According to research by BBC Wildlife Magazine children prefer playing on the computer to playing in the countryside. The study which invited 700 school children to identify common native species and then quizzed the children on what their do in their spare time found that just half could identify a bluebell or a blue tit and 11% never visited the countryside. I was rather heartened by the findings that 78% of the children involved were allowed to play out on their own and that 79% had enjoyed an afternoon spent picking blackberries. But I am aware that many of the experiences that our children's generation has with nature can be sterile, contrived and not very wild at all. Which is why we have commissioned the wonderful Marina Robb, to write in our next issue about bringing our children back home to nature. She runs wilderness workshops for teens and is extremely well placed to write about the increasing disconnection from the natural world and how we can find our way back there. Dr. Martin Maudsley, the Outdoor Play Development Officer for Playwork Partnerships at the University of Gloucestershire (wonder what the plaque on his office door reads) has some good ideas too:• Look for access to wild natural spaces for children - school grounds, community gardens, parks and reserves.
• Help maintain and protect local wild spaces.
• Give children uninterrupted free time to explore these spaces.
• Let places go wild. Create areas of mud and dirt for digging and playing with mud.
• Be prepared and kit your children out with waterproofs and wellies etc.
Look out for the next issue of The Green Parent, on sale next month, for more ideas.
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