‘Through the unknown, remembered gate’: the Brian Nettleton lecture – Outdoors Victoria conference, 2022

Abstract

This paper is an adapted version of the Brian Nettleton Lecture given at the Outdoors Victoria Conference, 2022. It explores how the last two decades have seen an ever-accelerating Digital Revolution which has impacted on almost every aspect of human experience to the point that it is now omnipresent. Life is now mediated through the screen. As a result, children and young people have become hyper-vigilant, overly anxious, experience a sense of climate trauma, and have decreasing access to, and time spent in, the outdoors. In addition, children have just experienced two years of isolation as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic and evidence suggests that they are already experiencing significant mental health issues as a result. This paper considers the implications of this for Outdoors Victoria and Outdoor Education.