AFON
Want To Generate Support For Conservation? Let Kids Play Outside!
I can’t remember when I first fell in love with the outdoors. One of my most vivid memories from primary school is rummaging for insects under the hedge at the back of the school playing field during a science lesson when I was 8. An earwig ended up crawling into a classmate’s shoe while he tried to manoeuvre it into a jar, which caused great amusement. I remember wishing that every lesson was like this.
Earlier this year, a study by The University of British Columbia confirmed what I, and most other conservationists, have always thought: children who play outside are more likely to care about environmental issues and protect nature when they become young adults.
So, ongoing support for conservation relies on kids playing outside. Unfortunately, not many are able to do that these days.
Concerns over increased traffic, stranger-danger and a lack of access to quality green spaces mean that many parents, understandably, are reluctant to let their children play outdoors. Add to this the lure of television, computer games and tablets and we’re in a situation where UK children spend more time indoors and less time playing outside.
Now that I am a young(ish) adult myself, I realise how fortunate I was growing up. Not everyone has a garden to play in or a geography enthusiast for a mother. For many children who grow up in cities, an urban landscape of tarmac, concrete and brick is their local environment. Nature isn’t for them – it’s dirty or scary or both. I’ve seen teenage lads with tough-guy reputations close to hysterical because they have to walk through a muddy puddle to get from A to B. There is a risk that we will have multiple generations grow into adults with no connection to nature and, therefore, no interest in local conservation.
Fast forward 17 years from my science lesson under the hedge, and I am digging in the soil with a small gang of 7 and 8 year olds, once again, looking for insects in Everton Park Nature Garden – barely a mile from Liverpool’s city centre. These children go to school in a deprived urban area but they know all sorts about nature. They know that ash wood burns green, woodlice are crustaceans and they could teach you how to tie a taut tarp hitch knot. This is Forest School, and it is one solution to reversing children’s disconnection with nature and getting them interested in local conservation.
Forest School is a child-led, play-based ethos that offers children regular opportunities to succeed, improve self-esteem and develop as a person, through hands-on learning in the woods. Children are able to play freely, explore their own interests, and learn at their own pace in a safe and supporting environment.
Thanks to support from players of People’s Postcode Lottery, I am able to work for a project run by Lancashire Wildlife Trust that delivers free Forest School sessions to four schools in Liverpool and Manchester across the year. For some of these children, Forest School is the first chance they’ve had to properly explore nature, but hopefully it won’t be the last. Our project is also able to train teachers from the schools we work with to become qualified Forest School leaders themselves, so that they can continue to deliver sessions to children every year and get more pupils outside.
Forest School helps children in all aspects of their lives, such as enhancing confidence, increasing resilience to difficult life situations, improving team work and developing decision-making skills. Activities like den-building, green woodworking, natural art and fire-lighting, teach children about natural resources and how fun and special nature is. As the children learn more about their surroundings, their respect for the outdoors grows, and this is so lovely to watch.
I watch the children we work with and I wonder how many will become adults who can look back on their lives and think, “I’ve always loved the outdoors.” I hope that all of them will do something to support conservation as they grow, and share their respect for nature with generations to come.