Nature Is About Smelling, Hearing, Tasting, Seeing.

No Other Youth Group Like The Scouts Has Trained So Many Future Leaders While At The Same Time Being A Nature Organization With Its Outdoor Focus.

It Takes Time--loose, Unstructured Dreamtime-- To Experience Nature In A Meaningful Way. Unless Parents Are Vigilant, Such Time Becomes A Scarce Resource, Not Because We Intend It To Shrink, But Because Time Is Consumed By Multiple, Invisible Forces; Because Our Culture Currently Places So Little Value On Natural Play.

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.

In Medieval Times, If Someone Displayed The Symptoms We Now Identify As Boredom, That Person Was Thought To Be Committing Something Called Acedia, A 'dangerous Form Of Spiritual Alienation' -- A Devaluing Of The World And Its Creator.

Numerous Studies Document The Benefits To Students From School Grounds That Are Ecologically Diverse And Include Free Play Areas, Habitats For Wildlife, Walking Trails, And Gardens.