Another Modest Proposal

As an avid, well, hard-core, bird watcher, I have always slept better if I had gone birding that morning. Indeed, my mood and attitude were more conducive to sleep. Whatever the world's problems were, they weren't mine. I had thoughts of what I had seen that day. Rain or shine, it had been a better day because I had gone birding. As I thought of species that eluded me, I would plan another outing with the determination of finding a certain bird. Hopefully, I would dream of birds or other wildlife. I now live in Vilcabamba, Ecuador, in the midst of the greatest diversity of life on the planet. If you are searching for birds, plants or orchids, animals or reptiles, it just does not get any better than Ecuador. My walk this morning took me from dry scrub to wet cloud forest in just an hour. One couldn't help but smile at such surroundings. An article in The Atlantic for October, 2015, describes the benefits of such activity. Not birding, per se, but any activity which brings you into an environment conducive to tranquility and awe. They call it ecotherapy. It can be the best prescription for many ailments or conditions. It can alleviate stress (hormonal) and behavioral disorders. We are an animal ourselves and we must affiliate ourselves with other life forms. Nature-deficit disorder exists! Thoreau understood this, as did E. O. Wilson. Children are more at ease after time spent communing with nature. Patients heal faster if their hospital room has a view of nature. You have less anger, fatigue or sadness if your workout is in a park, or the woods, rather than in a gym. But you can't just touch a tree and incur the benefits, you also have to have a sense of caring or feel involved. You, as a life form, are a part of this environment. You don't have to wear tie-dye and live in a commune to appreciate the benefits of nature. I propose that this be incorporated in a childs' education at the appropriate age, which I would leave to educators to determine. I am not saying take kids out to a park and have them smell the flowers. They need to be taught how to appreciate their surroundings and have a sense of belonging. Ecuadorians have a propensity to litter which could be alleviated if they are taught at a young age that trash has its place, and this place is not along the side of the road. All the populace should have this appreciation instilled in them. As a tool, teaching bird watching skills is an ideal way to accomplish this goal. It can have a set curriculum. And if you like to learn names of the birds you see, it can teach you something about Latin! Every aspect of what a child might learn by birding has multiple benefits. A teacher could 'sneak' in the science of biology and chemistry with ease. Ask someone to donate 20 pairs of binoculars to a school. Surely a corporation in your area would like to sponsor this type of education. Nature-deficit disorder can sometimes lead to a teenager picking up a few cans of spray-paint!

John W. Erickson

Vilcabamba, Loja, Ecuador.