Wild About Wildlife honors Richard Louv with first lifetime achievement award

Wild About Wildlife recognized bestselling author Richard Louv at a luncheon Monday at The Ben in West Palm Beach, spotlighting South Florida youth conservation programs tied to the National Wildlife Refuge Association. The event featured a keynote, a local conservation conversation and a fundraising appeal for programs that connect students with nature.

Why it matters: - Wild About Wildlife used the luncheon to raise money and attention for the National Wildlife Refuge Association’s South Florida programs. - The event centered on youth access to nature, wildlife conservation and hands-on learning at local refuges. - The first Wild About Wildlife Lifetime Achievement Award honored Richard Louv for helping drive the movement to reconnect children with the outdoors.

What happened: - Wild About Wildlife hosted Nature Renaissance with Richard Louv on Monday, Oct. 12, at The Ben, Autograph Collection, in West Palm Beach. - Doane & Doane, PA presented the event. - Richard Louv headlined the afternoon with a keynote sponsored by The Everglades Foundation. - Dianne Bernstein, chair of Wild About Wildlife, opened the program. - Wild About Wildlife Co-Founder Nancy Marshall introduced Louv. - Louv later joined Natalie Balaguer, South Florida Regional Partnership Specialist for the Refuge Association, for a conversation about the work in South Florida. - Bernstein and Desirée Sorenson-Groves, president and CEO of the Refuge Association, presented Louv with the inaugural Wild About Wildlife Lifetime Achievement Award. - Bernstein led a live Call of the Wild appeal to support the Refuge Association’s South Florida youth programs.

The details: - Louv coined the term “nature-deficit disorder” in his 2005 bestseller Last Child in the Woods. - That book helped spark an international movement focused on reconnecting children and families with the outdoors. - Louv’s new book, Noticing: Intimate Encounters with the Natural World, examines research on animal communication, wildlife sentience and the human senses. - The Refuge Association’s South Florida programs include Conservation Ranger Camp, Pocket Refuges and Floating Wetlands. - Those programs put students on wildlife refuges and bring nature into schools. - Guests gave to expand opportunities for youth to explore the outdoors, learn wildlife conservation and work alongside refuge rangers. - Nature Renaissance also had support from Environmental Partner FPL and Table Sponsor West Palm Beach Library Foundation.

Between the lines: - The award signals that Wild About Wildlife wants to frame Louv’s work as both cultural and practical, not just literary. - The program tied Louv’s national message to local South Florida programming, showing how broad conservation ideas are being translated into school and community action. - The live appeal suggests the luncheon was designed to convert awareness into funding for direct youth programming. - Dianne Bernstein said Louv’s work changed how parents and teachers think about children and the outdoors and helped move schools, families and lawmakers to act.

What's next: - Wild About Wildlife said the event will help support continued funding for South Florida youth conservation programs. - The Refuge Association will keep advancing Pocket Refuges, Conservation Ranger Camp and Floating Wetlands across Palm Beach County and the greater South Florida region. - Wild About Wildlife directed readers to wildaboutwildlife.org for more information.