The Wildlife Trusts launched their campaign, Every Child Wild, with a poll and some startling facts:
78% of parents are concerned that children don’t spend enough time interacting with nature and wildlife.
57% of parents said their children spend a less time outdoors than they did - and fear many children are missing out on contact with the natural world.
Over a quarter (27%) of children aged 8-15 had never played outside by themselves.
Less than half of children aged 8-15 had looked for wild flowers with their parents or grandparents - and even fewer (42%) had listened for birdsong with their families.
Over half of children (57%) have never found frogspawn in a pond in the wild in the UK and more than a third (37%) have never seen a hedgehog.
Less than half (46%) of the children said they had been to a place in the wild with their school to learn about wildlife in the past year.
Experiencing nature in the short and long-term has been shown to have a significant impact upon heart rate and blood pressure.
One study has shown that when low-income urban families were relocated to houses with nature nearby they had higher levels of cognitive functioning and a greater ability to direct their attention.
Another study showed that people living near quality green space were twice as likely to report low psychological distress as those living near low quality open spaces.
Between 1915 and 2015, children’s roaming range away from their home reduced from six miles to 300 yards.
You can find out more about Every Child Wild at wildlifetrusts.org
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