tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9845845589817942442024-03-04T21:20:41.254-08:00going wildgoing wildhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04509383397631152204noreply@blogger.comBlogger19125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-984584558981794244.post-70630991721003259972011-03-16T06:01:00.000-07:002011-03-16T06:46:30.051-07:00The Earth Trust<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZ0Mb3UOh0f53uDntRuO2idt7FMptv9BrPjF-2geMVL33Z8d55nhqB7NIjheM2Ae5oHZbNp7e2TAIuMGYyUJ99POcfABmVqrycrHuAKQJGqi1LVpfYdgC43SrwT8b3MTCbg7u3_ILJbjY/s1600/P1010933.JPG"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 150px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZ0Mb3UOh0f53uDntRuO2idt7FMptv9BrPjF-2geMVL33Z8d55nhqB7NIjheM2Ae5oHZbNp7e2TAIuMGYyUJ99POcfABmVqrycrHuAKQJGqi1LVpfYdgC43SrwT8b3MTCbg7u3_ILJbjY/s200/P1010933.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5584673397404692290" /></a>
<br />
<br />
<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiagYtxJANbWlp1NQyv5vBPCkxsDe9VPHOWbuVlJUxy8DAYqQuWU3_chWl_3UkXDxqyuUxlJNug5CWFKe0nkgGAO1xXtq_Ed1WcZ7OTr6gj9wIMVtfPqsVGgInh1oNwXVKuZQ6G_dKx4dk/s1600/P1010901.JPG"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 150px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiagYtxJANbWlp1NQyv5vBPCkxsDe9VPHOWbuVlJUxy8DAYqQuWU3_chWl_3UkXDxqyuUxlJNug5CWFKe0nkgGAO1xXtq_Ed1WcZ7OTr6gj9wIMVtfPqsVGgInh1oNwXVKuZQ6G_dKx4dk/s200/P1010901.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5584671326105968130" /></a>
<br />
<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMxTe5ZTViD2qsrwPUheM2G03HSnwePbA1IjyFXvkzvojby6ROPwJdjW39T_62TWUWVskBUXeBZOkpIvszep7zUwxtgwPWBns_2VwqV7BeB3LT3qZ5hWaWdXO9Hi-ssnxBJJFnK2MHa-s/s1600/P1010908.JPG">
<br /></a><div>Last weekend we were invited to help <i>The Northmoor Trust</i></div><meta equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html;charset=UTF-8"><div>celebrate the changing of their name to <i>The Earth's Trust</i> see</div><div>
<br /></div><meta equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html;charset=UTF-8"><meta equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html;charset=UTF-8"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpFfRVLmL9sfMohDpnpfIO3QNTlLsfWPXroZNzBxU9AE6VaTYoK5g3T4Cxyf5y3ajGHYdF9N10Yqw5z_U6UbfoOMkaUGY4yI8tv41J76a9eLFKMT_0Pe7wxXp_w-pFlne1Bmszw_8tT5A/s200/P1010888.JPG" style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5584672065914188210" /><meta equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html;charset=UTF-8"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFSaKC19hVa18_aSnNDPmpPJpN7z2Te67Jf8Z5NB3AOEZBciG8lNmjwMWIi3xqAE-MmFVJge-Nipv0Ftd-YGqHoNnR8hGJIoPy3-HhwepnTkjA-LFaNQvZIkUmuJP1k16u6LH_Kx911N8/s200/P1010908.JPG" style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5584670062299408466" /><div>www.earthtrust.org.uk. We spent two days basking in the sunshine looking out over Oxfordshire feeling winter was finally blowing away. Families from far and wide made a menagerie of magical stick and clay creatures from scary dinosaurs to beautiful birds. It was lovely to see children as young as 10 months old getting stuck into the squidgy feeling of clay between their fingers as well as teenagers, parents and even grandparents focused on making intricate creations and mythical beasts. Many thanks must go to everyone at the Earth Trust for putting on such a wonderful occasion.</div><meta equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html;charset=UTF-8"><div>
<br /></div>going wildhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04509383397631152204noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-984584558981794244.post-86947594801012146522010-07-26T01:36:00.000-07:002010-07-26T01:54:26.852-07:00Sounds Like Summer event at Aston Rowant Nature ReserveThanks to some more beautiful weather, we had a wonderful day lying in the sunshine, looking out over the chalk escarpment towards Oxford watching the red kites glide and the clouds scurry across the patchwork of fields below. We listened to some fabulous music from various bands and had a go at making our own quirky musical instruments such as tin can guitars and natural windchimes.going wildhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04509383397631152204noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-984584558981794244.post-87470701724691505122010-06-09T09:12:00.000-07:002010-06-09T09:42:04.690-07:00BBC Springwatch event at Aston Rowant Nature reserve<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYw5IyCCFTtZTL5m1Yuh3TLylgDThJ-Y1BAyO0SWe9vGh2B4OZKiR_70aa1N5_ZCnq0iOr78C12H2WUXsntYjqSx65xw8HZxOYpRO7EN_mo4od9lYhI8SJ9e8HUYN_ZH1Vca3-GplMmKk/s1600/IMG_0833.JPG"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 134px; FLOAT: right; HEIGHT: 200px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5480814378169534674" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYw5IyCCFTtZTL5m1Yuh3TLylgDThJ-Y1BAyO0SWe9vGh2B4OZKiR_70aa1N5_ZCnq0iOr78C12H2WUXsntYjqSx65xw8HZxOYpRO7EN_mo4od9lYhI8SJ9e8HUYN_ZH1Vca3-GplMmKk/s200/IMG_0833.JPG" /></a><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNKXQ6FvaVD62xrwXVRYNiS5RFdoEqqImwfNy6RaEUZS19F2OWrtSM-a31BmgwXU4Q3uVlA32yU-a_c9p1Nvmc1uJLROETDQcp_-Hb6wU6dHFc7xKXOokwkI9hMPnxpLIAJd1OxVAxx0E/s1600/IMG_0813.JPG"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 200px; FLOAT: right; HEIGHT: 134px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5480814369672981858" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNKXQ6FvaVD62xrwXVRYNiS5RFdoEqqImwfNy6RaEUZS19F2OWrtSM-a31BmgwXU4Q3uVlA32yU-a_c9p1Nvmc1uJLROETDQcp_-Hb6wU6dHFc7xKXOokwkI9hMPnxpLIAJd1OxVAxx0E/s200/IMG_0813.JPG" /></a><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixCFGojQp-S92vm-OUWQoC3H-L7lwgH-Cgd2M0-f94F4qA6CZsuiE_V4dSAs_nYxRYH5H5t0eRm6pz93yPIfu4b6Gq5uoaTk1B23zmdot3FmCbGJCA-EAt2lfLJdtC-hsnpv3z3bzYNME/s1600/IMG_0819.JPG"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 200px; FLOAT: right; HEIGHT: 134px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5480814361480774018" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixCFGojQp-S92vm-OUWQoC3H-L7lwgH-Cgd2M0-f94F4qA6CZsuiE_V4dSAs_nYxRYH5H5t0eRm6pz93yPIfu4b6Gq5uoaTk1B23zmdot3FmCbGJCA-EAt2lfLJdtC-hsnpv3z3bzYNME/s200/IMG_0819.JPG" /></a><br /><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOvo66JCg2uc-JiW-SDWDtTGV0WpQ3dC6UgoeNUSwcHyJpprVMXVwWbFDDcc9Sjwnc3zXnrQNfaE8n3QR8mO2iq-oHQ2_u6cpEGQZUJRHa3bKAKqIr91Imenkiwd6UNznVn00CH3hppxQ/s1600/IMG_0834.JPG"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 134px; FLOAT: right; HEIGHT: 200px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5480814351646826770" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOvo66JCg2uc-JiW-SDWDtTGV0WpQ3dC6UgoeNUSwcHyJpprVMXVwWbFDDcc9Sjwnc3zXnrQNfaE8n3QR8mO2iq-oHQ2_u6cpEGQZUJRHa3bKAKqIr91Imenkiwd6UNznVn00CH3hppxQ/s200/IMG_0834.JPG" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhphpx57YKJIuWhnukIj4SptzodPnP32wH6ysDCV6ej2oABDDOuHUIA9cHgT5qHXgxFgXv3__cSjOyNfAzUy1NGgclROtlU4VLEtlXHWLGCMqQWkBqTtvExsbog49Qcn0HOAiLTkGKM9VU/s1600/IMG_0765.JPG"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 200px; FLOAT: right; HEIGHT: 134px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5480814302407213682" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhphpx57YKJIuWhnukIj4SptzodPnP32wH6ysDCV6ej2oABDDOuHUIA9cHgT5qHXgxFgXv3__cSjOyNfAzUy1NGgclROtlU4VLEtlXHWLGCMqQWkBqTtvExsbog49Qcn0HOAiLTkGKM9VU/s200/IMG_0765.JPG" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><div>Almost 2000 people visited Aston Rowant Nature reserve this Saturday and joined in all the fun. Natural England kindly lent us a fantastic tent, not for shelter but to provide valuable shade as the temperatures soared! Probably about 200 or more children visited <em>Going Wild </em>and made a fantastic selection of Tree People who apparently live hidden in the trees on the reserve. There were vampire monsters, ugly sister monsters, fabulous fairy princesses and terrifying zombie boggarts with sharp blackthorn fangs! Every tree person created had a different character and many told us stories of the adventures their creature had had in the woods! </div><br /><div>We had a fantastic day, of imagination and creativity all inspired by the natural world. Best of all their tree people were made from natural materials gathered whilst on a walk, there was not a bit of plastic in sight and hours of entertainment came absolutely free! </div></div></div></div></div>going wildhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04509383397631152204noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-984584558981794244.post-36349407046348256122010-06-09T09:01:00.000-07:002010-06-09T09:12:38.519-07:00NaturefestWe have just come back from 3 days at Naturefest. The new outdoor event that celebrates the rich diversity of the Natural World. Set in the beautiful grounds of the Bentley Wildfowl and motor museum near Brighton people all committed to nature gathered together to share their skills and experiences. Organisations and individuals from country pursuits, wildlife, conservation, bushcraft, forestry and green woodwork, primitive living skills and traditional country crafts participated many offering hands on activities and demonstrations. <br /><br />After a very soggy start on the Friday the weather cheered up and everyone felt much more excited about celebrating being outdoors! We had a wonderful time and loads of creative children visited us and tried out a few activities from our new book.going wildhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04509383397631152204noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-984584558981794244.post-81588768836821166192010-05-21T07:30:00.000-07:002010-05-21T08:18:57.208-07:00Yellow-Lighted Bookshop Going Wild event<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjp441Lw0AAWY79aiNDW3xhz50n9_5IBRDWLSTrdwTik_CDKxCmgd4TSBFe7nsXtK-duZXmyqrmE6qYMcsn4V2K1MRstUfVXzzo_fXYsTTnoO7gfFNyNeJn3e4X200BKd-vbyON-O5ktYY/s1600/1+intro+general.JPG"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 134px; FLOAT: right; HEIGHT: 200px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5473743045630962978" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjp441Lw0AAWY79aiNDW3xhz50n9_5IBRDWLSTrdwTik_CDKxCmgd4TSBFe7nsXtK-duZXmyqrmE6qYMcsn4V2K1MRstUfVXzzo_fXYsTTnoO7gfFNyNeJn3e4X200BKd-vbyON-O5ktYY/s200/1+intro+general.JPG" /></a><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBEKk0tVfxqBG5BvYP_G4XMl1YAlrY6eG1kfAkHGpCnzFtx_A8GkKPcG6Kv01RqNdrLrHphZBtBQuQ4AdK0vL-d7GNPjeCeZEI0FrCuIYPg_-AE5iDgMAoFeUUCUbh2ijz6AT9T-CGeQ0/s1600/5.+Wild+Theatre+clay+and+twig+puppets+and+creatures+2.JPG"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 134px; FLOAT: right; HEIGHT: 200px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5473743039823552114" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBEKk0tVfxqBG5BvYP_G4XMl1YAlrY6eG1kfAkHGpCnzFtx_A8GkKPcG6Kv01RqNdrLrHphZBtBQuQ4AdK0vL-d7GNPjeCeZEI0FrCuIYPg_-AE5iDgMAoFeUUCUbh2ijz6AT9T-CGeQ0/s200/5.+Wild+Theatre+clay+and+twig+puppets+and+creatures+2.JPG" /></a><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhj-4tDuwrZy3nHx6enMnLLmyHxy_Q15z4LHDRBWZ9UWHj_SgfhpKy9MlHtReQL0W-YKlCpwzi-ZEsWIRe5RL6flmZlD_H1bFSDN86s-LMU4c1trs-lfpsrfLQkmeFrO6tnqBAZ2XD_Qu8/s1600/1+intro+general+parties.JPG"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 200px; FLOAT: right; HEIGHT: 134px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5473742160663367202" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhj-4tDuwrZy3nHx6enMnLLmyHxy_Q15z4LHDRBWZ9UWHj_SgfhpKy9MlHtReQL0W-YKlCpwzi-ZEsWIRe5RL6flmZlD_H1bFSDN86s-LMU4c1trs-lfpsrfLQkmeFrO6tnqBAZ2XD_Qu8/s200/1+intro+general+parties.JPG" /></a><br /><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6MaWaocPeZMioIaSBFekByV8XXWDd4UX0PKCBxjVp58uVJWNu3wKKjP3t1Gn0x1oLUZbRg102eClue1N_xJf6OVtzf9mYvbsMrqLAfusHZTk6AWza4YfCzksA6i4R6BrF5FnZ37m40Zc/s1600/5+Wild+Theatre+clay+and+twig+puppets+2.JPG"></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWlbJSvZfN_vhkyq9RipE1hOm1xe3VJBCaN3AlgSdG7-KHVZftC-c-1qkjnekbUDR65m29pdQ0c8z19NUmiGkJOkdO9HsT_1PM2jymFW26cKwGdlPaMPuyEO4XDKJqOnOS_PaMJFjO6tc/s1600/2.+Wild+parties+raft+challenge+2.JPG"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 200px; FLOAT: right; HEIGHT: 134px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5473742148965875858" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWlbJSvZfN_vhkyq9RipE1hOm1xe3VJBCaN3AlgSdG7-KHVZftC-c-1qkjnekbUDR65m29pdQ0c8z19NUmiGkJOkdO9HsT_1PM2jymFW26cKwGdlPaMPuyEO4XDKJqOnOS_PaMJFjO6tc/s200/2.+Wild+parties+raft+challenge+2.JPG" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><div>To celebrate their 2nd anniversary the Yellow-Lighted bookshop in Tetbury, Gloucestershire put together a small programme of events in May. They asked us to run a "Going Wild" event with a few activities from our latest book "Make it Wild". Unlike many other book signings or meet the author events we decided to get the audience really involved and run a hands on activity outside!<br /><br />On a wonderful spring morning last week about 20 families gathered in a beautiful little park in Chalford. Bounded on two sides by streams surrounded by woods full or flowering wild garlic , it definitely had a "wild" feel about it. We signed books, drank tea and ate delicious cakes then set children and adults to work making fantastic stick men made from clay,twigs and leaves. They decorated them with natural pigments made from chalk and red earth and designed and built intricate rafts and crafts made from natural materials to transport their people on journeys to foreign shores down stream. There was a wonderful shallow area ideal to test out their creations and see if they floated then, for added excitement (and there was lots) we challenged everyone to a boat race. Excited children (and adults) lined the banks and many unable to contain their enthusiasm made a plunge for the icy water! So many boats lined the start line that we had to run two heats, however no one really worried too much about who won they were having such fun running behind their boats getting totally drenched!<br /><br />Luckily parents had suspected how it might end up and had bought plenty of spare clothes and everyone settled down to a glorious picnic lunch warmed by the May sunshine. Everyone seemed to have had a perfect day "Going Wild"!</div></div></div></div></div>going wildhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04509383397631152204noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-984584558981794244.post-14200806789638519782010-04-22T01:45:00.000-07:002010-05-21T08:32:22.553-07:00Make it Wild book launch<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZYUABOp3txDelbaGnHQ-6z9l5hIxBLQjtzqZrM4EfDOx6yg9ME96Y3QssPgpkXYx1S3O2W6DQ7VbOUXRi8Mo0YhGstLNUoUfbdefBr6iQvbhIP5B3cGiX6dTauAxdYypdx6thqJnhanA/s1600/IMG_0225.JPG"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 134px; FLOAT: right; HEIGHT: 200px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5473746507092226450" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZYUABOp3txDelbaGnHQ-6z9l5hIxBLQjtzqZrM4EfDOx6yg9ME96Y3QssPgpkXYx1S3O2W6DQ7VbOUXRi8Mo0YhGstLNUoUfbdefBr6iQvbhIP5B3cGiX6dTauAxdYypdx6thqJnhanA/s200/IMG_0225.JPG" /></a><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGr9nQRSzOOkWVpbgrp8Umk_H6W04RScp791_qqkSAb8ejD9FgdIi477UaU7Aseg_BsgKn3e7gWZ5U9jl8aCDYQSCkC3TeeUyYs_cY_Eu1utwGF0YGl3TWmwYTQbTN1L8qcsliC1gKUiA/s1600/IMG_0211.JPG"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 200px; FLOAT: right; HEIGHT: 134px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5473746498882966274" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGr9nQRSzOOkWVpbgrp8Umk_H6W04RScp791_qqkSAb8ejD9FgdIi477UaU7Aseg_BsgKn3e7gWZ5U9jl8aCDYQSCkC3TeeUyYs_cY_Eu1utwGF0YGl3TWmwYTQbTN1L8qcsliC1gKUiA/s200/IMG_0211.JPG" /></a><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjE0saakM5f3Dcy83Lf8BhnKboERaI81hakK1RqVBv1Zha2EVjSdEGMXo2wAB6WB3Tsmcuxz_RIAPEqblsUPZPUh9vRiIfOiTZcl3T-Ss5VseNBS_TZHxVUVK61muFUAHSpeOzlg1iKuKo/s1600/IMG_0203.JPG"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 200px; FLOAT: right; HEIGHT: 134px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5473746490411423730" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjE0saakM5f3Dcy83Lf8BhnKboERaI81hakK1RqVBv1Zha2EVjSdEGMXo2wAB6WB3Tsmcuxz_RIAPEqblsUPZPUh9vRiIfOiTZcl3T-Ss5VseNBS_TZHxVUVK61muFUAHSpeOzlg1iKuKo/s200/IMG_0203.JPG" /></a><br /><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzc0YQWr3zB3ju81nwRNKgDONA5ZdnsrjgofZsiMwEMM7FDW4ABgDx_yEDDyXbith0lZEf5Px1CyYvfgwfy9FSeNBPH8wlOqjyMbXZDE9-v5VvP-DCzaswVa0PMDxkdoIMjO1FD8xItqc/s1600/IMG_0192.JPG"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 134px; FLOAT: right; HEIGHT: 200px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5473746486270432306" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzc0YQWr3zB3ju81nwRNKgDONA5ZdnsrjgofZsiMwEMM7FDW4ABgDx_yEDDyXbith0lZEf5Px1CyYvfgwfy9FSeNBPH8wlOqjyMbXZDE9-v5VvP-DCzaswVa0PMDxkdoIMjO1FD8xItqc/s200/IMG_0192.JPG" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj22VjgDAavEfYYh5IrpiHUaWjzOG7eAuvQ9BpMtyjEWiyAhhfdC5QOf4yl5_dcV7l_b2Sij_S9eGlCrMii6SBDTVDRPWKYZxtV74xvp_Jsz6vtZraR_OGi6kUs4nADOZIKMZewCuMgq_U/s1600/IMG_0191.JPG"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 200px; FLOAT: right; HEIGHT: 134px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5473746475793320578" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj22VjgDAavEfYYh5IrpiHUaWjzOG7eAuvQ9BpMtyjEWiyAhhfdC5QOf4yl5_dcV7l_b2Sij_S9eGlCrMii6SBDTVDRPWKYZxtV74xvp_Jsz6vtZraR_OGi6kUs4nADOZIKMZewCuMgq_U/s200/IMG_0191.JPG" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><div>On a very beautiful Friday afternoon we launched "Make it Wild" our 3rd book, alongside Natural England's "Let's go Wild" family activity programme.<br /><br />More than 200 children and their families turned up to enjoy the sunshine and have a go at many of the activities from the book. They tested their design skills by making flying machines out of sticks and newspaper, made clay Boggart puppets, wind kites, willow and wool insects, moulded scary clay faces in the trees to surprise unsuspecting walkers, had a go at painting with natural pigments, made beautiful felt pictures, went on an adventure trail through the woods and ancient sunken ways on Aston Rowant's Nature reserve and ate lots of cake!<br /><br />It was wonderful to see so many people, parents and children having such a wonderful time without a screen or bit of technology in sight!<br /><br />Our thanks go to all the people who helped make it such a wonderful day.</div></div></div></div></div>going wildhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04509383397631152204noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-984584558981794244.post-60268440759215144152010-03-23T09:45:00.000-07:002010-03-23T09:51:08.708-07:00Make it wildWe have teamed up with Natural England and are launching our new book - <em>Make it Wild 101 things to make and do outdoors, </em>alongside their new family engagement programme - <em>Let's Go Wild! </em>at Aston Rowant National Nature Reserve on Friday 16th April. We have planned an afternoon packed with activities from the book and hope many families will join us for a fun afternoon in a most beautiful setting.going wildhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04509383397631152204noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-984584558981794244.post-44523357321455713322009-04-02T02:36:00.001-07:002009-04-02T05:09:37.841-07:00Go Wild Book launch at the Northmoor trust in Oxfordshire<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5RVal3o7rLKRVncYUw2WRn7qMz4OYTwNAsJCSfsBZ14wWT3R0hbNDcqkhR_FeidKumYuIGi3fgliWdNpJlPT5aC3W6VhaT_ak2fiQaWr5z7-bNsauyn3x_GFmy4HJQ6OMpgDu7HHKw3Q/s1600-h/go+wild+launch+picture.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 200px; FLOAT: right; HEIGHT: 150px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5320064728980030994" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5RVal3o7rLKRVncYUw2WRn7qMz4OYTwNAsJCSfsBZ14wWT3R0hbNDcqkhR_FeidKumYuIGi3fgliWdNpJlPT5aC3W6VhaT_ak2fiQaWr5z7-bNsauyn3x_GFmy4HJQ6OMpgDu7HHKw3Q/s200/go+wild+launch+picture.jpg" /></a><br /><div><br /><br /><div><br /><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhMscagz8gnv-_e1_UmKta9if0G8U7-Pm-78rIffFU9_4U4P4svxdALIAYNltzKt3tMw6Engr7RHf7OmSjr256gWZ2U1edW8K6sx3JRIWySWqdYaQHotYyQr6Rl6D86iO6zHiB4Thgq9A/s1600-h/go+wild+launch+9.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 145px; FLOAT: right; HEIGHT: 200px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5320062841577845186" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhMscagz8gnv-_e1_UmKta9if0G8U7-Pm-78rIffFU9_4U4P4svxdALIAYNltzKt3tMw6Engr7RHf7OmSjr256gWZ2U1edW8K6sx3JRIWySWqdYaQHotYyQr6Rl6D86iO6zHiB4Thgq9A/s200/go+wild+launch+9.jpg" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSgS78yl8412lREYo7HW3veJh5V2s2yik8OTwEZsyQe7TbpdL-YVyU9qA2kbXCYAu4yTyBEq5lGScILNRmitThh_pr8vOfjlQNrk7ZVBEigzG0i95LAFc1jJcix1dXhWZflROdz4TFU8k/s1600-h/go+wild+launch+11.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 200px; FLOAT: right; HEIGHT: 140px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5320062838990565954" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSgS78yl8412lREYo7HW3veJh5V2s2yik8OTwEZsyQe7TbpdL-YVyU9qA2kbXCYAu4yTyBEq5lGScILNRmitThh_pr8vOfjlQNrk7ZVBEigzG0i95LAFc1jJcix1dXhWZflROdz4TFU8k/s200/go+wild+launch+11.jpg" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3IQMoZVqV9tKly3L4joCBqjFKhpT3pSvraOYKJG_PvXhipayKumFDT5yV9qWKoK56ioXOeu9DdJ2O4oN5MqAq5VBS1b1SNXKLyLLMBIiRaxRsBq6TX1YdCiPi6WuI39TnMRd7dFa5JiM/s1600-h/go+wild+launch+10.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 200px; FLOAT: right; HEIGHT: 150px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5320062839816831794" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3IQMoZVqV9tKly3L4joCBqjFKhpT3pSvraOYKJG_PvXhipayKumFDT5yV9qWKoK56ioXOeu9DdJ2O4oN5MqAq5VBS1b1SNXKLyLLMBIiRaxRsBq6TX1YdCiPi6WuI39TnMRd7dFa5JiM/s200/go+wild+launch+10.jpg" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZz5LhCAcbar53B17SZv8EzxcQYO4ikPR-VsFTafxVPoa60l7HmAZRf5Q6YQ0NVuAhnh1EYnr3df_a5WakhuExQY2CJjPEahI6opTTbr-5pC_px9FZdNh0oSI-JpImtyuV9hiYE22cVR4/s1600-h/go+wild+launch+8.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 200px; FLOAT: right; HEIGHT: 134px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5320062835146487858" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZz5LhCAcbar53B17SZv8EzxcQYO4ikPR-VsFTafxVPoa60l7HmAZRf5Q6YQ0NVuAhnh1EYnr3df_a5WakhuExQY2CJjPEahI6opTTbr-5pC_px9FZdNh0oSI-JpImtyuV9hiYE22cVR4/s200/go+wild+launch+8.jpg" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><div><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitq6efX0nap4SSYIkqjLyiT6PxtEfDDBfVov4tTOSGhO8LtHYhKzuaIZELO7vxK_XL9v1hSx35KdAabU0iLTdqHz2iB7a-Xq6gefSW7XTFTJQBSnPc856mDmqj1JwefdoXGqMgO98qzY4/s1600-h/go+wild+launch+5.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 134px; FLOAT: right; HEIGHT: 200px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5320058115215169330" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitq6efX0nap4SSYIkqjLyiT6PxtEfDDBfVov4tTOSGhO8LtHYhKzuaIZELO7vxK_XL9v1hSx35KdAabU0iLTdqHz2iB7a-Xq6gefSW7XTFTJQBSnPc856mDmqj1JwefdoXGqMgO98qzY4/s200/go+wild+launch+5.jpg" /></a><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCvXpFGb5ejYseqY2pUVn4FB8H6uybhK_jLjg69N0Da2_BuUf8g9zy4Nt12lgYlL3MfDEhVE2DT84oJ5oMtUMpb8Bx-dJwFkhduMCDlWcMek8LgPgp6nHgYYTgjM5tN17j72qxEfo7Qtc/s1600-h/go+wild+launch+6.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 134px; FLOAT: right; HEIGHT: 200px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5320062836353036018" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCvXpFGb5ejYseqY2pUVn4FB8H6uybhK_jLjg69N0Da2_BuUf8g9zy4Nt12lgYlL3MfDEhVE2DT84oJ5oMtUMpb8Bx-dJwFkhduMCDlWcMek8LgPgp6nHgYYTgjM5tN17j72qxEfo7Qtc/s200/go+wild+launch+6.jpg" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHJIWkDN3FOl8KlhmLKC2Qe28Csn3Z_1A7d2wHIvpHGs41TZTCI77-bBsQRl42Ate2XY2Ps0Ra-kIxG6JkylND6Z3PmP5LGQoFXtZRDE1IzkYA7RJZjXlQxi0AkZtbjfmnskxHu_9i1hU/s1600-h/go+wild+launch+4.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 150px; FLOAT: right; HEIGHT: 200px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5320058116167262322" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHJIWkDN3FOl8KlhmLKC2Qe28Csn3Z_1A7d2wHIvpHGs41TZTCI77-bBsQRl42Ate2XY2Ps0Ra-kIxG6JkylND6Z3PmP5LGQoFXtZRDE1IzkYA7RJZjXlQxi0AkZtbjfmnskxHu_9i1hU/s200/go+wild+launch+4.jpg" /></a><img style="MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 200px; FLOAT: right; HEIGHT: 150px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5320058110917794114" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg11bXxr3OhGyqj81Vaqz4JKfHXaLxbbRYOs0rtpAhCBv9exvAv88KWr6IQriGw1OIenhrBTIeRxoli4lWbHDUx1N31nSHWhXi3Aa7O3-RWLMx82WobY3RT_lfjmuqnVI8UADZLL9MLxuQ/s200/go+wild+launch+3.jpg" /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><div><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLdmWdPlNB8l2eyb4znUk97XPUHWYFUENzZFUz3ifoNiRoPIYjqpkEWS-z8uZ7_tQsmysY3A9LEFqp853KYzAmwoE_mS1qI-aeptsM-fPVYKU0e3rxtgs1WeD693tY8uK87uZBWI__i3s/s1600-h/go+wild+launch+2.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 200px; FLOAT: right; HEIGHT: 150px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5320058113104823890" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLdmWdPlNB8l2eyb4znUk97XPUHWYFUENzZFUz3ifoNiRoPIYjqpkEWS-z8uZ7_tQsmysY3A9LEFqp853KYzAmwoE_mS1qI-aeptsM-fPVYKU0e3rxtgs1WeD693tY8uK87uZBWI__i3s/s200/go+wild+launch+2.jpg" /></a><br /><br /><div><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiu_MhQJ5TLKTTxTJoVHMFuuLufy0WdZo71Y7n3hDz6cg6iN_q2Di1vr3ek59hBQIahPi6FzAACvFN1yvcF5djqE7gO0WjKOwGxj10tQLO59AJRVhQgAEe0mQvfC585i-9wE1fz5-iwqVw/s1600-h/go+wild+launch+1.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 200px; FLOAT: right; HEIGHT: 150px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5320058104776342610" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiu_MhQJ5TLKTTxTJoVHMFuuLufy0WdZo71Y7n3hDz6cg6iN_q2Di1vr3ek59hBQIahPi6FzAACvFN1yvcF5djqE7gO0WjKOwGxj10tQLO59AJRVhQgAEe0mQvfC585i-9wE1fz5-iwqVw/s200/go+wild+launch+1.jpg" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><div><br /><br /><br /><div><div><div>This weekend saw the launch of our new book <strong><em>Go Wild! 101 things to do before you grow up. </em></strong></div><br /><br /><div>Despite rather challenging weather many families rugged up in warm clothes and braved the elements. A fun day was had by all, evident by all the smiling faces of the many young people running around. It was also lovely to see so many parents not being scared to getting their hands dirty, and having a go at things they had never experienced before; building shelters, lighting fire without matches, making junk bows from plastic plumbing pipe and making and throwing atalatl spears further than you ever imagined you could. Plenty of marshmallows were toasted and then eagerly consumed around the fire and amazingly children (as young a 6 yrs in some cases) were in trusted with knives and taught how to whittle without cutting themselves!</div><br /><div></div><br /><div>We are very grateful to Harry Barton, Chief executive of the Northmoor trust, who kindly explained a little about all the wonderful things the Northmoor trust are doing to promote conservation and nature awareness. He also introduced our book, and Duncan Mackay, Principle Specialist of Natural England. He helped put our book into context, and explained the wider message behind our book, the need to reconnect our young people to the Natural world. "If we don't encourage our children to learn these basic skills and to appreciate wild places and nature then we will regret it...Natural England will be consulting this year on a new policy for understanding the natural world and I hope that this important book will shape societies response and ensure that we all recognise how critical this subject is for the happiness of everyone who live here."</div><br /><div></div><br /><div>Of course our heartfelt thanks must go to everyone who has been involved in making <em>Go Wild</em> a reality. </div><br /><br /><div>Thanks to our publishers Frances Lincoln, everyone there have been so supportive, especially Jo Christian, Andrew Dunn, Sarah Slack, Anne Asquith and Emma O'Bryen.</div><br /><br /><div>Thanks must also go to The Northmoor Trust whose staff were so committed and helpful in every way and helped make our launch such a success. Special thanks must go to Harry Barton, Charlotte Clarke, Zoe Burns, Angela Dearlove, Chris Parker, Loretta Waters and Oliver Rathmill.</div><br /><br /><div>We mustn't forget mentioning all our other helpers at the launch. Duncan Mackay from Natural England, Martin Maudsley, Peter Hearn, Alex Travers, Rod Anderson Boyle, Mick Rudman and Micheal Danks.</div><br /><br /><div>It is so lovely to finally have it in our hands, and we hope the word will spread and more families and children will go out and have some fun outdoors! Memories made now will only help towards making a more healthy generation and a more healthy environment!</div><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><div></div><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div>going wildhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04509383397631152204noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-984584558981794244.post-55906021575853537732009-04-02T02:24:00.000-07:002009-04-02T02:35:29.138-07:00Go Wild our new book published today and Natural England "One Million Children Outdoors" survey<em>Go Wild</em>, our second book in the series is published today! This is also fantastic as it co-insides with the launch of a survey by Natural England called "One Million Children Outdoors". They are encouraging children to visit the countryside and our book is giving practical ideas and solutions on what to do once you've got them out of the door!<br /><br />In the survey they "found fewer than 10% of children played in natural places, compared with 40% of adults when they were young.<br />A total of 1,150 adults and 502 children took part in the online survey conducted by England Marketing.<br />The organisation said children were being denied the independence and experience which came from exploring the natural world.<br />Natural England's Childhood and Nature survey found only 24% of those with an area of nature near their homes visited it weekly.<br />More than 70% of children said they were supervised wherever they played (that total rose to more than 80% when they played in natural places) and 81% said they would like more freedom to play outside.<br />'Independence and freedom'<br />The majority of parents - 85% - said they would like their children to be able to play in natural spaces unsupervised.<br />But they said fears of strangers and road safety prevented them from giving much freedom to their offspring.<br />As part of Natural England's One Million Children Outdoors project, farm visits and visits to national nature reserves will double for school-aged children.<br />An interactive wildlife gardening website is being launched and it will promote a nationwide marine conservation campaign.<br /><br />"If a generation becomes detached from the natural world, it is in danger of becoming indifferent" said Chris Packham Environmentalist.<br /><br />Poul Christensen, acting chair for the organisation, said: "Children are being denied the fundamental sense of independence and freedom in nature that their parents enjoyed.<br />"Our research shows that contact with nature has halved in a generation and that the overwhelming majority of children now want more opportunities to play outdoors.<br />"Whether through pond-dipping or tree-climbing, nature-based activities can play an important role in the educational and social development of children."<br />He added: "The natural environment is there to be explored by children, it is their right. The memories they collect from it stay with them as adults and inspire them to pass on a healthy environment for future generations."<br />Chris Packham, naturalist and television presenter, also welcomed the new programme.<br />He said: "If a generation becomes detached from the natural world, it is in danger of becoming indifferent and whilst some skills are learnt in the classroom, others only come from being knee-deep in mud and elbow-deep in frog spawn.<br />"It is these early years of inspiration that set in motion a life-time passion. Today's young explorers are tomorrow's naturalists, biologists. If they don't learn how it works, how will they look after it for the future?" "<br /><br />We totally agree and want to inspire you all to get a copy of <em>Go Wild</em> and go out and have some fun!going wildhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04509383397631152204noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-984584558981794244.post-66445288076700052332009-03-04T05:07:00.000-08:002009-03-04T05:23:22.994-08:00"Go outside and get dirty, National Trust tells children"<strong>The Wild Child Campaign </strong>was launched by the National Trust to co-inside with the summer holidays. What fantastic news! We totally agree..."Children should play outside and get dirty according to the National Trust, which is to campaign to get couch potato youngsters off the sofa. The rise of childhood obesity and increasing ignorance about nature has prompted fears that many are being robbed of a healthy and active childhood. In response, the National Trust is to hold more than 1,000 events at its properties around the country, designed to let children get their hands dirty" (Louise Gray, environment correspondent -The daily telegraph, Saturday February 21)<br /><br />"If children do not get first hand experience of the real world there will be problems later on with emotional and physical resilience" said Sue Palmer author of <em>Toxic Childhood </em><br /><em></em><br />For more information on the activity program and campaign see <a href="http://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/">www.nationaltrust.org.uk</a>going wildhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04509383397631152204noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-984584558981794244.post-35377960693322561952009-03-04T04:56:00.000-08:002009-03-04T05:07:29.133-08:00A Good ChildhoodThe report <a title="buy the book" href="http://www.childrenssociety.org.uk/all_about_us/how_we_do_it/the_good_childhood_inquiry/buy_the_book/13353.html">A Good Childhood: Searching for Values in a Competitive Age</a> was launched on 5 February 2009, published by the Children’s Society. It reported on the findings of the The Good Childhood® Inquiry, the UK's first independent national inquiry into childhood. The aims of the inquiry and report are to renew society's understanding of modern childhood and to inform, improve and inspire all our relationships with children. Its findings about changing childhood support the arguments for encouraging children to spend more time outdoors.<br /><br />Compared with 50 years ago there have been three massive changes:<br />Children have more money, more leisure and access to new technologies. Many children now inhabit a new youth culture, more separate than ever from adults. But modern culture involves three serious dangers. It encourages:<br /><ul><li>The view that to be happy you have to be wealthy and beautiful.</li><li>A conflict model of human relationships.</li><li>Physical inactivity, eating, drinking and smoking to excess.<br /></li></ul>New technologies have also brought serious problems. On average children spend 17 hours a week watching television. They use the computer or play video games for four hours a week. Eight out of ten 5-16 year olds have their own TV; Seven in ten have Internet access. Two out of every three have their own mobile phone.<br /><br />With £3 billion a year to spend, children attract massive advertising. By the age of two children handle a new toy differently according to whether they have seen it on TV the previous day. By the age of three they prefer an advertised brand to another. Much advertising is good fun but some advertisers explicitly exploit peer pressure.There is evidence to suggest that the more a child is exposed to TV and the Internet the more materialistic they become, the worse they relate to their parents and the worse their mental health. The promotion of sugary, salty high-fat foods to children is a contributory factor to rising levels of obesity<br /><br /><strong>The Children’s Society on lifestyle</strong><br /><strong></strong><br />Lifestyle encompasses a whole range of childhood issues including the ways in which children are involved in making choices about their own interests and hobbies and how they spend their time. <strong>Play is fundamental to children’s health and development. It is vital that time, space, priority and resources are given to ensuring that children have opportunities for play and leisure. There is a real need to ensure a good balance between protecting children on the one hand and allowing the freedom to play and explore their environment on the other.<br /><br /></strong><strong></strong>The Children’s Society recognises that old and new media technologies and the Internet offer a range of extraordinary learning and global networking opportunities. We also recognise that these opportunities come accompanied by risks, and that there is a great deal of legitimate concern and fear amongst parents and other adults about children’s access because of this. Just as in matters of play and the physical freedom to explore the world, The Children’s Society believes that adults need to strike a healthy balance in relation to children’s access to media and online communities.<br />The Children’s Society aspires to see a balanced approach towards children’s involvement in and exposure to the consumer world. Setting the potential benefits and opportunities in a context of ensuring safeguards against the intrusive and pressurising impact of pervasive advertising - especially when it targets young children and ‘pester power’ as a tool for increasing sales. Equally important is the need to help children and young people develop a critical understanding of what they see, hear and read in the media, including advertising that targets them.”<br /><br />For more information about the summaries in the report - <a href="http://www.childrenssociety.org.uk/all_about_us/how_we_do_it/the_good_childhood_inquiry/report_summaries/14751.html">www.childrenssociety.org.uk/all_about_us/how_we_do_it/the_good_childhood_inquiry/report_summaries/14751.html</a>going wildhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04509383397631152204noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-984584558981794244.post-81806769802137389152008-11-07T06:39:00.000-08:002008-11-18T06:21:18.673-08:00More recognition of the value of outdoor learningWhile we were at the BGEN (Botanical Garden Education Network) conference we discovered that the Welsh Assembly’s new Foundation Phase for 3-7 year olds favours a play-based approach to learning, and that 25% of the children’s education should be delivered outside. We were excited to find out about this, as it demonstrates recognition of the importance of natural outdoor experiences for developing minds. Cognitive learning cannot just be taught in the classroom, it depends on having opportunities to develop physical, emotional, social and conceptual (common sense understanding of the world) knowledge, all of which are learnt through first hand outdoor experience.Although England is running behind as far as legislation is concerned, we are definitely moving in the right direction. The "Ofsted's October 2008 report evaluates the importance of leaning outside the classroom and demonstrates that high quality learning outside the classroom is a significant factor in raising standards and improving personal development. Among the key findings the report showed that hands-on activities led to improved outcomes for pupils and students, including better achievement, standards, motivation, personal development and behaviour. For further information see <a href="http://www.growingschools.org.uk/News/news8.aspx">www.growingschools.org.uk/News/news8.aspx</a> and follow links for more information on October 2008 Ofsted report. The manifesto (2006) on Learning outside the classroom can be seen at <a href="http://www.teachernet.gov.uk/teachingandlearning/resourcematerials/outsideclassroom/">www.teachernet.gov.uk/teachingandlearning/resourcematerials/outsideclassroom/</a>We hope that parents too may stop wrapping their kids up in cotton wool and denying them opportunities to play outdoors. Children's health, happiness and learning is not only dependant on what school they go to, or how much homework they do, but also how many opportunities they have to make a den or camp in the woods! Lets hope more children will get to experience these opportunities so there will be fewer of them spending hours in front of the TV and more outside making mud pies!going wildhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04509383397631152204noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-984584558981794244.post-80883032852563532502008-11-07T06:03:00.000-08:002008-11-18T06:26:08.203-08:00Botanical Gardens Education Network (BGEN) Conference at the Eden ProjectWe have just come back from the Eden Project in Cornwall. We were extremely privileged to be invited to run two workshops looking at How we Learn at the 2008 BGEN conferenceIt was wonderful to be amongst so many people all passionate about the natural world, sharing a belief that it is vital to reconnect children to the world they live in before so much knowledge and memories are lost. Many benefits of a childhood rich in natural outdoor exploration were highlighted and ideas to make it more appealing were discussed.Everyone seemed committed to delivering high quality education programs designed to give as many children as possible the opportunity for hands on real experiences outdoors. Perhaps this will ensure a generation of more balanced, healthier individuals who value and respect the natural environment and will be more prepared to secure the future of our planet.going wildhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04509383397631152204noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-984584558981794244.post-64824757593000671342008-10-03T06:04:00.000-07:002008-10-03T06:29:50.638-07:00Edinburgh book festival August 2008We felt very honoured to be invited to speak at this year’s Edinburgh International Book festival; this was a wonderful opportunity to spread the word about encouraging more children and young people to get outdoors to experience real world adventures! It was also exciting for us to be part of the festival and to meet other writers.<br /><br />We were delighted to meet Sue Palmer, author of <em>Toxic Childhood</em> and <em>Detoxing Childhood</em>. We enjoyed her inspiring talk about the multitude of pressures on children and families in today’s fast changing world, and were delighted to find that among the solutions she offered was to give children more opportunities to play outside.<br /><br />She believes children need physical, emotional, social and conceptual development (common sense understanding of the world) to enable cognitive learning and to grow into well balanced individuals. Today the scales have tipped rather heavily so the emphasis is on academic learning, and children are not getting opportunities for real, hands on play that is creative and imaginative, which provides opportunities to encounter and learn about risk and which lets children become more independent and learn to get along with others.<br /><br />We could not agree more and want to try and raise parents awareness to the importance of getting their kids off the sofas, away from the marketing bombardment and the screens and interact in the real world.<br />Sue has very kindly provided a few words of endorsement for our next book <em>Go Wild</em>, we hope people will follow her advice. Thank you Sue!!<br /><br />"<em>Go Wild"</em> is just what families need to escape from virtual worlds and rediscover the wonders of the real one. It provides the perfect recipe for transforming cotton wool kids into confident, independent, resilient young people. Every family should have a copy."going wildhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04509383397631152204noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-984584558981794244.post-65473625010247269192008-10-03T03:51:00.000-07:002008-10-03T06:04:07.818-07:00Wilderness gatheringThis year we decided to have a little stall at the Wilderness Gathering. If you have never been or never heard of this annual festival of Bushcraft, survival and primitive skills, you really should have a look at <a href="http://www.wildernessgathering.co.uk/">www.wildernessgathering.co.uk</a>. The Wilderness Gathering is held every August at the Bush Farm Bison Centre in Wiltshire. <br /><br />There is something for everyone; this is a wonderful opportunity for families to try out a range of exciting outdoor activities and adventures such as tracking, whittling, basket making, foraging and making a bow and arrow. The organisers aim to bring together all those interested in bushcraft and wilderness skills to enjoy a weekend in a relaxed and family-friendly atmosphere in beautiful surroundings. Experts are on hand to run workshops and provide advice on everything to do with bushcraft. You can either go for one day or spend a long weekend wild camping.<br /><br />The Wilderness Gathering really was a wonderful and inspiring experience and we already have 20th-23rd August down in our diaries for next year! My 12 year old daughter came back full of enthusiasm clutching a basket she had woven, a little leather bag she had made and a wooden spoon she had carved from a hazel branch. To this day she is still repeating the story we heard from master storyteller Jeremy Hastings (Islay Birding) who involved the audience in weaving a wonderful and captivating tale about a 125-year-old granny who had a wheelchair and lived in a tree house. Old and young alike gathered around a roaring fire beneath the stars to listen to stories; who needs the TV or computer games for entertainment?going wildhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04509383397631152204noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-984584558981794244.post-61162963290083178032008-04-29T07:29:00.000-07:002008-05-16T08:18:23.622-07:00Play - particularly outdoor, appears to be vital to children's all-round health and well beingThe following letter to the Telegraph on 10th September 2007 supports <em>Going Wild's</em> worries and concerns about the disturbing trend towards less outdoor, unstructured play and more sedentary, addictive indoor often screen based entertainment.<br /><br /><br /><br />"<strong>Let our children play - </strong>Since last September, when a group of professionals, academics and writers wrote to the Daily Telegraph expressing concern about the marked deterioration in children's mental health, research evidence supporting this case has continued to mount.<br /><br /><br /><br />Compelling examples have included Unicef's alarming finding that Britain's children are amongst the unhappiest in the developed world, and the children's charity NCH's report of an explosion in children's clinically diagnosable mental health problems.<br /><br /><br /><br />We believe that a key factor in this disturbing trend is the marked decline over the last 15 years in children's play. Play - particularly outdoor, unstructured, loosely supervised play - appears to be vital to children's all-round health and well-being.<br /><br />It develops their physical coordination and control; provides opportunities for the first-hand experiences that underpin their understanding of and engagement with the world; facilitates social development (making and keeping friends, dealing with problems, working collaboratively); and cultivates creativity, imagination and emotional resilience. This includes the growth of self-reliance, independence and personal strategies for dealing with and integrating challenging or traumatic experiences.<br /><br />Many features of modern life seem to have eroded children's play. They include: increases in traffic that make even residential areas unsafe for children; the ready availability of sedentary, sometimes addictive screen-based entertainment; the aggressive marketing of over-elaborae, commercialised toys (with seem to inhibit rather than stimulate creative play); parental anxiety about "stranger danger", meaning that children are increasingly kept indoors; a test-driven school and pre-school curriculum in which formal learning has substantially taken the place of free, unstructured play; and a more pervasive cultural anxiety which, when uncontined by the policy-making process, rountinely contaminates the space needed for authentic play to flourish.<br /><br />A year on, the signatories of the original letter to the Telegraph are joined by other concerned colleagues in calling for a wide-ranging and informed public dialogue about the intrinsic nature and value of play in children's healthy development, and how we might ensure its place at the heart of the twenty-first century childhood.<br /><br /><br /><em>270 eminent signatories</em>."<br /><br /><br /><br />Accepting there is is need to encourage children outside to participate in more unstructured play, our books <em>Nature's Playground </em>and the soon to be published <em>Go Wild </em>aims offer a solution by offering help in the way of fun activity ideas. We hope they may inspire parents, teachers and carers and make it easier to get the kids out!going wildhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04509383397631152204noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-984584558981794244.post-91297769356583141582008-04-28T07:45:00.000-07:002008-05-16T08:20:56.223-07:00Mental health problems in childrenOn a BBc interview in April 08 Bob Reitemeier, Chief Executive of The Children's Society, discussed preliminary evidence from <em>The Good Childhood Inquiry</em>. "The survey of 8,000 14-16 year olds, showed 27% of young people agreed with the statement "I often feel depressed". In a seperate online vote, conducted by CBBC Newsround for the inquiry, 78% of those who voted said they felt fine, good or really good about their health, however a worrying 22% felt bad or really bad. "<br /><br />"Concern about children's mental health and well being comes admisdst on-going anxiety about children's health more generally. Two-thirds (66%) of those surveyed in the GfK NOP poll said the increase in indoor activities, such as computer games and television watching, prevents children nowadays from being more active, while 88% areed children need more education about healthy diets. There was an overwehelming consensus among respondents that physical health plays a crucial role in mental health, with 95% agreeing to some extent that physical activities are an important element in promoting mental health."<br /><br />The public can contribute to <em>The Good Childhood Inquiry</em> by logging on to <a href="http://www.hundredsandthousands.org/">http://www.hundredsandthousands.org/</a> and sharing their childhood memories. A summary of the findings can be downloaded from <a href="http://www.goodchildhood.org.uk/">http://www.goodchildhood.org.uk/</a> The inquiry's final report and recommendations will be published in early 2009.<br /><br />This research adds great weight to the beliefs of <em>Going Wild. </em>It shows there are so many benefits in going outside away from commputers and TV and living a more active childhood. For the health and well being of our children we should all try and make play outside a higher priority in our everyday lives.going wildhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04509383397631152204noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-984584558981794244.post-13053197545873241792008-03-28T07:26:00.000-07:002008-05-16T08:23:00.947-07:00Where the wild things are"We want to see more children playing in woods, says the Woodland Trust". In an article in the Woodland Trust's Spring 2008 Broadleaf magazine, they discuss the importance of unstructured play in wild places. "As childrens' lives become more sedentary there are real concerns about the increased incidence of childhood obesity and other related physical, mental and emotional health problems." The Forestry Commission have acknowleged the need for this and are developing new play spaces in every region with swings and slides but also fallen trees, water, sand or small stream. They are also encouraging kids to build dens in their woods. The Woodland Trust is also thinking along the same lines and want to draw people's attention to the fact they have over 1,000 fantastic play spaces just waiting to be discovered. "All children or adults have to bring is their imagination" says Graham Blight ,the Trust's Learning Programme Manager.<br /><br />"Getting children to mess about in the woods is part of our long-term conservation strategy." says Andy Beer. There is danger out there but you need to help children judge risk for themselves. "You teach them how to cross the road safely rather than saying you're never allowed near a road, says Rebecca Haskell. And it's the same with woods: they need to learn that judgement." For a list of one of the Trust's woods near you waiting to be explored look at <a href="http://www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/">http://www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/</a>going wildhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04509383397631152204noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-984584558981794244.post-77662815388213340442008-03-09T14:11:00.000-07:002008-08-27T16:21:47.605-07:00Activities you can do this Spring<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbxD1ko_bvhNTgS9WZVAtgOPswImmJ_tI-jwSdAFQzEmEICOmz-nXaYCNgWx9NEWUWcw7zC2wsADvaVP0Yel4n3ISeDi8AR5MWBoprXdabHZTnDBcdT6eS68nTTZ4dqf7jpX7MHBf8Lts/s1600-h/mudpie-jake-and-edd.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5175858176583423506" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbxD1ko_bvhNTgS9WZVAtgOPswImmJ_tI-jwSdAFQzEmEICOmz-nXaYCNgWx9NEWUWcw7zC2wsADvaVP0Yel4n3ISeDi8AR5MWBoprXdabHZTnDBcdT6eS68nTTZ4dqf7jpX7MHBf8Lts/s200/mudpie-jake-and-edd.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><strong>SPRING IS IN THE AIR</strong><br /><br /><br />All winter long the natural world has been patiently lying in wait, biding its time until the first hint of spring is in the air. That hint is simply the combined effect of warmer temperatures and more daylight, which together stimulate growth and activity – bulbs push their way up through the soil, buds begin to swell and open and the birds start collecting nesting materials. This most awaited of all the seasons is suddenly all around us and everything bursts into life - and we too are ready to burst outdoors to feel those first warm rays of sun and make the most of the longer days. So get outdoors and become immersed in the natural world………<br /><br /><br /><br /><strong>Mud glorious Mud!</strong><br /><br /><strong><br /></strong>One spring morning, we set off along a deeply rutted track for a walk to the woods. While Jo and I skirted the wettest stretches of the track, the children were drawn irresistibly to the mud and the puddles. It wasn’t long before one child sank into the mud, and we watched in horror as the runny mud oozed right over the top of his wellies. We waited for the anguished screams – but instead there was delighted laughter as he was pulled from out of the mud by his friends, and then proceeded to abandon his wellies and slosh around barefoot. Once the children had had enough of wading through the mud, they progressed on to moulding and shaping it, creating a whole village of muddy elf houses, some of them with twig walls and wattle walls. The woods just waited for another day.<br /><br />Mud is a wonderful material for playing with – squidging between the toes, dribbling through fingers, or it can be plastered on faces and made into pies. If you shudder at the thought of your children becoming mud larks, remember that it is just soil - easily washed off and pretty harmless. It doesn’t matter if the children get dirty – just let them have fun and enjoy exploring the natural world. It’s acceptable for boys to get plastered in mud on the football pitch, so why shouldn’t they get muddy while exploring the natural world? Children need the freedom to play outdoors, to have adventures – and to get dirty.<br /><br /><br /><strong>Mud pies and cakes</strong><br /><br /><br /><br />– An old favourite – encourage them to look for different coloured soils to create layer cakes – what better way to learn that soil varies in colour and texture. Decorate the cakes with twig candles, nuts and seeds.<br />Mud drawings – Try using a stick to draw in the mud, or try dipping the stick in mud and then using it like paint to make patterns on rocks or tree trunks. Or let them make muddy handprints and footprints on rocks, on paper – or, best of all, on each other.<br />Mud balls – Roll handfuls of mud to make balls – then try sticking different materials to them – such as moss, dead leaves and grasses. How many mud balls can you balance on top of each other? Who can make the tallest mud ball tower?<br />Mud bowls and sculptures – The first pots made by humans were created from mud collected straight from the ground; if you can find a patch of clay, have a go at making your own pinch pots – or get creative and make sculptures.<br /><br /><strong>Nest building</strong><br /><strong><br /><br /></strong>No sooner has spring arrived than birds start to gather twigs, grasses, moss and other suitable materials for weaving into nests. One spring holiday Hannah and Edward were inspired to collect lengths of broom, handfuls of moss and a few feathers. They experimented with weaving the materials together to make cup shaped nests, which they then lined with soft mosses. They hid their nests around the garden for their cousins to find the next day – when to their delight a clutch of chocolate eggs had been laid in each little nest.<br /><br />This activity works best if the children can first have a look at a real bird’s nest, or some photographs of nests – they need to know what they are aiming for.<br />Organise an expedition to collect nesting materials – this is easy for the children, but remind them how difficult it must be for a small bird carrying one twig at a time!<br />Let the children choose what sort of nest they wish to make - they may want to make a large twiggy nest like a magpie, a cup nest like a blue tit – or even a mud nest like a house martin.<br />To make a cup nest, encourage children to weave and thread bendy twigs or stems together to make a base, then use softer materials such as moss, lichen, downy feathers or sheep’s wool as an insulating lining.<br />Place the nests in hidey-holes in the woods or around the garden. Children like to imagine that birds might come along and use them.<br />Surprise the children by laying chocolate mini-eggs in the nests – a variation on the Easter egg hunt.<br /><br /><strong>Bows and Arrows</strong><br /><br />Armed with a bow and arrows, children are transformed into fearsome warriors or magical creatures from storybooks, and every walk becomes an exciting adventure. With only a supple length of hazel and some string, you can help them to create a weapon that will become their pride and joy. This activity is always popular with groups of children, and works well at outdoor parties.<br /><br />Bows and arrows can be made at any time of year – but the rising sap of spring seems to ensure strong yet flexible bows. Look out for slender stems of young hazel in the hedgerows or the woods and cut lengths for each child.<br />Make sure the stem is flexible before using it<br />Carve notches about 2cm from each end<br />Attach some string around one notch, securing it with a slipknot<br />Tension the string so the bow forms a wide arc, and twist it a couple of times around the other notch, securing it with a knot.<br />Ensure the knots are tight before using the bow<br />Arrows can be made out of thin straight sticks; for added authenticity add feathers for flights.<br /><br /><strong>TIPS</strong><br /><br /><br /><strong>What to take</strong><br />Mud activities and nest building are all about using what you can find – but before you go do make sure the children are wearing old clothes! For making bows and arrows you will need to be equipped with a couple of penknives and some string.<br /><br /><strong>Safety tips</strong><br /><strong></strong><br /><br /><strong>Mud<br /></strong>Make sure any cuts are covered with waterproof plasters<br />Always ensure children wash properly after playing with mud<br /><br /><strong>Birds nests</strong><br />Keep an eye on what materials the children are collecting, and wash hands after the activity<br /><br /><strong>Bows and Arrows<br /></strong>Only let children use knives when they are closely supervised<br />Adult help is essential when tensioning the bow<br />Bows and arrows should always be used with care, and under adult supervision<br />Arrows should never be aimed at people or animals; always make sure that all the bows are laid on the ground before the children rush off to collect their fired arrows<br /><br /><br />Lots more exciting and inspiring ideas for exploring and enjoying the natural world can be found in Fiona and Jo’s book <em>Nature’s Playground</em>, published by Frances Lincoln, (<a href="http://www.franceslincoln.com/">http://www.franceslincoln.com/</a>).going wildhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04509383397631152204noreply@blogger.com0