The immediacy of Richard Louv’s message in Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children from Nature-Deficit Disorder galvanized an international movement to reconnect children with nature. Now, in The Nature Principle, Louv reaches even further with a powerful call to action for the rest of us.

Our society, says Louv, has developed such an outsized faith in technology that we have yet to fully realize or even adequately study how human capacities are enhanced through the power of nature. Supported by groundbreaking research, anecdotal evidence, and compelling personal stories, Louv shows us how tapping into the restorative powers of the natural world can boost mental acuity and creativity; promote health and wellness; build smarter and more sustainable businesses, communities, and economies; and ultimately strengthen human bonds. As he says in his introduction, The Nature Principle is “about the power of living in nature—not with it, but in it. We are entering the most creative period in history. The twenty-first century will be the century of human restoration in the natural world.”

“As a pediatrician for nearly 40 years and leader in the American Academy of Pediatrics I have seen that nature isn’t the only solution to problems like obesity, mental health, and health disparities, but it has tremendous potential to alleviate all these issues. Thanks to Richard Louv for reminding us all to reconnect with nature and for providing hope. —Mary Brown, M.D., FAAP (Fellow of the American Academy of Pediatrics)

“[THE NATURE PRINCIPLE] may be just what our high-tech, urban culture needs to bring us down to earth.” —Publishers Weekly

Paperback
352 pages
ISBN 978161620141