Nature Adverse

Reflecting on how nature deficit disorder has affected my life, I found that I was quite aware of its impact, and I tried to keep that from happening with my children.

I am not a nature person on any level and this can be attributed by many things in my life. I grew up in a big city. I was on the outskirts, where there were creeks and access to nature, but my body did not like nature. I remember my mom taking me for walks in the nearby park; I came home wheezing and with puffy, red eyes. I am allergic to pollen and many kinds of grass and trees along with horses and dogs. I also grew up without a father, so I never learned to fish, camp, or hunt. Consequently, I gravitated towards the city.

Philadelphia

I loved taking the trains into center city with friends; we hit all the record stores on a regular basis. My wife grew up in the suburbs and the city gives her anxiety. I love the buzz of a city. Crowded streets, buses, and subways don’t bother me. But, sometime in adulthood, I recognized how little connection I had with nature. I became aware that I am sensory-adverse to nature and thought that was rather sad.

My wife and I had a son in our thirties. Jet is autistic and had many sensory issues. We tried to immerse him into many environments to help him overcome them. I joined him up with boy scouts and found I had just as much sensory issues as he did. We sent him to camp for three straight summers. He’s 19 now and not very much into nature, but he has conquered many of the sensory challenges that plagued him during childhood. I believe his exposure to nature helped with that.

In our 40s, my wife and I had a little girl, Presley. She is very outgoing, and I noticed very early on that she loved nature. She loved picking up lizards and didn’t have any sensory challenges. So, I signed her up to several nature camps while she was still very young.  

She’s only 8 and has had much more exposure to nature than I ever had. However, I do notice she is becoming more squeamish to things. I think she is mimicking the reactions to those around her. If the students in her class are freaking out over something slimy, then she thinks this is how she is supposed to respond. I try to encourage her to set a different trend, especially since she has a type A personality. I hope she continues to appreciate nature; I think she will one day regret it, if she doesn’t.