Education and Youth Wellbeing teams are helping hundreds of children in Wiltshire to explore nature and to have fun in the countryside as well as learn from it.
And it is a necessary activity given mounting evidence that young people are disconnected from nature and suffering as a result because being in the open air improves their physical and mental health, school performance, social skills and behaviour.
“Yet it is as families that we need to put outdoors into our daily routines,” says Jenny Hawley, environmental intelligence officer for Wiltshire Wildlife Trust, based in Devizes.
“As a mother of two small children I know how tempting it is to use the TV as a babysitter but then how grumpy and lethargic the kids are afterwards,” she writes in the Spring issue of the Trust’s magazine.
“If we go out for a short walk we all relax and get better as a family.”
And she adds: “If young people have only ever known nature as pigeons and ducks in a tightly-mown local park. Then they won’t expect much else and are unlikely to understand why it’s worth protecting.
“Nor will they realise how much things have changed and what wildlife has been lost unless they are told about it or taken to see remnants of wildlife-rich habitats, such as our nature reserves or other places.
“In a vicious circle, fewer people will want to protect wildlife and wildlife will continue to disappear.”
Mrs Hawley points out that being outdoors is the best way to pass on experiences and knowledge of nature to children and grandchildren, and that this is vital for the future health of the natural environment.
“We know the facts and are working to turnaround this connect with nature,” she reveals. “Funding permitting, we aim to sustain and expand our education and youth well being projects to reach more children.
“We are part of Wild Network, the UK’s biggest ever campaign by hundreds of organisations and individuals to reconnect children with nature and outdoor play.”
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