Richard Louv

Richard Louv is a journalist and author of 10 books, including Our Wild Calling: How Connecting With Animals Can Transform Our Lives – And Save Theirs, Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children From Nature-Deficit Disorder, The Nature Principle: Reconnecting with Life in a Virtual Age and Vitamin N: The Essential Guide to a Nature-Rich Life: 500 Ways to Enrich Your Family’s Health & Happiness. His books have been translated and published in 24 countries, and helped launch an international movement to connect children, families and communities to nature. He is co-founder and chairman emeritus of the Children & Nature Network, an organization helping build the movement. 

He appears frequently on national radio and television programs, including the Today Show, CBS Evening News, and NPR’s Fresh Air. He speaks internationally on nature-deficit disorder, a concept he first introduced in Last Child in the Woods; on the importance of children’s and adults’ exposure to nature for their health, and on the need for environmental protection and preservation for greater access to nature and the health of the Earth. Among others, he has presented keynote addresses at the American Academy of Pediatrics National Conference; the USC Institute for Integrative Health Conference; the first White House Summit on Environmental Education; the Congress of the New Urbanism; the International Healthy Parks Conference in Melbourne, Australia; and the national Friends of Nature Conference in Beijing, China.

In 2008, he was awarded the national Audubon Medal; prior recipients included Rachel Carson, E.O. Wilson and President Jimmy Carter. He is also a recipient of the San Diego Zoological Society Conservation Medal; the George B. Rabb Conservation Medal from the Chicago Zoological Society; the International Making Cities Livable Jane Jacobs Award; and the Cox Award, Clemson University’s highest honor for “sustained achievement in public service.” In 2018, he received an Honorary Doctorate from the NewSchool of Architecture & Design.

As a journalist and commentator, Louv has written for The New York Times, The Washington Post, the Times of London, Orion, Outside and other newspapers and magazines. He was a columnist for The San Diego Union-Tribune and Parents magazine. Louv has served as a visiting scholar for Clemson University and Brandeis University's Heller School for Social Policy and Management. He is a member of the editorial board of the journal Ecopsychology. With artist Robert Bateman, he serves as honorary co-chair of Canada’s Child in Nature Alliance. He is also on the advisory boards of Biophilic Cities and the International Association of Nature Pedagogy. 

He would rather hike than write.