The real dirt on dirt
In 1847 when Hungarian obstetric physician Ignaz Semmelweis discovered that washing his hands before delivering babies led to a huge drop in deadly puerperal fever in birthing mothers, it became one of the key planks of modern-day Germ Theory.
Around a hundred years later when a marketing agency came across Germ Theory – Semmelweis’ discovery became one of the key campaign planks for selling their client’s soap.
The marketing executives deduced that if germs aka bacteria were very bad, then the dirt where the germs resided was, ipso facto, very bad indeed.
The subsequent war on dirt featuring an armory of antibacterial soaps, hand sanitisers, cleaners, detergents and disinfectant sprays continues to this day.
The unfortunate result has been skyrocketing rates of autoimmune and allergic diseases – you only have to look at the long lists of banned foods from day-care, kinder and primary schools to understand something’s not right.
A University of Ohio study comparing the microbiomes of “clean” urban children and rural Amish children who were regularly exposed to dirt and farm animals found the Amish children had much lower rates of allergies and asthma than their urban peers.
Today we’re coming to realise that dirt is full of beneficial bacteria and that being exposed to it from an early age is essential for the development of a healthy microbiome.
It may not be the main reason parents are enrolling their kids in nature play programs but it’s definitely one of the unexpected benefits.
Planting seeds, feeding chickens, making art with natural objects, checking out insects, climbing trees and eating damper around a campfire not only connects kids with the natural world it also builds their community of beneficial gut flora that helps regulate their moods and emotions.
It also ironically aligns with our parents telling us to get out of the house and not to come back until dinner time as an effective preventative health care strategy that also improved fitness levels, motor skills, problem solving and social development.
CERES School of Nature and Climate has been running Nature Playgroups for years, you may have come across them at the park in Brunswick East or along the Merri Creek having the time of their lives in all kinds of weather.
And if you’ve just come home from a long weekend away in nature you’ll know exactly what this feels like and how important this is for our little souls.
CERES Nature Playgroup begins next week with its Autumn Holiday Program starting Monday 8th April – Friday 12th April and the weekly Nature Playgroup on Mondays, Tuesdays or Wednesday’s from 22nd April.
Here’s the link to learn more.
