Children encouraged to play outdoors

Hundreds of organisations have come together to collaborate and form the Wild Network – a new initiative to encourage outdoor play for children.

 

The ‘network’ has launched a new campaign to encourage children to cut their screen time by 30 minutes a day and spend the extra half-hour in the great outdoors.

 

The campaign hopes to get UK children to reconnect with nature and spend more time engaged in outdoor play in the country’s fields, parks and woods.

 

They claim this could boost fitness among Britain’s youth, as well as improve mental alterness and general wellbeing.

 

Andy Simpson, chairman 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, roaming ranges have fallen drastically, activity levels are declining and the ability to identify common species has been lost."

 

Members of the Wild Network include NHS Foundation Trust, innocent, the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland and RSPB.

 

Suggestions of how to get more time in nature include collecting conkers, snail racing, and scavenger hunts.