Hey kids, nature is the best classroom

The spirit of kids in one community in eastern Beijing will be dampened on Children's Day on June 1. The water in their favorite playground, a big pond with a fountain, has been treated with chemicals to prevent mosquitoes from spawning, at least that's what the notice by the property management office says. The truth could be otherwise. Last summer saw the children swimming and splashing water in the pond. So the management could have treated the water to keep the children away this summer to avoid any accidents.

But by doing so the management has also robbed them of perhaps their only contact with nature. Some scientists call this loss of contact "nature deficiency syndrome". Don't urban kids deserve an outdoor plan to know nature, learn the intricacies of the environment and build their character in the process?

City kids today can easily identify brand names of cars and home appliances. But ask them the names of plants and wild animals, especially when they see one in real life, and most of them will be at a loss. A vast amount of their knowledge about nature is second-hand - from colorful textbooks, TV programs or Internet sites.