Landscapes Review – Get Every Child into the Countryside for at Least One Night!
A quick note to say we applaud the findings of Julian Glover https://twitter.com/julian_glover especially in as much as there is a solid recommendation that every school child in the UK needs to experience our wonderful National Parks, with a night under the stars.
If you’re interested in the stargazing bit – skip to Proposal 8: A night under the stars in a national landscape for every child. (page 85.)
“Many of our national landscapes already do wonderful work with schools. We don’t want to disrupt what is already done or think that all contact with the countryside must be regimented, or take place only in national landscapes or arranged through them. But we know how many children could benefit, but don’t.
National landscapes could do – and want to do – more for the physical and mental health of children and young people, and give them a chance to experience nature. Each child who comes back with a positive experience after visiting a national landscape is an ambassador for their future.
We think there should be a big, bold ambition to change this for everyone. All children should be helped to develop pride in their national landscapes, their environment and its biodiversity. They should learn how landscapes have inspired generations of artists, poets and musicians. They themselves should be inspired by the lives of their forebears, who have forged this countryside and whose very existence is written into the cultural landscape, and above all they should learn how they too can pick up the baton of nurturing and enhancing what they have inherited.
With help from a new National Landscapes Service, we would like to see national landscapes work with the many organisations already involved in this area to provide a clear, consistent offer for a meaningful visit that we think should include an overnight stay. It would be a chance for children to meet others from communities they may not normally meet, to learn about the nature that we all rely on, and even enjoy the thrill of a night under the stars.”
