Guided nature tours raise eco-awareness in parents and kids

Cellphones, televisions, and tablets are just some of the many electronic gadgets that fill our fast-moving lives. But how long has it been since you breathed in the fresh air of nature? The fact that most children today have few opportunities to connect with nature makes them highly susceptible to "Nature-Deficit Disorder," which is characterized by a lack of both concentration and creativity.

With nature playing such an essential role in the formative years of children, an eco-studio has decided to design an educational course that helps to reconnect parents and children with the big outdoors and rekindle their love for nature.

Since people tend to direct little concern or effort towards things they don't understand, eco-education is needed to help people reconnect with their natural surroundings. The founder, Xiao Mao (小毛), said that through helping people to reconnect with nature, we will hopefully be able to face the pressing environmental issues of today. By failing to act now, we are merely passing the buck on to future generations, who will be unfairly forced to confront and handle these ecological problems someday down the line.

以下為中文對照

手機、電視、平板電腦，我們的生活充斥著這些電子產品，你有多久沒有好好呼吸大自然的新鮮空氣了？現在的孩子少有機會走到戶外親近自然，長大後可能產生無法專注、缺乏創造力的情形，這就是所謂的「大自然缺失症」。

大自然對於孩子成長階段具有相當重要的影響，所以在台灣就有個自然生態工作室設計長期的環境教育課程，引導親子走到戶外，重新愛上大自然。

人對於自己不了解的事物不會付出關心和行動，因此要藉由環境、生態教育讓大家重新認識生活周遭的環境。創辦人小毛說，他要引導人回到大自然、重新與大自然連結，讓人們正視環境問題，否則最後影響的就是下一代、下下一代，把問題留給後人解決是很不公平的事。

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