“What people do not understand, they do not value. What they do not value, they will not protect
and what they do not protect they will lose. “– Charles Jordan
* Watch Play Again online in the comfort of your own home. The next online screening will be on March 7th, 2012.
In the award winning documentary Play Again, film makers Tonje Hesen Schei and Meg Merrill interview children, educational leaders and environmental specialists as they look for ways that we can mitigate the effects of digital overload and related addictions to technology through a renewed focus on experiencing the natural world.
In the documentary a group of teenagers are challenged to face the natural world in their first outdoor and technology free adventure. They leave behind daily routines which include 5 to 15 hours per day interfacing with technology and virtual reality devices. Through this experience the participants experience active engagement with the natural world and rediscover the joys of play and childhood. What is not visible is the positive effects that this experience has on their brain development and overall health and well being.
Play Again presents the opinions of children, journalist and author Richard Louv, sociologist Juliet Schor, environment writer Bill McKibben, educators Diane Levin and Nancy Carlsson-Paige, neuroscientist Gary Small, parks advocate Charles Jordan, and geneticist David Suzuki.
So far in Canada, this documentary has been screened in Newfoundland and Labrador. While British Columbian David Suzuki has provided his own contributions to the film, it does not appear to have been screened yet in British Columbia. (Please advise us at BCFamily.ca if this information is inaccurate or if a screening is about to take place.) In this documentary the children’s opinions are featured. Is there some way that this documentary could be screened in the senior elementary, middle and high schools in the province so that students and educators could share their own experiences and insights?
What are the consequences of a childhood removed from nature?
I believe this is one of the great challenges facing us today. The consequences of our estrangement from nature will be devastating for us as individuals and for society. Well done and may your film have a big impact! David Suzuki, world-renowned Canadian science broadcaster, geneticist, and author, The Sacred Balance
Last Child in the Woods has created a national conversation about the disconnection between children and nature, and his message has galvanized an international movement.
Related
Play Again documentary website
AAAS Play Again Filmmaker Interview
Some inspiration: Facilitating field trips to sustainable agriculture farms
Play Again on Twitter
Play Again on YouTube
Richard Louv on Twitter and Facebook
How families can bond through nature
Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children From Nature Deficit Disorder
Earth: Making a Life on a Tough New Planet
Drawing on the Land – Blog by a group of landscape architects
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