Improving children's access to nature starts with addressing inequality

Barriers to outside play particularly affect children from low income and BAME households. Can education help? With children now better at identifying Pokémon characters than common species of British plants and wildlife, there are concerns that we are increasingly losing touch with nature. In January, the UK government announced it would set ?10m aside for outdoor learning - part of a 25-year environment plan that includes a pledge to "encourage children to be close to nature, in and out of school, with particular focus on disadvantaged areas". Worries about children becoming disconnected from nature are not new. A 2016 study by Natural England found that more than one in nine children had not set foot in a park, forest or other natural environment over the previous year. Children from low income and black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) families were particularly affected. Just 56% of under-16s from BAME households visited the natural environment at least once a week, compared to 74% from white households. Continue reading...