The Angling Trust [1] has joined a major movement to reverse the generational decline in children’s connection to nature.
The Wild Network [2], a rapidly growing movement of more than 1000 organisations, large and small, is leading a campaign calling for at least 30 minutes more wild time for every child, every day [3].
The Angling Trust is joined in the Network by the National Trust, RSPB, Play England and the NHS Sustainable Development Unit.
Mark Lloyd, Chief Executive of the Angling Trust said: “We are proud to be part of the Wild Network. Spending time outdoors is good for kids’ health and wellbeing – and good for the environment, too!“
“At the Angling Trust we are encouraging families to get outdoors together this summer and give fishing a try in partnership with the charity Get Hooked on Fishing via our Family Fishing campaign (#familyfishing) which is hosting several large FREE regional events around the country.”
Andy Simpson, Chair of the Wild Network, said: “The tragic truth is that kids have lost touch with nature and the outdoors in just one generation. “
“Time spent outdoors is down [4], roaming ranges have fallen drastically [7], activity levels are declining [6] and the ability to identify common species has been lost [9]. “
“New research by the RSPB and University of Essex illustrates the scale of the challenge with only one in five (21 per cent) children aged eight to twelve years old having a connection with nature [10]. “
“An extra thirty minutes of wild time every day for all under 12-year olds in the UK would be the equivalent of just three months of their childhood spent outdoors [11].”
The Network is supporting the compelling new feature documentary PROJECT WILD THING [12].
Three years in the making, Project Wild Thing takes a funny and moving look at one of the most complex issues of the age – the increasingly fragile link between children and nature.
In a bid to get his daughter and son off the sofa and outdoors, filmmaker and father David Bond appoints himself as the Marketing Director for Nature. He wants his brand – nature – to stand out from the crowd of brands competing for their attention.
David works with branding and outdoor experts to develop and launch a campaign to get children outdoors and into nature – the ultimate, free, wonder-product.
Filmmaker and star of Project Wild Thing, David Bond, said: “I wanted to understand why my children’s childhood is so different from mine, whether this matters and if it does, what I can do about it.”
“Project Wild Thing isn’t some misty eyed nostalgia for the past; we need to make more space for wild time in children’s daily routine and giving everyone the opportunity to become Marketing Directors for Nature.”
The discussion about swapping screen time for wild time will continue on twitter via the feed @wearewildthing and using the hashtag #wildtime.
[1] The Angling Trust is recognised by the government as the single representative body for all game, coarse and sea angling in England. It fights for fish and fishing by working to improve and protect fish stocks, promoting the benefits of angling for all, standing up for the environment and supporting excellence in angling.
Website: www.anglingtrust.net
Family Fishing details at http://www.ghof.org.uk/latest-news/168-family-fishing
Social Media: www.facebook.com/anglingtrust , www.twitter.com/anglingtrust
[2] The Wild Network was launched on 25th September 2013. A thousand organisations, large and small, and thousands of individuals, have come together to create a movement whose aim is to reconnect kids with nature and the outdoors. THE WILD NETWORK is for everyone who wants kids to roam free, play wild and connect with nature. Details on how to get involved can be found here – http://projectwildthing.com/thewildnetwork and you can see a list of organisations involved at http://projectwildthing.com/organisations. Members include the Angling Trust, Woodland Trust, Wildlife Trusts, National Trust, RSPB, Play England, Scouts Association, Swarm and the NHS Sustainable Development Unit.
[3] Wild time is all about playing outdoors and spending time in the natural world. It’s about the time outside of the structured school day – it could be time on the journey to school, after school or at weekends.The free Wild Time App is full of ideas of how to get your extra 30 minutes of wild time every day. It can be downloaded on the App and Google Play Stores. Download the app or add your own wild time ideas at http://projectwildthing.com/wildtime.
[4] Letting children go out to play is one of the best things that parents can do for their children’s health – outdoor play uses more calories than clubs and tuition, (Making children’s lives more active, University College London, 2004); children who said they ‘noticed and enjoyed their surroundings’ most days (i.e. were connected to their local environment) had much higher well-being scores than those who didn’t (The Children’s Society, The Good Childhood Report, 2013); and children that are exposed to nature score higher on concentration and self-discipline; improve their awareness, reasoning and observational skills; do better in reading, writing, maths, science and social studies; are better at working in teams; and show improved behaviour overall, (Sigman, A, ‘Agricultural Literacy: Giving concrete children food for thought’ (2007) http://www.face-online.org.uk/resources/news/Agricultural%20Literacy.pdf)
[5] Project Wild Thing went on general release in cinemas nationwide from 25 October 2013 and is available on Curzon Home Cinema from Sunday 27 October 2013 at 7pm (http://www.curzoncinemas.com/film_on_demand/). All proceeds from the release of the film go to the Wild Network. Tickets can be bought via the website at http://www.projectwildthing.com. You can join the conversation about the film on twitter using the hashtag #projectwildthing.
[6] Time playing outside during the week and at weekends has halved in one generation and children are more inclined to stay indoors and watch television, play computer games and even do their homework, than go outside to play, (JCB Kids Fresh Air Campaign, 2013) and fewer than 1 in 10 children regularly play in wild spaces, versus about half a generation ago, (http://www.naturalengland.org.uk/Images/Childhood%20and%20Nature%20Survey_tcm6-10515.pdf).
[7] Gaster, S. (1991) Urban Children’s Access to Their Neighbourhoods: Changes Over Three Generations, quoted in Louv, R. (2005) Last Child in the Woods, p123; two thirds of parents now believe that their children have less freedom to roam than free-range chickens (ICM poll for Playday, 2010).
[8] Only half of seven year olds are getting the hour of exercise that they need every day according to research by the UCL Institute of Child Health (http://www.bmjopen.bmj.com/content/3/8/e002893).
[9] Three times as many children could identify a Dalek as a magpie, “Wildlife alien to indoor children”, National Trust, 2008, (http://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/article-1356398668159/).
[10] Details of the research findings and methodology from the RSPB and the University of Essex research, published in October 2013, can be found here: http://www.rspb.org.uk/connectionmeasure.
[11] If every child in the UK under 12 years old spent at least half an hour of wild time every day that would be the equivalent of 4.5 million hours a day or 1.64 billion hours in a year. There are just over 9 million children under the age of 12 in the UK.
[12] PROJECT WILD THING takes a revealing look at children’s retreat from wild spaces. The film was released in 80 cinemas nationwide on 25th October 2013. It is available to download on Video on Demand and DVD. Organisations and individuals can also apply to put on community screenings of the film. Details of how to see the film are at http://projectwildthing.com/film.
