Nature Deficit Disorder

I remember as a kid I used to spend hours and hours with my brother in our front and back gardens, building houses, cooking "cakes" and "soups" with whatever berries and dirt we could get out hands onto, and playing our own invented games that often lasted for the whole weekend or school holidays.I remember on cold early mornings my dad would take my brother and I to the big park next door and we would search for mushrooms and feed the ducks and turtles. All my best memories are from being outdoors with my family and its a memory I want my children to grow up with too.

But research has shown that there is this ever increasing rate of children with "Nature Deficit Disorder", the new generation of "Pampered Prisoners"; children that go to school by car, and home by car, that aren't allowed to play past the front gate, and any play dates with friends must be scheduled by parents first. Parents are becoming ever more worried and protective over the safety of their children to the point where out door play is almost like a distant memory. With the rapid bombardment of video games, computer games, iPods, iPads, mobile phones and indoor toys, children are brought up in a world that is ever more detached from nature and the outdoors.

So What Can We Do??
Stephen Moss, author of The Natural Childhood Report, believes that children should be given priority within neighbourhoods, with strict speed limits and a way of allowing children to play in the streets, by getting out the mass of children into parks and streets so that parents don't feel so insecure about letting their children play; safety in numbers.

Another, much larger possibility is creating 'child-friendly villages', where new developments are created around families with young children. A village of sorts where cars are restricted to the perimeter or underground parking, making the streets a safe environment for children and families. Create facilities that encourage outdoor play, not just a playground, but parks and activities, and a culture that inspires parental engagement and community engagement. By getting to know the people who live around you and getting to know your neighbours parents can feel more secure that there is someone going to be looking out for their kids.

Creating community gardens or houses with porches and gardens that allow interaction with the street and neighbours, or traditional townhouses which encourage people to get out of the house for entertainment rather than sitting at home in one of their many theatre, games or study rooms will create an environment that is closer to what many of the Y gen and above grew up with.

I think that it is as much the parent responsibility to engage with their kids and play with them, or make the conscious decision to not let their children own video games. It sounds like an extreme idea in these days but I grew up without any form of video game, toy guy, or computer game that wasn't educational, and I couldn't be more grateful for that. If parents encourage creativity and imagination through outdoor play and worked for a safer community I believe that there would be fewer social and behavioural problems in children in the generations to come. An awareness of the environment and a fond connection to the outdoors may also result in a greater respect and appreciation for nature in later years.

Click this link to listen to the full interview with Stephen Moss: http://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-04-07/nature-deficit-disorder/3938178

Share your thoughts in a comment below..!

- Em

PERTH SUPAFEST 2012

I'm going to start by saying I had my doubts, this being my 3rd Supafest....but IT WAS FANTASTIC!! :D


The line up was:

Big Sean
Naughty By Nature
Lupe Fiasco
Ice Cube
Kelly Rowland
Trey Songz
T Pain
Chris Brown


Leading up to the big day I had been following the goings-on of the concert on Twitter, and it was a MESS. Missy Elliot didn't know she was coming, so her name was pulled off the list, then P Diddy didn't get his contract fulfilled so his name was pulled, Lil Wayne dropped out, Ludacris only played in the eastern states and Rick Ross dropped out half way through. So I obviously had my doubt about it all, and if it was going to be worth it with such apparent lack of organisation compared to previous years.
But I must say I was thoroughly impressed!
The whole event ran on time, the artists put on amazing and energetic performances, especially seeming they had all just stepped off a plane having performed in Melbourne the previous night.

The crowd was crazy as usual and the security wasn't as tight, I was (accidentally) strangled, got my hair pulled out, almost dragged into a fight that broke out next to me, crushed and generally went with the flow...

Kelly Rowlands Towel - Photo by Emily Wilkes

This towel is what almost killed me hehe
It was thrown into the crowed by Kelly Rowland and happened to land on my neck, before I knew it two people had grabbed either end and were pulling it around my neck :( one let go and it went over my head causing another person to grab it along with a chunk of my hair and one tug later...there goes my hair...
I was a bit shaken up by the strangling so I turned and said a few strong words then turned back and tried to get back to the show, a moment later one of the boys handed me the towel and apologised :) That was really sweet.

Not long after that a (possibly drunk) girl next to me started causing trouble and generally "disturbing the peace", her siblings tried to control her but one thing led to another and a fight broke out...causing everyone around us to become (even more) squashed together. Not long after everything evened out and people just got back to enjoying the show. It was a shame I missed most of Kelly Rowlands performance because what part I did see she was brilliant!

Kelly Rowland Supafest 2012 - Photo by Emily Wilkes

Big Sean...I am a BIG fan as of last night!! I do admit to asking my friend when is Big Sean coming on halfway through his performance, its just...I expected him to be bigger..hehe. He was so energetic and really lifted the energy of the whole arena!

Big Sean Supafest 2012 - Photo by Emily Wilkes

The whole event ended with a climax performance from Chris Brown, cant say I'm a huge fan but he was definitely entertaining :D
For anyone into RnB/Urban/Hip Hop I would say get your tickets for next year because it is one show you don't want to miss!! Cant wait for Supafest 2013!!

ROAD DIETS !!!

Come on guys! Lets road diet!! :D

I recently learnt about road dieting in my Cities & Sustinability Unit, and I am ALL for it! It may be a shocking concept to those who drive, but reducing the number of roads actually reduces the amount of traffic, the congestion, the speed and the pedestrian fatality, as well as reinvigorating street scapes, and generally making a street a nicer place for people.

This video by Streetfilms is a great short film on the success of road diets, among many examples  around the world.

I would personally love to see Wellington Street in my home city of Perth to have a diet, the street looks so run down and car orientated.As one of the 100's of people walking along Wellington Street daily I feel unsafe and unpleasant. As it is one of the major streets in "downtown" Perth, it is almost embarrassing that tourists to Perth have to experience such an unplesant sight.

(Image taken from mingor.net)

My suggestion is to reduce the traffic along this road, maybe even cut off the road to cars all together, and give the road back to the people. A people orientated street scape with shops and cafes and bright open public spaces that invite people to stay, and enjoy Perth would be wonderful. Wellington Street is a major access road to the major bus and train stations in Perth so one would assume that this would be a perfect excuse to create a vibrant public space.
I also think that if all cars are removed, then there is potential for a light rail, (or tram) to opperate along the street, or even bike share facilities, as a faster means of transport around the Perth CBD.


(Image taken from pta.wa.gov.au)

This image above gives an idea of the layout of the street, with Forrest Place being a major social hub of Perth, it would be great to see the Wellington Street opened up as a social strip in itself, not a slice through the city, separating the major transport hub from the central social and business district of Perth.

I will note that there is construction underway to sink the rail and bus stations to connect Northbridge, (the cultural and nightlife district) to the city, and create on top of it a new open public, business and apartment complex area. But I am yet to see Wellington Street be included in this new development, or at least in the way that I have suggested above.

Comment below if you want a road diet in your city, or what you think of my idea.

Cheers,
Em

Big Girls You Are Beautiful..

I just found this linked on Facebook and think its incredible and so true.
Italian artist Anna Utopia Giordano took some famous and iconic works of art portraying beautiful nude women of the time, and transformed the figures into the image of beauty in the 21st century.
I found myself guilty of automatically preferring the transformed image, and then my brain started to compare myself subconciously to the second image and thinking, do I look like this, or I wish I looked like this. WRONG WRONG WRONG! As I continued to swap back anf fourth between the two images, I began to see the original image as it should be, a beautiful, volumptuous, natural woman, and loving my body as it is.
We must change this toxic mentality and love our bodies as they are, lumps bumps and all :D Its who you are, its what you were given, and as long as you take good care of it, you should be very proud to have your body and be yourself!

http://www.annautopiagiordano.it/venus-ita.html

First Blog! & Why I Wanted to Start

Besides a blog post that I had to write for an assignment at uni, this is my first ever attempt at blogging. 
I've been reading and subscribed to other people blogs for years and thought it was about time I wrote my own.

This year at uni I've been learning about so many places and issues that I find really inspiring, and I wanted a way to share my thoughts, opinions, and inspiration with others. I don't have an exact idea of what this blog will be about, but I know that it will probably be a lot of talk about current events, environmental and sustainability issues, and anything else that tickles my fancy and is a little bit quirky or controversial!

I wanted to create a place where I could share my ideas and thoughts and discoveries with other people to get them talking! I hope that this blog will encourage and inspire people to talk about anything and everything that interests them. I am very very eager to learn, and love to hear about new ideas, discovery's and theories that people come up with. So TALK TALK TALK!!

Along with my blogs I will have links to videos, images and websites that I think are worth a visit. I added the Discovery Channel tab on the side there as I find their articles to be much more interesting than the regular news :D If you see something on there that you like, feel free to comment about it and I will check it out as well as anything else you think I should look at.

I hope that this blog will be as fun to read as I hope it will be for me to write!! :D

Have a great day!

Em