John Muir in the New World — House Party Discussion Guide

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American Masters “John Muir in the New World” House Party Discussion and Activity Guide

Monday, April 18th at 9 p.m. ET (check local listings)

John Muir in the New World — House Party Discussion Guide

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American Masters “John Muir in the New World”

House Party Discussion and Activity Guide “Climb the mountains and get their good tidings. Nature’s peace will flow into you as sunshine flows into trees. The winds will blow their own fresh-ness into you, and the storms their energy, while cares will drop off like autumn leaves.”

John Muir was a powerful force for change. He championed the joys and the healing power of time in na-ture. He encouraged his fellow Americans to get out of the city and journey into the wild. He helped protect some of America’s most extraordinary natural areas, which are still around for our use and enjoyment to-day. You too can be a positive force for change by sharing your passion for connecting children and people of all ages to nature. One way to do this is by hosting a house party to view the PBS American Masters special, “John Muir in the New World.” A house party is an informal gathering in your home of friends and neigh-bors—or even just family members—focused on an issue of common concern. Grounded in the vision and legacy of John Muir, your house party will inspire people to be part of the larger conversation about con-necting people to nature and will encourage them to get themselves and others outdoors. This guide contains discussion questions, activity ideas, and useful tips for organizing your very own John Muir house party. Join us in celebrating his life. Then follow in his footsteps—by heading right out the door and into the natural world!

American Masters “John Muir in the New World” will premiere nationally Monday, April 18th at 9pm ET on PBS. (Check local listings.)

The Children and Nature Movement…and You! In the last decade, experts have identified the growing disconnect between children and the natural world. The children and nature movement brings together parents, educators, physicians, planners, and many other concerned citizens who are committed to restoring these connections for children’s health and well-being. How can YOU help shift people from awareness about this issue to action? Make a plan to make the wonders of nature a part of your life and make it easy for others to join you…outside!

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Discussion Tips After viewing American Masters “John Muir in the New World” with your house party, invite guests to share their reactions. For example:

Which parts of John Muir’s life and work did you find most interesting? Impressive? Inspiring? Surprising? What connections do you see between John Muir’s work and the efforts of those helping to connect people to nature today?

Then share with your group the following quotes drawn from Muir’s writing, and invite responses to the questions that follow:

“Thousands of tired, nerve-shaken, over-civilized people are beginning to find out that going to the moun-tains is going home; that wildness is a necessity; that mountain parks and reservations are useful not only as fountains of timber and irrigating rivers, but as fountains of life.” Our National Parks, 1901

Do you think nature can help to heal people physically and/or emotionally? Share your experiences.

“Everybody needs beauty as well as bread, places to play in and pray in, where nature may heal and give strength to body and soul alike.” The Yosemite, 1912

Do you agree? What are these places in your community? To what extent are they recognized and/or pro-tected by your community?

“As age comes on, one source of enjoyment after another is closed, but nature’s sources never fail.” Our National Parks, 1901. Invite thoughts about aging and nature. Has anyone experienced what Muir describes? What things could be done in your community to increase opportunities for older people as well as children and youth to spend time in nature?

“I went out for a walk, and finally concluded to stay out till sundown, for going out, I found, was really going in.” John of the Mountains: The Unpublished Journals of John Muir, 1938. Share anything else you value about spending time in the natural world. Does time in nature fill you with curiosity, wonder, mindfulness, peace?

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THINGS YOU CAN DO! Help your guests move from words to action by trying one or more of the following: Think Outside the House Organize an outdoor event for just before or after your house party. Or join one of the hundreds of connect-to-nature events scheduled for April 2011—for example, Let’s G.O.! (see below). Gathering together outdoors is one of the surest ways of sustaining your friends’ and family’s interest in spending time in nature and helping others reconnect, too.

Meet up for a group walk through a nearby natural area.

Invite everyone to a picnic by a favorite lake or stream.

Are birds making their spring migration through your area? Are frogs beginning their choruses?

Find out about a local wildlife event and invite your group to participate.

Bring seed packets to your house party event and send everyone home with instructions for how to plant them. Better yet, get everyone together to plant seeds at a local school or community center.

For more information on Let’s G.O.! (Get Outside) 2011 visit http://childrenandnature.ning.com/group/letsgo.

Leave No Child Inside One of the best things about the movement to connect children and nature is that it starts with something so small: taking kids outdoors and encouraging their playful explorations of the world around them. Simply by making nature a priority for your family, you’ll be setting an example that’s likely to inspire countless friends and neighbors around you.

Try walking to school together on a regular basis, if possible. Allow extra time for collecting sticks, balancing on logs, and noting wildlife and seasonal changes.

Find ways to let your kids play safely outside the home with minimal supervision. Perhaps they can play while you garden or while you watch them out the window. They probably won’t need any prompts, but if necessary, you might encour-age them to start a rock collection, make stick houses for their dolls and action figures, or organize a secret club under a tree.

Can your kids pick blueberries like a little girl named Sal? Would they like to try a campout, like Henry and Mudge? Discover a host of fun ideas for spending time in nature, all tied to great children’s literature, at

http://www.childrenandnature.org/story.

Commit to taking a walk on the wild side at least once a week. Are there nearby fields to romp in? Streams to throw rocks into? Woods or a park in which your kids can build a fort from natural objects? Find nearby natural areas, as well as other activity ideas, on Nature Rocks: http://www.naturerocks.org/.

Whenever possible, invite your friends to join you for outdoor playdates or adventures. You’ll soon find that a love of nature is contagious! Better yet, organize a family nature club…like Nature Strollers in New York or Muddy Sneakers in North Carolina. For more information, visit http://www.childrenandnature.org/movement/naturalfamilies/clubs.

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Be a Part of the “Out” Crowd!

Join other volunteers in helping kids connect to nature in your community. If you have a green thumb, consider helping start a school garden. If you’re an amateur naturalist, consid-

er volunteering in local nature centers or schools to help get kids outdoors. Are you motivated and fit? Sign up as a volunteer for Sierra Club’s Inner City Outings, which help get city kids into wilder places.

Team up with your local library to create a speaker series focused on connecting children to nature. Some

libraries are even taking innovative steps to connect kids to nature, such as letting kids check out binocu-lars and fishing poles! For more library-related ideas, see Richard Louv’s recent blog, http://www.childrenandnature.org/blog/2011/03/02/how-libraries-can-connect-children-and-adults-to-nature/ and for even more ideas for things people can do—teachers, families, governments and others—see Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children from Nature-Deficit Disorder (Algonquin, 2008) and www.richardlouv.com/children-nature-resources.

Join a conversation of like-minded individuals interested in helping kids connect to nature, at C&NN Connect, http://childrenandnature.ning.com/. Have you ever wanted to write your own blog about the children and nature connection? Dip into the

blogs posted at http://childrenandnature.ning.com/profiles/blog/list, and then share your own! And, for even more inspiration, read the original writings of John Muir, available at http://

www.sierraclub.org/john_muir_exhibit/writings/.

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The Children and Nature Network is honored to help celebrate the life, accomplishments, and legacy of John Muir. We respect a range of values and beliefs about the natural world, including but not limited to those of John Muir as presented in this film. We encourage everyone who participates in the movement to connect people to the natural world to exercise appropriate caution and responsibility when engaging in any nature-based outdoor activities.

Program Sponsors

© 2011. Children and Nature Network (www.childrenandnature.org) with support from Global Village Media (www.globalvillagemedia.org). Text by Sara St. Antoine with Cheryl Charles, Suz Lipman and Amy Pertschuk. Photo credits: Bob Roney © Global Village Media.

The mission of the Children & Nature Network (C&NN) is to build a worldwide movement to reconnect children and nature—for their health and well-being and the health of the Earth itself. C&NN builds awareness, provides access to state-of-the art resources, supports the grassroots with tools and strategies, develops publications and educational materials, synthesizes the best available research, and encourages collaboration to heal the broken bond between children and nature. C&NN is a 501c3 non-profit organization.

Global Village Media promotes global con-nections and global citizenship through the production of documentary films and other media.

American Masters “John Muir in the New World” is made possible by the support of the National En-dowment for the Humanities. Additional funding provided by Floyd and Delores Jones Foundation, The Russell Family Foundation, RSF Global Community Fund-Roger Jordan Fund, Italo Bredo, Wisconsin Humanities Council, Craig McKibben & Sarah Merner, Walter Henry Freygang Foundation, Billings and John E. Cay III. Funding for American Masters provided by The National Endowment for the Arts, Cor-poration for Public Broadcasting, Rosalind P. Walter, The Blanche & Irving Laurie Foundation, Rolf and Elizabeth Rosenthal, Cheryl and Philip Milstein Family, Jack Rudin, The Andre and Elizabeth Kertesz Foundation, Michael & Helen Shaffer and PBS.