Award-winning journalist and author Richard Louv helped transform how we think about our relationship with nature in his landmark 2005 book, Last Child in the Woods, which introduced the term “nature-deficit disorder” and brought national attention to nature’s vital role in our health and well-being.

In his latest book, Noticing: Intimate Encounters with the Natural World, Richard invites us to go beyond simply spending time outdoors and rediscover the wonder of truly paying attention. From the effects of our screen-saturated lives to the challenges of climate anxiety, loneliness, and digital fatigue, he explores how deeper sensory engagement with nature can help us reconnect with ourselves and the world around us. He also introduces the concept of “bioenchantment”—the profound sense of wonder that emerges when science, mindfulness, and direct experience with the natural world come together.

Shownotes

• Noticing: Intimate Encounters with the Natural World by Richard Louv
• Richard Louv on Instagram
• Children & Nature Network
• Books by Richard Louv
• Serenbe Events Calendar

Keywords: Richard Louv, Noticing, Last Child in the Woods, nature-deficit disorder, biophilia, biophilic design, nature and human health, nature and well-being, connection to nature, nature and mental health, bioenchantment, mindfulness, sensory awareness, nature connection, climate anxiety, digital fatigue, screen time, loneliness, attention restoration, environmental awareness, Richard Louv interview, Biophilic Solutions, nature and childhood, human-nature relationship, nature and creativity, planetary health

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#NatureHasTheAnswers

We’ll be back next week with an exciting new interview, but this week, we wanted to revisit one of our favorite episodes with Tim Lenton, Chair in Climate Change and Earth System Science at the University of Exeter and a founding director of the Global Systems Institute.

Tim is best known for his work on positive tipping points. When we hear the phrase “tipping point,” we tend to think of disaster and collapse. But Tim invites us to consider that tipping points can also work in the opposite direction. What if small, positive shifts could build momentum, reinforce one another, and spark rapid, transformative change? At a time when climate concerns, political polarization, and uncertainty about the future often leave us feeling overwhelmed, and hopeless, this idea offers something more meaningful than optimism alone: a reason to look for the changes already underway and understand how we can help them grow.

In this episode, Tim, Jennifer, and Monica explore global movements that have changed the world for the better, the promising shifts already taking place in the UK and Norway, and why we don’t have to agree on everything to start moving in a better direction.

Show Notes

• Professor Tim Lenton, University of Exeter
• Global Systems Institute
• Earth System Science: A Very Short Introduction by Tim Lenton
• Revolutions That Made the Earth by Tim Lenton and Andrew Watson
• Gaia: A New Look at Life on Earth by Jim Lovelock
• Positive Tipping Points Could Save the Climate - This Man is Showing Us How (Positive.News)

Keywords: Climate Change, Tim Lenton, Climate Solutions, Tipping Points, Climate Tipping Points, Positive Tipping Points, Electric Vehicle, Clean Energy, Biophilia, Biophilic Design, Biophilic Solutions, Social Movements, Social Change

Biophilic Solutions is available wherever you get podcasts. Please listen, follow, and give us a five-star review.

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#NatureHasTheAnswers

Death and decay are among the most natural processes that exist. And yet, we often approach them with fear rather than recognizing them as part of the natural world.

In her new book, Carrying the Bones: Rituals for a Dying World, writer, multimedia artist, and professor Eileen Elizabeth explores the ways we mourn, not only for the people we’ve lost, but for relationships, places, ecosystems, traditions, and even the world as we know it. This beautiful book weaves together memoir, cultural analysis, poetry, and reflections on ritual and asks what we might gain if we allowed ourselves to sit more fully with death and grief rather than rushing to move forward.

In this episode, Monica and Eileen talk about the role nature has played in mourning throughout history, the ways American culture and capitalism shape our relationship to death, and what it means to grieve not only those who have died, but those who are still living and the world itself. They also talk about creating personal rituals and whether grief can become not just an experience of loss, but a way of reconnecting with the natural world, with one another, and with what we still have to carry forward.

Show Notes

• Carrying the Bones: Rituals for a Dying World by Eileen Elizabeth
• Eileen Elizabeth on Instagram
• Boshemia Magazine
• Biophilic Solutions on Substack

Keywords: grief, mourning, death, death rituals, mourning rituals, ecological grief, climate grief, environmental grief, nature connection, environmental crisis, ritual, spirituality, secular spirituality, Indigenous traditions, capitalism, grief and capitalism, wilderness,Carrying the Bones, Eileen Elizabeth

Biophilic Solutions is available wherever you get podcasts. Please listen, follow, and give us a five-star review.

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#NatureHasTheAnswers