The joys of playing with mud, sticks and leaves: getting children connected to nature
A family pond dipping at Scotland's Big Nature Festival (photo by Anna Pugh)
Just a couple of weekends ago, at Scotland's Big Nature Festival, children were everywhere; hunting for bugs, pond dipping, and generally exploring the wonders of nature. Over the weekend 1,269 children took part in nature activities, but the popularity of the kids’ activities belies the trends we are seeing in society. RSPB’s own research with the University of Essex shows that children are playing out in nature far less than ever before and that there is a real disconnection from nature developing in the next generation.
Looking back I was very lucky. My father and mother were both keen on nature, and my father especially took me bird watching, and encouraged me to keep lists and take notes. A geography teacher at school similarly nurtured my growing interest, and the thing that perhaps clinched it was a friend at school who had a relative who was a bird ringer. Seeing birds in the hand sealed the deal! I was hooked on birds and wildlife.
Bird ringing at Scotland's Big Nature Festival (photo by Majdanik Photography)
Reconnecting our children and young people with nature is something that we are taking very seriously at RSPB Scotland. Last week we launched the programme for the Glasgow Wildlife Garden Festival, a four- week celebration of nature and wildlife starting on July 1st and part of our Giving Nature a Home in Glasgow project. Over 40 community gardens, allotment groups, and friends of parks groups have joined with schools to improve the greenspaces they manage for nature and to get more people out enjoying them and involved in caring for them. There are 75 events, from a survey of Easterhouse’s unusual water vole population, to bushcraft skills and canoe trips along the river Kelvin; helping young people who may otherwise miss out on the wonder that nature can offer is a bit of a personal mission for me.
Children and young people are a huge part of our work in Glasgow. Over the past year we have taken over 2000 children as school groups into Kelvingrove Park to give them a first-hand experience of nature, and involved over 8000 young people and their families with activities in parks and community greenspaces. Our toddler group based at Kelvingrove Museum is starting to show our youngest supporters (or rather their parents!) the joys of playing with mud, sticks and leaves.
Bug hunting at Scotland's Big Nature Festival (photo by Anna Pugh)
The highlight of the Garden Festival for me will be the day-long Bioblitz, which will cover the whole of Glasgow starting at 5.30am and finishing at midnight. It will be run from a hub at Kelvingrove Museum and Park and I am particularly looking forward to partnering up with Buglife for the invertebrate survey (mini beasts!) and spending a bit of time on the membership and information stall. So whether you have children, nephews and nieces or grandchildren, or whether you don’t, come and get involved with the Glasgow Wildlife Garden Festival this year. You can find the full programme here. Why not grow that spark of interest in the young people you know? Who knows - one of them may become the Director of RSPB Scotland one day!