The first time I saw the fear of nature in a man's face was in the tiny village of Guaravatay in the countryside of Paraguay. We were sitting under a huge mango tree, drinking Mate tea and trying to ignore the sweltering heat of a typical South American summer day.
Alejandra, the sister of my good friend, hosted a group of old villagers on her little farm. One of the guest's presents was already boiling on the stone stove outside the main house. Luis had brought Alejandra a live chicken, packed in a basket on the back seat of his motorcycle.
Being a visitor from another continent, I was curious about this landlocked country in the heart of South America. One part of Paraguay always sounded interesting to me: Chaco, the semi-arid region in the north and the most sparsely inhabited land in South America. Gran Chaco has an abundance of wildlife, including jaguars, pumas, giant tapirs, armadillos, anteaters, reptiles, numerous lizards, and at least 60 known species of snakes. There is also a myriad of biting, stinging insects, and many tropical diseases.
With my friend translating, I asked the group if it would be possible to organize a trip to Gran Chaco. First, there was a long silence, and then one by one, the men described with fearful faces why they never would want to visit this part of their country. Luis, in particular, told the story of his father. The latter fought the "Guerra del Chaco" (Chaco War) in the wilderness against Bolivia. His father fought the scariest creatures, snakes, dangerous mammals, and vicious sicknesses beside the Bolivians.
In today's day and age, psychologists are concerned about increasing numbers of children and young adults who fear nature and the outdoors. Whenever they see a bee, children start to squirm and run. Some are disgusted by the sight of a worm or bug.
Adults don't fare better, especially when it comes to tiny critters. Pesticide trucks are a common sight in American suburbia. It's big business for pest control companies. These firms try to evoke fear in homeowners with aggressive advertisements. Suburbians don't have to protect crops, so why all the fright about insects and rodents on their properties? Pesticides can remain in the environment for many years, causing problems for our balanced ecosystem. In addition to killing off insects or weeds, it kills off pollinators as well, including butterflies and bees.
What causes this disconnection from nature? As published in the journal Biological Conservation: "A recent study in Japan paints a striking portrait of this problem. A survey of more than 5,300 school children in the Tochigi Prefecture examined their perception of local invertebrates - 14 insects and one spider. The result? A collective "ew." Most of the students saw the species as things to dislike, fear or despise, or even as sources of danger. The less experience the students had with nature, the more negative their feelings."
We humans inherently avoid dangerous organisms such as snakes or hazardous insects, but the Japanese study found that direct contact with nature helps to turn biophobia into biophilia.
The term biophilia was popularized by American biologist and naturalist Edward O. Wilson, also known as "The New Darwin." Biophilia refers to the human connection with other forms of life. German-born psychoanalyst Erich Fromm described biophilia as "the passionate love of life and all that is alive."
How can we foster our youth to connect to nature and to open their eyes to our surroundings? Here are a few simple suggestions:
Model your own enjoyment and respect of nature.
Buy a magnifying glass or, even better, a microscope and start examining the objects you collected on your walks.
Let your child describe what they see and hear.
Do some research together on the found items.
Have fun together!
Going back to the Japanese study, researcher, Masashi Soga with the University of Tokyo, wrote that "the increase in people who have negative attitudes towards nature in one generation will lead to a further increase in people with similar attitudes in the next generation - a cycle of disaffection towards nature."
To foster a healthy relationship with our environment, we must respect nature, all life forms, and its limits. The news is full of reports about tragic accidents due to nature. Forest fires, floodings, avalanches, car accidents due to poor road conditions, snowstorms, lightning strikes, volcanic eruptions are just a few to mention. Fortunately, we now have good technology to warn us early of those disasters.
I am a big fan of Forest Kindergarten. This outdoor preschool education for children between three and six is held almost exclusively in a forest. My niece's son, Mischa, attended this type of Kindergarten in Switzerland. Whatever the weather, and it can get very challenging in my home country, children are encouraged to play, explore and learn in a forest environment. Mischa's grandma knitted woolen socks for him, and my niece made sure that her son had the proper rain gear and a pair of warm booths to make it through the winter. On cold days, the students helped collect wood to build a fire. Their teachers cooked simple, hot meals on the fire as well. The children's toilet was in an outhouse. The school provides no commercial toys; the distinctive feature of forest kindergarten is the emphasis on play and learning with objects that the children find in the woods. Mischa loved his preschool without ceilings and walls. Today he is a well-adjusted teenager who loves the outdoors.
The Earth does not need us humans, but we humans need the Earth! Or as Albert Einstein put it: "Look deep into nature, and then you will understand everything better."