Biophilia

There is a remarkable amount of resistance to the environmental change movement.
Despite decades of awareness campaigns, protests, education, and catastrophes, the change in environmental attitude has been dangerously slow.
It seems that being 'green' remains a stigma associated with the extreme left wing and is marginalized as a fringe element of society.
There are plenty of consumer products for the masses that veil the critical issues.  There is a superficial will for change among the greater public, yet the real contribution of the consumer class is inadequate for genuine change.  The necessary change is severe and selfless.  The will appears absent.

Effective change can only be wrought by those with a heartfelt passion for the biosphere.
How do we cultivate that passion within our society?  For our society has created the problems, perpetuates them, and sets the example to others.  It must start here.

It is virtually impossible to change the attitude of the older generations.  So many minds are rigid and unmoving.
Only the young remain pliable enough to open their hearts and minds to the immediacy of change.
So, it is the children upon whom we must impress the passion for our world and it's inhabitants.
They must feel a personal and selfless obligation to enact a change of attitude towards the fragile ecology.
To do this, we cultivate biophilia in our children.

Biophilia is a simple term that means the love of life.
Theoretically, we all possess this love.  However, in many people, it does not manifest itself as a conscious emotion.  There must be a catalyst of some sort to bring these feelings into the forefront of a person's psyche and into their decision making.
In a disproportionately urban society, children receive very little exposure to the natural world.  Of the lower income urban demographic, some children never leave the concrete confines of the city.  There are parks, of course, but they are a poor representation of a vibrant working ecosystem.  
All children must be exposed to more wilderness and have positive and lasting learning experiences from nature itself.

Though neither Kira or I grew up in a farming environment, we were fortunate to have been raised in an outdoors lifestyle.  Both of us spent a great deal of time on the lake, in swamps, and in the forest.  We had parents who taught us about the plants and the creatures and how everything interacted.  We discovered more by playing and exploring on our own in this environment.  It is this kind of upbringing that has helped encourage our passion for changing how our society co-habits with the greater ecology.
Now, we pass that on to our children.  We teach our children to love and respect life and land in hopes that they too will push for change.  It is not conditioning, but cultivating, the natural love of life that we all possess.

Soon, we will be conducting educational experiences here at our home.
Many of the workshops that we will offer will be in the woods, on the ponds, at the swamps.
I believe that many people have the capacity and the will to change their actions for the good of our natural landscape.  We hope that we can encourage the natural love of life in anybody that visits here.