Every spring or fall, Brookfield Zoo hosts a series of lectures. The latest series: Making Natural Connections perked my interest, so I purchased a ticket to each of the three talks. The connections in question where those of children, and each speaker discussed at length the importance of children developing a healthy and consistent relationship with nature.

The first lecture was by Richard Louv, whose book, Last Child in the Woods uses the phrase “nature deficit disorder” to characterize the drastic shift of nature’s presence in young children. Last Child is a wonderful read, even if you don’t have children. I highly recommend picking it up.

In April, Dr. Ruth Wilson addressed how the aforementioned “disorder” adversely affects kids and ultimately our planet. Her research made it abundantly clear the importance of creating a strong ecological identity at a very young age.

Finally, Dr. Robin Moore and Dr. Nilda Cosco, co-founders of North Carolina State University’s Natural Learning Initiative spoke on creating child friendly nature spaces. Citing several case studies, including Brookfield’s own Hamill Family Play Zoo (a stunning, revolutionary idea), Dr’s. Moore and Cosco identified the aspects of public spaces which help create the natural sense of wonder in kids.

Even though the series focus was not directly on zoos, there is a direct connection to why zoos are so important. Education is at the forefront of a zoos purpose, and not just teaching about animals, but all facets of nature. Quite a bit of perspective gained from three angles of the same issue.

After the final lecture, I had the great honor of presenting a book to Dr. George Rabb. As longtime head, Dr. Rabb brought Brookfield into prominence as one of the world’s foremost conservation organizations. Despite knowing him personally only through a couple brief encounters, it is amazing how much he has impacted my life.

As for the actual visit to my beloved Brookfield, it was partly saddened by the loss of Affie. Brookfield certainly has a history of iconic animals – Ziggy the elephant, Samson the gorilla, Cookie the cockatoo, and Olga the walrus – and Affie belongs near the top of that list. Just one month shy of her annual public birthday celebration, Affie passed away. It comes at an unfortunate time since the zoo is nearly finished with an expanded outdoor elephant yard, serving as the new space until the completion of the future Elephant Trails project. Nevertheless, Brookfield remains a magical place for any visitor and a leader in conservation education in world zoos.

Here are a few photos from the day!