Hundreds of Cumbrian school children, aged 7-11 years,have been able to spend time in the National Park thanks to the Generation Green 2 programme.
The Defra-funded project, which encourages young people to engage with nature, has seen 445 children in the county learn about nature with the Lake District National Park’s Learning and Engagement team.
Children from 12 Cumbrian primary schools attended Great Green Action Days, which were fully-funded tutored days at Brockhole-on-Windermere in the summer and autumn terms 2024.
School pupils took part in activities, including pond dipping, woodland exploration and conservation tasks, aimed at immersing them in the National Park, encouraging them to think about how nature looks after them, and how they can care for it.
As part of the activities, children examined pond and woodland wildlife and created mini bug hotels and bird feeders.
When asked what they enjoyed about the day, one youngster said the pond-dipping “was really cool because I saw a tadpole and dragonfly”, while others “enjoyed just being out in nature” and “running in the woods and looking for trees”.
A teacher from Northside Primary School said: "The children have absolutely loved the sessions here today and we would love to come back. They have learnt so much about nature and the environment and they have all been so engaged.”
Ruth Suddaby, Learning and Engagement Manager at Lake District National Park, said: “We were delighted to be part of this second Generation Green project, building on successes of the first one and giving even more children the valuable opportunity to engage with nature. The feedback from the children and their teaching staff has shown how important this engagement is to their health, wellbeing and learning.”
Generation Green 2 is a £4.5m project to connect more than 25,000 young people living in England’s most socially disadvantaged areas to nature and rural life by taking them on inspiring experiences in beautiful protected places. The programme is funded by Defra and delivered by Access Unlimited, a unique coalition of 24 not-for-profit youth organisations, school residential outdoor providers and organisations managing protected landscapes.
Alison Stevens, Programme Director for Generation Green 2, YHA, said: “Generation Green 2 aims to help address major inequalities in access to nature by cultivating a wider interest in green spaces among the next generation.
“Research has shown that 18 percent of children living in the most deprived areas never spend time in any kind of natural space but an extensive body of research shows that people who are more connected with nature are usually happier and more likely to report feeling their lives are worthwhile.
“Nature connection also leads to more willingness to take action to help our wildlife and the environment. In the context of collapsing biodiversity and the climate crisis, closer relationships with nature are more vital than ever before.”
Book a school trip to Brockhole-on-Windermere through our website: https://www.brockhole.co.uk/learning/plan-your-visit/.
