Bring back the nature table

Children are losing touch with the natural environment, a loss that could damage their wellbeing and the future of the countryside. Join our campaign to bring back the nature table and help families rediscover the great outdoors

Hands up who remembers their school nature table. Jam jars of catkins, sticky buds and pussy willow sitting alongside hand-written labels on a rickety Formica table. Finding a discarded bird's nest, the skeleton of a leaf - or, even better, a dead stag beetle - at the weekend meant rushing into school on Monday morning to talk proudly about your discovery in front of the class. The nature table encouraged us to take an interest in our woods, parks and fields, and, although we didn't realise it at the time (because wading through autumn leaves was fun), it was also improving our mental, physical and emotional health - and even boosting our performance in the classroom.

Alarmingly, an increasing number of today's children are missing out on these benefits. According to a survey commissioned by Country Living, less than half of parents and grandparents take their children out for a regular walk, with fewer still stopping to look at wildflowers or insects. "Getting out into green spaces is absolutely vital for children," says GP and strategic health advisor for Natural England, Dr William Bird. "We have an innate connection with the natural environment and this means that nature has the ability to recharge us. Studies have shown that green spaces can boost a child's concentration and calm them down - it may even improve academic ability in school."

But there's a catch - children need to be playing in natural environments while they're still young, or they'll never reap the rewards. "Children under 11 will make a connection with nature and this will stay with them for life. If you ask most adults to think of a time when they felt most secure and happy, it's nearly always when they were a child playing in a natural place, such as a den in the woods or a park," Dr Bird explains. "But if they are not exposed by the age of 12, they will never make that link. A walk through the countryside will mean nothing to them - in fact, they may even perceive it as something to be feared." Clearly, this has implications for children's wellbeing as they grow up, but it's also potentially disastrous for the future of the countryside. "These children are the environmental policy makers of tomorrow. If green spaces have no value for them, then why should they protect them?" Dr Bird says.


Children under 11 will make a connection with nature and this will stay with them for lifeIn recent years, nature has been squeezed out of school timetables but, increasingly, education experts are recognising the integral role it plays. The Government has introduced its Learning Outside the Classroom Manifesto, which places importance on trips to parks and nature reserves. "During the 80s and 90s, schools became heavily attainment-driven and the curriculum didn't allow the flexibility to take regular classes outside. But now we realise that it's a huge educational resource just waiting to be tapped into," explains Anne Paterson, a former Headteacher of the Year at The Teaching Awards and a specialist in outdoor learning. "Sometimes you just know the atmosphere in a classroom isn't right, and all it needs to improve it is taking the class to look at the pond or leaf patterns."

Exploring the natural environment also encourages a more creative type of learning and may even help prevent bullying. "On an asphalt playground, it will be the biggest and loudest child that dominates," Dr Bird explains. "But if you let children play around trees and bushes, they will congregate around the more creative child, the one who's catching tadpoles or building a hideout." It's a phenomenon Anne Paterson has witnessed first hand: "It reduces " aggression and irritability in children. Some boys in particular can switch off when indoors, but they are so much more at ease with learning outside - it's actually helped attainment levels." And studies back this up, showing that natural spaces can reduce impulsive and antisocial behaviour, and are particularly useful for helping children with attention deficit disorders.

The nature table brings the natural environment into the classroom, whether it's a school that is surrounded by acres of countryside or in an inner-city. It shows children that British wildlife is important; something to be valued and talked about. "Schools are moving away from the idea that education is something that's done to the child; we want them to be an active part of the process," Anne Paterson says. "By bringing things in for the nature table, they play a role in their own learning."

But the responsibility for reconnecting children with nature isn't down to teachers - it starts at home. We assume that children want to be sat in front of a screen but, according the Children's Play Council, an organisation that promotes the benefits of play, 86 per cent prefer getting muddy and building dens to computer games, and nearly three in four would like to get outdoors more. Our own fear of perceived risks means we want our children where we can see them - the past few decades have seen the roaming limit of children from their home drop from miles to metres.

Dr Bird suggests starting by going out for nature ‘experiences' with children. "Not just walking, but stopping to look at things, such as a fungus on a tree. It's an opportunity for bonding - a real shared experience between the generations," he says. "We worry that we will be seen as bad parents or grandparents if we let children play in wild places, but we need to change that attitude. Start thinking of the kids coming home covered in mud as a badge of honour."

So join our campaign to Bring Back the Nature Table and get out there with the sticky buds and catkins this spring. By encouraging your children to explore a woodland floor or look for creatures beneath a hedgerow, you are not only helping them reach their full potential, but safeguarding the countryside for their kids, too.

Click here to find out more about the nature table campaign

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