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The Audubon Conservation Education Center promotes interactive, nature-based learning for the children of Billings, Montana

Education center

In his 25 years as a biology teacher, John Miller has noticed a clear trend: His students have gotten increasingly uncomfortable handling insects.

The reason is obvious, he said. Compared with previous generations, today’s kids are spending much less time outdoors. They might be active in organized sports, but they’re not engaged in the "free exploration" that was traditionally part of childhood. When Miller was a boy in the 1950s, in Pennsylvania, he and the kids he knew caught snakes, hunted for crayfish and played with bugs.

"A lot of discovery was made, and a lot of growing up, too," said Miller, chairman of the biology department at Billings West High School.

Other people have noticed the change. In his book, "Last Child in the Woods," Richard Louv coined the term "nature-deficit disorder," which he said has been tied to childhood obesity, attention disorders and depression. Other researchers have shown a direct link between outdoor activities and reduction in attention disorders.

The Audubon Conservation Education Center http://www.mtaudubon.org/education/acec/index.html

By ED KEMMICK
Of The Gazette Staff

Full Story: http://billingsgazette.net/articles/2009/03/16/news/local/24-education.txt

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