At the RSPB we've always sought to inspire young people about the natural world. It’s in our history stretching back to the Junior Bird Recorders’ Club starting in 1943. But in recent years we’ve realised that it’s not just adults that help kids get into nature, often children are the reason their parents get into nature too.
As part of our work to bring whole families closer to nature, there’s lots that we've done in the last couple of years. Ultimately it’s still about connecting children and parents to the natural world so that they will help us save it.
Now we have the chance to receive an independent award for our work with families, so if you have about 30 seconds to spare please do help us out and vote here: https://familytraveller.com/family-traveller-awards/awards-categories/best-conservation-charity-families/
If you need more convincing, here are just a few of the things we’ve done recently to reach out to families:
The Big Wild Sleepout – In it’s fourth year over 30k people signed up to take part. We had some great content like the Whose Poo game, and our reserves put on some amazing events around the country giving the most adventurous families an exclusively wild experience. Social media was teeming with pictures of families on their Sleepouts too.
Giving Nature a Home – All our TV campaigns have focused on children and what they can do in their garden’s to give nature a home. Thousands of people have signed up online and we’ve had loads of feedback on social media showing families with their wonderful new homes for wildlife.
Our work with Aldi – This summer our partnership with Aldi allowed us to put outreach workers into 15 cities around Great Britain, bringing with them bags of custom designed activities to hand out to families. Events were held in parks and at bigger events. All the activities done with these families contribute to our target of fostering half a million extra nature experiences for children before 2018.
Our new membership materials – Our revamped membership materials for families have been a big hit and include ideas to encourage families to explore, discover and enjoy nature near them. Ideas are broken down into seasons so there’s always something to do.
Our work on reserves – Our family reserves are a continual source of inspiration for local and visiting families. These reserves provide all of the ingredients for a great family day out and are the source of countless experiences that have brought people closer to nature.
More to come - This year we're launching an online nature award's scheme for families and schools. It arrives this autumn. Watch this space...
Once again the place to vote is: https://familytraveller.com/family-traveller-awards/awards-categories/best-conservation-charity-families/
Thanks Alan, much appreciated. Please feel free to spread the word!