Introducing children to Nature - Wales Biodiversity Partnership

'Contact with nature...is critical to the personal development of our children.'

"We will be physically, mentally and spiritually impoverished if our children are deprived of contact with the natural world. Contact with nature should not be the preserve of the privileged. It is critical to the personal development of our children." Sir David Attenborough

Barriers to wild time

Over-development and planning around places
Lack of unstructured play opportunities
Lack of environmental learning in the curriculum
Traffic and road safety
Commercialisation of play
Consumerism and advertising to children
Risk averse culture
Perceptions towards stranger danger
Rise of screen-time
Increasingly time-poor parents
Vanishing green spaces

Get involved

Eco-Schools - Keep Wales Tidy
Eco-Schools is an international award programme that guides schools on their sustainable journey, providing a framework to help embed these principles into the heart of school life. Becoming part of Eco-Schools is simple; registration is free for schools and can be completed online.

'Keep Wales Tidy firmly believes that its Eco-Schools programme inspires and empowers pupils to be leaders of change in their communities and widens learning beyond the classroom to develop responsible attitudes and commitment, both at home and in the wider community.' Keep Wales Tidy

Every Child Wild - The Wildlife Trusts
Evidence has been growing for a number of years pointing to the array of health and social benefits to be derived from contact with the natural world for all ages. Children are happier, healthier and more creative when they are connected to the natural world. This should be an option not just for a few, but for every child in the UK. The Wildlife Trusts reach around half a million children each year through their junior membership and work with schools.

Find the Wildlife Trust for your area here and check out their map of nature clubs for children and teenagers here.

Forest School Wales

Forest School Wales

A wide variety of resources are available to members, including information sheets on activities, games, recipes and how to create a variety of crafts in your sessions. There are also many useful documents developed by experienced Forest School leaders and during CPD training sessions - including Practical Woodland Management, Environmental Impact Assessments and a Policy and Procedure Handbook.

Learning Through Landscapes

LTL Cymru is the Welsh programme of LTL, the UK charity dedicated to enhancing outdoor learning and play for children. Where possible we encourage young people to have a say in the way their grounds are used and improved. As a result they learn to create and look after something valuable; their self-esteem grows and their behaviour improves, along with their potential to learn and achieve.

Plant2Plate Campaign - WWF

Plant2Plate focuses on what can be done to produce and consume food in a sustainable way that is not harmful to our shared planet. To support schools on the campaign, WWF developed some fantastic curriculum linked resources and activities for key stage 1 and 2 pupils, designed to help introduce pupils to the issues of food and sustainability.

Growing food at school is a great activity for pupils of all ages. Our Food for Thought and Growing Guide offers practical ideas, including a fantastic food growing calendar, covering the main aspects of food growing.

Other ways to get involved

Campfire Cymru
John Muir Award Four Challenges
Muddy Faces Outdoors Equipment
OPAL
Woodland Trust Green Tree School Awards and Nature Detectives

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