I suspect you know quite a bit about this issue. Perhaps you’re looking for ways to heal the broken bond.

In recent years, a new movement has emerged.

Building on the great work of environmental educators, conservationists, camp directors and others, the leaders of this movement range from policymakers to psychologists and medical professionals to builders and urban planners; from educators to business people, from parents to the young – conservatives, liberals, the political and apolitical. The issue transcends political and religious barriers. Under the current and past president, two Secretaries of the Interior – a Republican and a Democrat – have committed to connecting children to nature. This year, the makers of Sesame Street are sending a new message about nature. Many religious communities have signed on, too.

In a remarkably short time, a network of thousands of grassroots leaders have taken this cause into their own hands. The Children & Nature Network now tracks over 65 regional and state campaigns across North America, and more are on the way. Parents are creating “family nature clubs” which could spread across our communities as book clubs and neighborhood watch groups did in previous decades.

Good ideas are gaining traction, such as a national Natural Teachers Network to support the art teachers and English teachers and all the others who insist on getting their students outside; a Nature Rocks social marketing campaign; a Natural Leaders Network, to galvanize young people in inner cities and outer exurbs to become the most effective leaders for the cause; urban dwellers using neighborhood land trusts to create their own “button parks”; along with innovative efforts by the Sierra Club, Audubon, National Wildlife Federation, ecoAmerica, Lindblad Expeditions, the American Camp Association, REI and The North Face, and many other organizations.

But we’re not there yet.

There’s some evidence that the movement is having an impact on people’s everyday lives. Recent news reports suggest a growing number of families are beginning to venture out of their homes, rediscovering the wonder and restorative powers of nature. Such stories often attribute this to the Great Recession and the reemergence of older, less costly values. There’s probably truth to that, but we also believe that the movement – those thousands of people who have been working tirelessly to connect children to nature – is also making a difference.

We do not know how deep this renewal is or if it will last past the next economic bubble. But we do know that the forces of history are formidable.

As the world urbanizes, what one pundit has called “the pandemic of nature-deficit disorder” will become a threat to human health. In 1800, three percent of the world’s population lived in cities, today, more than half of the planet’s 6.8 billion people are urban-dwellers. The trend shows no sign of slowing. This is not to say that urban life is, by itself, intrinsically bad for human health and spirit, but rather the kind of urban life many of us are living. We can change this.

Every child deserves to directly experience the gifts of nature – yet so many, especially those living in dense inner cities, have yet to see the stars. Literally.

Will we be the last generation to remember a time when it was considered normal and expected for child to go out in the woods and wonder? If we take that memory with us when we leave this earth, what will that say about our generation?

Or, we could be the generation that chooses to turn the tide.

So we’d like you – along with many others – to consider bringing your gifts and talent to this movement. I have a hunch you’ll give us a call.

Stranger things have happened, on Earth and on Pandora.

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Richard Louv is chairman of the Children and Nature Network. He is the author of “Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children from Nature-Deficit Disorder.”