I worry that more and more kids my age are growing up without experiencing the outdoors, which means that fewer will care about the natural world.
Interpretation
The quote expresses concern that children are becoming disconnected from nature, leading to a lack of appreciation for the environment.
Severn Cullis-Suzuki highlights the importance of outdoor experiences for children in developing a connection with the natural world. As fewer kids spend time in nature, there is a risk that future generations will be less inclined to value and protect the environment, which is crucial for sustainability and ecological preservation.
In practice
In a speech about environmental conservation, this quote can emphasize the need for outdoor education.
In school you teach us not to fight with others, to work things out, to respect others, to clean up our mess, not to hurt other creatures, to share, not be greedy. Then why do you go out and do the things you tell us not to do? You grownups say you love us, but I challenge you, please, to make your actions reflect your words.
I am only a child. Yet I know that if all the money spent on war was spent on ending poverty and finding environmental answers, what a wonderful place this would be.
I was at Earth Summit in Rio 20 years ago... I was only 12 years old. And when I was speaking to the U.N. I was fighting for my future.
In my life, I have dreamt of seeing the great herds of wild animals, jungles and rainforests full of birds and butterflies, but now I wonder if they will even exist for my children to see.
Fragmentation is a big part of the problem. You have a city where trash is taken away from the curb every week, and you don't see it any more, and you don't have any sense of where water comes from. So there's no sense of responsibility and accountability and there's also no sense of empowerment for our actions.
If people think nature is their friend, then they sure don't need an enemy.
What would become of the garden if the gardener treated all the weeds and slugs and birds and trespassers as he would like to be treated, if he were in their place?
Wild is the music of autumnal winds Amongst the faded woods.
It is the preservation of the species, not of individuals, which appears to be the design of Deity throughout the whole of nature.
In a delightful garden, sowing, planting or digging are not hardship but are done with a zeal and a certain pleasure.
There is nothing better than picking up sun-warmed tomatoes and smelling them, feeling them and scrutinizing their shiny skins for imperfections, dreaming of ways to serve them.
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