Go Wild Book launch at the Northmoor trust in Oxfordshire

This weekend saw the launch of our new book Go Wild! 101 things to do before you grow up.

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!

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."

Of course our heartfelt thanks must go to everyone who has been involved in making Go Wild a reality.

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.

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.

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.

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!

Go Wild our new book published today and Natural England "One Million Children Outdoors" survey

Go Wild, 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!

In the survey they "found fewer than 10% of children played in natural places, compared with 40% of adults when they were young.
A total of 1,150 adults and 502 children took part in the online survey conducted by England Marketing.
The organisation said children were being denied the independence and experience which came from exploring the natural world.
Natural England's Childhood and Nature survey found only 24% of those with an area of nature near their homes visited it weekly.
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.
'Independence and freedom'
The majority of parents - 85% - said they would like their children to be able to play in natural spaces unsupervised.
But they said fears of strangers and road safety prevented them from giving much freedom to their offspring.
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.
An interactive wildlife gardening website is being launched and it will promote a nationwide marine conservation campaign.

"If a generation becomes detached from the natural world, it is in danger of becoming indifferent" said Chris Packham Environmentalist.

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.
"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.
"Whether through pond-dipping or tree-climbing, nature-based activities can play an important role in the educational and social development of children."
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."
Chris Packham, naturalist and television presenter, also welcomed the new programme.
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.
"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?" "

We totally agree and want to inspire you all to get a copy of Go Wild and go out and have some fun!

"Go outside and get dirty, National Trust tells children"

The Wild Child Campaign 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)

"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 Toxic Childhood

For more information on the activity program and campaign see www.nationaltrust.org.uk

A Good Childhood

The report A Good Childhood: Searching for Values in a Competitive Age 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.

Compared with 50 years ago there have been three massive changes:
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:

• The view that to be happy you have to be wealthy and beautiful.
• A conflict model of human relationships.
• Physical inactivity, eating, drinking and smoking to excess.
  

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.

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

The Children’s Society on lifestyle

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. 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.

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.
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.”

For more information about the summaries in the report - www.childrenssociety.org.uk/all_about_us/how_we_do_it/the_good_childhood_inquiry/report_summaries/14751.html