Nature Deficit Disorder? Middle School Nature Photography

When reviewing photographs taken by my talented middle schoolers, there are always certain trends and themes, even without me giving them a prompt. Today, it became apparent to me how starved my students are for any kind of nature. They are stuck inside all day at school and at our middle school, we do not get any type of recess or activity time outside.

I found a book recently at a Little Free Library in Fort Davis State Park in West Texas and it spoke to me called "Lost Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children from Nature-Deficit Disorder.

 It made me think of how precious our planet and its resources are and I think my students' generation can see that too. Repeated photos from a worm's eye view,  of everyday flowers, of weeds growing through concrete, any insect or butterfly that happens to catch their eye, vines twisting through fences, and finding beauty in simple blades of grass are all images that each class found worthy enough to capture.