OHC Lecture Series Presents Richard Louv

Trafton B.

March 7, 2011 - 10:08 PM

Something I'm going to miss about being on a college campus is the abundance of knowledge and intellectually stimulating events that the University puts on throughout the year. Obviously classes are the primary academic draw for the UO, but degree requirements aside, there's a whole separate dimension to academia that cannot be overlooked. One such event is the annual lecture series put on each year by the Oregon Humanities Center (OHC).

The theme for OHC's 2010-2011 lecture series is "Sustenance," a campus-wide exploration of the things that sustain people and the earth in body, mind, and spirit. Topics for this year's series ranges from spiritual wholeness to environmental justice.

In January, I was able to catch Van Jones, author of The Green Collar Economy and co-founder of Green For All, a national organization working to build an inclusive green economy strong enough to lift people out of poverty. I won't go into detail about Jones' lecture, but I will say that I was absolutely blown away by his stories and his ideas. He's the kind of person our nation needs to bring us out of our ecological funk and transition our economy to clean, sustainable practices.

OHC has hosted several lecture events throughout the year, including several well-known journalists and scientists like Kathleen Dean Moore, Dr. Vandana Shiva, and Tracy Kidder. They've also put on a few several ‘fireside conversation with University professors like Allison Carruth, English & Environmental Studies, Nico Larco, Architecture, and Tom Osdoba, College of Business. Earlier tonight, after handing two 12-page reports (two down, two to go for those of you keeping track of my "Final Push" for winter term), I took a break from studying to catch an OHC lecture by Richard Louv.

Richard Louv is a journalist and is probably most well-known for his book Last Child in the Woods: Saving our Children from Nature Deficit Disorder, at least that's how I know him because that was required reading for the Environmental Leadership Program (ELP). Nature deficit disorder is Louv's idea that nature is a powerful healing agent, as American towns become more urbanized and American people become more addicted to technology, we're becoming more separated from nature and this intrinsic healing power.

In tonight's lecture, titled "The Restorative Power of the Nature World," Louv touched on his writings from Last Child in the Woods. He preached about the need to preserve nature for the sake of our children, whom he argues are the most vulnerable to a loss of nature. But tonight's talk was really about human's lack of connection to nature as a whole. Louv posed big questions about how views of where we, as humans, fit in with the environment shape our relationship with it.

One of my favorite lines was when Louv spoke about the feeling he has when he steps outside. It's the feel of "knowing where you are and where you stand. Below you is the land. Above is sky. You belong there. It is yours and you are its." It's that sense of belonging that we've lost in this age of technology, and it's that feeling of belonging that will be critically important to regain in the coming decades. I'm almost we'll discuss Louv's talk in my Views on the Environment (GEOG 462) course tomorrow.

The last thing I'll say, because I really should be getting back to work, is that Louv's talk brought me right back to the Environmental Leadership Program. Children need to be outside. As Louv said, "When children go out, they learn better. When else are you using all your senses at the same time?" People need to be outside!! It's that simple. As much work as the ELP was last year, I'll never forget how much fun it was teaching kids about the environment. Our lessons with the Climate Equity Team never had us taking the students outside, but just talking about the environment and climate change and how riding your bike to school is better for the health of both you and the natural environment made these kids excited. It was awesome!

Okay, I'm done for now. Back to the grindstone, but thanks for listening. If you want to see some of these lectures yourselves, just click on the link at the bottom of this post. The Oregon Humanities Center video tapes and archives all of their lectures. Louv's lecture isn't up yet, but it should be there within the next week or so. Enjoy!

Oregon Humanities Center Lectures archive.

Photo courtesy of Alex McDougall, Oregon Daily Emerald.