Nick Grenier is a homeschooling parent and founder of Natural Leaders, an outdoor education program with several locations in Virginia and Maryland, where children build leadership and survival skills alongside their peers, with the help of a trained mentor. We discussed the details of Natural Leaders programs; how children can overcome common challenges by spending more time in nature; recent research showing the quantifiable benefits of being outdoors; mitigating the risks we may face in nature; books to inspire parents and kids to get outside; and how to access nature during extended periods of uncomfortable weather. More information on Natural Leaders is available at naturalleaders.com.

Non-fiction books on outdoor education:

Last Child in the Woods: Saving our Children from Nature Deficit Disorder by Richard Louv

Vitamin N: The Essential Guide to a Nature-Rich Life by Richard Louv

The Nature Fix: Why Nature Makes Us Happier, Healthier, and More Creative by Florence Williams

The Lost Art of Reading Nature’s Signs by Tristan Gooley

Play the Forest School Way by Jane Worroll and Peter Houghton

Sharing Nature: Nature Awareness Activities for All Ages by Joseph Cornell

How to Raise a Wild Child by Scott D. Sampson

Survivor Kid: A Practical Guide to Wilderness Survival by Denise Long

The Tracker: The True Story of Tom Brown Jr. by Tom Brown Jr.

Tom Brown’s Field Guide: Nature Observation and Tracking by Tom Brown Jr.

The Hidden Life of Trees by Peter Wohlleben

Fiction books to inspire the love of nature:

The Hatchet by Gary Paulson

My Side of the Mountain by Jean Craighead George

On the Far Side of the Mountain by Jean Craighead George

Frightful’s Mountain by Jean Craighead George

Trumpet of the Swan by E.B. White and Fred Marcellino

Other resources on the great outdoors:

Wilderness Awareness School

Forest Schools in Finland

Tom Brown Jr’s Tracker School

Connecting Today’s Kids With Nature: A Policy Action Plan

Research on the benefits of nature immersion:

Why Nature Is Great For The Brain, From A Neuroscientist

NASA - Schumann Resonance

Improvements in ADHD from time in nature

Relationship between time in nature and children’s cognitive/behavioral development and inattention-hyperactivity symptoms

Access to nature is essential to human health

A potential natural treatment for ADHD

Children with ADHD concentrate better after a walk in the park