TAKING IT OUTSIDE

Gov. John Baldacci’s directive this week to have multiple state agencies review what they might be doing to inhibit Maine children from enjoying the outdoors may seem like overkill, but based on an important book on the growing disconnection between Americans and the outdoors, it is entirely appropriate.

The book is “Last Child in the Woods,” by Richard Louv, which examines the many and wide-ranging factors contributing to this disconnection. Mr. Louv looks over the last generation – often from about 1970 to the present – and sees how parental fear and sometimes misjudgment of risk to children, school policies that exclude recess, endless access to high-tech entertainment, science classes that lean toward the microbial over hands-on learning, spreading suburbia and a dozen other factors influence whether children discover and appreciate nature.

By nature, Mr. Louv means what is encountered during the kind of unstructured exploration of the local patch of woods that leads to tree-house construction, impromptu leaf-boat racing in the nearby stream or an overnight admiring the stars. Preferably parents are absent. It is play that was so common a generation or two ago that no one bothered to measure it, play before organized sports expanded to classify and focus the wide-ranging interests of children.

That sort of play is still common in many parts of Maine, but no longer everywhere and no longer as often as it used to be. Its absence leads, says Mr. Louv, to “nature-deficit disorder,” a nonscientific term whose effects show up in a lack of ability to pay attention, lack of calm and an increased distancing from the outside world. It is an unhealthy state, and may be one reason why children now are less healthy physically than previous generations.

Gov. Baldacci sees an economic effect if Maine residents grow up without an appreciation of Maine’s natural beauty. Residents “don’t have to fly off to Disney World,” he said at a news conference announcing his “Take It Outside” initiative based on the book’s observations. “We have Disney World all around us here” in the countryside of Maine.

The governor is also planning a conference on this issue next spring, meaning Maine will be hearing more about the connection between the outdoors and the physical health of children. It’s not clear yet how this problem plays out in Maine or what role government might play – besides getting out of the way. But the time between now and the conference ought to give his administration the opportunity to learn more about the extent to which Maine is affected by this phenomenon.

Maine’s small, dispersed population means that it will never be influential on many economic and social issues. But in Mr. Louv’s observations and the governor’s interest, Maine has a chance to do something of value for itself and other states. The governor is right to pursue it.