First time campers, and many who just haven't been for a while, often ask what are the basics? So here is our list of what you need most if you've never been camping before or it’s been a while...or last time was horrible and you want to be prepared…
]]>There is an ongoing myth that camping isn't 'real' if you aren't cold, damp and roughing it. I beg to disagree... Fact is it doesn't need to be complicated or expensive, one of the joys of camping is it’s easy, cheap and fun. You can usually borrow most stuff for your first few adventures, and you can get some stuff second hand. We have some... do ask.
If you only buy one thing I'd make it a sleeping bag or quilt, and the best you can afford, and next would be a sleeping mat. If you are going by car don't stint on blankets and duvets and your own pillow... If you are going superlight, take something that can be a pillow case!
Remember there is no such thing as bad weather… but camping is a LOT less fun if you forget waterproofs, sun tan lotion or your woolly hat as the temperature drops. that means in August too!!
So here is a basic list for comfy camping, cobbled together after several years of trial and error. It's not exhaustive and I'd love to hear your essentials that aren't on here! Hope it helps and Happy camping!
Down load the list here: Outdoor People Comfy Camping List
Shelter Think about: for how many, how long, how cold/hot and how comfy. Also think how far you have to carry it all. You can bring a trolley if needed! The priority (IMHO) is warmth – it can and often will get down to 5 degrees or even lower at 4am in mid summer. Equally important is keeping dry if it rains — don’t touch the sides!
Basics:
Camp essentials
You can always change to just a T-shirt and sleep outside if it’s the prayed for heat wave, but if it’s cold you’ll not regret those extra layers!
Cooking
Whether you are at a festival where you can get food or are cooking for yourself, here are the basics. I could do a whole list just on the outdoor kitchen…
If you are going on an extended trip dried food is so, so much easier than cooking from scratch, but if you are in a car then half the fun is cooking over a fire or rocket stove and the only limit is your imagination…
Clothes
Packing for British weather means thinking layers… and water/sun proof! You’ll have your comfy favourites, but here’s a basic list I use…
And if at a festival… some eco-friendly glitter, feathers and the like can be fun, and face paints for kids and young at heart!
Personal
Miscellaneous
We sell lots of great camping gear — and part of the profits we make from camping gear sales go towards our Outdoor Family Camping trips.
Finally the most important thing to take is your sense of fun and adventure!
Make it easy to get outdoors…
]]>The Feel Good Inside & Out project took place at the Outdoor People Community Shop in Hackney over November and December. As a Participatory Action Research project, the topics for investigation and the methodologies were determined by the group. Each week the group would reflect on the previous session, and using that reflection, agree on a question and activity to investigate.
Through the project, we wanted to explore ways we could help make people feel better physically and mentally, by getting outside every day. The research team included four adults and three children, supported by two members of staff from Outdoor People. What follows is a summary of the discussions we had, and the suggestions that were made, in each of the sessions.
We hope by reading about our project, you will be inspired to develop your own set of prompts, hints, tips, thoughts or ‘call-to-actions’ that will help you, your friends and family to go outdoors more regularly. How do you connect with nature even when you don’t have much time, stay out on your adventure for longer, or go out on an adventure even on the days you ‘don’t feel like it’?
]]>The Feel Good Inside & Out project took place at the Outdoor People Community Shop in Hackney over November and December. As a Participatory Action Research project, the topics for investigation and the methodologies were determined by the group. Each week the group would reflect on the previous session, and using that reflection, agree on a question and activity to investigate.
Through the project, we wanted to explore ways we could help make people feel better physically and mentally, by getting outside every day. The research team included four adults and three children, supported by two members of staff from Outdoor People. What follows is a summary of the discussions we had, and the suggestions that were made, in each of the sessions.
We hope by reading about our project, you will be inspired to develop your own set of prompts, hints, tips, thoughts or ‘call-to-actions’ that will help you, your friends and family to go outdoors more regularly. How do you connect with nature even when you don’t have much time, stay out on your adventure for longer, or go out on an adventure even on the days you ‘don’t feel like it’?
Meditation, mindfulness, noticing
‘Do you like to meditate on a tree with lots of bird songs (a very green tree)?’ Emily
‘Like me, do you enjoy slightly dark places that are next to the sea, or other places to meditate and close your eyes?’ Luca
Although we started with a broad theme of ‘good health’, quite soon the discussion centred upon how time spent outdoors helps with mental well-being (although there was a recognition that mood also affects physical wellbeing). We compared our experiences of being outside, what motivates us to go on adventures, and where each of us likes to go to find space and calm.
The question we asked…
How does going outdoors make me feel – especially when I stop to clear my mind, take a breath and notice my surroundings?
From this discussion, we drew up a list of suggested activities, to create a personal path to getting outdoors more often. Here is a selection of suggestions:
Creating positive routines
Making time to get outdoors was quite often an issue. Claudia wished she had more time to plan and organise her adventures. Yaa would go on mental adventures while she was working, or when she was too busy with work to leave home. Time out on the adventure felt restricted too. One of Claudia and Emily’s adventures had to be cut short before they reached Hackney Marshes.
We wanted to explore how we could make going outdoors a fixture in our daily routine.
The question we asked…
How do I make discovery, adventure, and exploration a daily part of my life?
We talked about the different ways we interpret the word ‘routine’ - and how it could have either a healthy or unhealthy connotation. Using a word association exercise, we created a list of similes and parallel concepts: plan, efficient, broken, list, sleep, difficult, skip, habit, pattern, won, chore, secure, imprisoned, everyday, cosy comfort, pattern, rhythm.
Some of us found it difficult to identify what our routines were, because we felt we had no routine and therefore it was difficult to change it. Others had a very strict routine with frequent reminders, for example through phone alerts, to do different things, and in this respect, it became harder to disrupt routines.
From this discussion, we shared some suggested activities that we could use to make getting outdoors part of our daily routine. Here is a selection of suggestions:
Making small changes that lead to bigger changes
The question we asked…
What is the smallest change you can make to your routine to make the greatest difference to your day?
Claudia and Emily tried ‘looking up’ when they went on a walk. They discovered different trees, ones that lose their leaves and ones that keep their leaves all year round. When they were visiting the British Museum, it inspired Emily to look up and both she and Claudia discovered architecture they had never seen before.
Sheryle mentioned she knows 7 or 8 different routes home from nursery and she takes different routes each time so that she and Daisy can see different things. Many of us shared how much we enjoy discovering new places.
‘We stopped for a moment in Haggerston Park, on our way back from the nursery and noticed a tree with red leaves. We hadn’t seen it before and had never noticed that some leaves on trees go red. It looks Christmassy!’ Sheryle, adult.
Being conscious of mind/body
While our focus was upon mental wellbeing, we also discussed how being aware of our bodies and our surroundings affected our mental wellbeing. Some of us said we find it difficult to listen to our bodies. Sometimes our minds are too loud and there’s ‘much ado about nothing’.
Beth observed that being conscious and present in the outdoors and its benefits are something that each of us need to explore and learn for ourselves. Each of us finds our own pathway, and the motivation to do it comes from an awareness of how it benefits us.
From this discussion, we shared some small changes we made on our daily walk and how they made us feel. Here is a selection of suggestions:
‘When I walk I go into a dream state. It helps me clarify and question things. After being at work looking at a screen, I go for a walk and move my body.’ Mateo, adult.
Maps
Everyone got enthusiastic about maps! Luca said that the Wild Walk map we used for our Wild Walk on Sunday (Victoria Park & Mile End), ‘inspired me to make a map when I am outdoors. I would track my feet and draw the outline of the park’. He also learned about keys and symbols on our last Wild Walk.
Jess introduced us to the amazing Greenground map by Helen Ilus. The map is inspired by the iconic London tube map as an alternative sustainable transport map. The ‘green lines’ are representing the connections between parks and could be walked and cycled.
Inspiring others to go outside
We all felt that going outdoors helped with our mental wellbeing, but in different ways - some people liked to go outdoors to get a burst of energy, some said it helped them find calm and respite, sometimes people just wanted to get a break from being in the house.
Everyone had a different motivation, and everyone had their own ‘biggest barrier’ to getting outside. Nevertheless, identifying our personal motivations and barriers helped, as it allowed us to create more personalised strategies for behaviour change, strategies that would stay the course.
Since this workshop was the last but one, we wanted to start thinking about what we wanted to tell the world and what we’d like to take away from this project. We all agreed that we wanted to inspire ourselves and inspire others to go out more.
Capture your adventure!
Take a note of what makes you grateful
Take a note of what makes you feel good
Think of something that inspires you or might inspire others
We will be hosting a Wild Walk Leader training programme in February 2022 at Whittington Park in Archway. If you live in Islington and would like to help yourself and others to get outdoors more and discover green spaces in Islington, then get involved!
Over three workshops, participants will learn how to design and lead their own Islington Wild Walk, as well as getting to know a supportive team of Wild Walk Leaders.
By the end of the programme, Wild Walk Leaders will have designed 6 NEW Islington Wild Walk maps (available for download and in print, for free!) and will be leading regular community Wild Walks throughout the rest of 2022 (and onwards). Wild Walk Leaders will work together to grow and support a community of Islington-based Outdoor Families, helping their community get outdoors more.
To express your interest and find out more, fill out this form or email Bethany Martin (beth@outdoorpeople.org.uk).
]]>We will be hosting a Wild Walk Leader training programme in February 2022 at Whittington Park in Archway. If you live in Islington and would like to help yourself and others to get outdoors more and discover green spaces in Islington, then get involved!
Over three workshops, participants will learn how to design and lead their own Islington Wild Walk, as well as getting to know a supportive team of Wild Walk Leaders.
By the end of the programme, Wild Walk Leaders will have designed 6 NEW Islington Wild Walk maps (available for download and in print, for free!) and will be leading regular community Wild Walks throughout the rest of 2022 (and onwards). Wild Walk Leaders will work together to grow and support a community of Islington-based Outdoor Families, helping their community get outdoors more.
To express your interest and find out more, fill out this form or email Bethany Martin (beth@outdoorpeople.org.uk).
Wild Walks – ‘adventures for children to take their adults on’ – are short walks of about 2km-3km. They can be transformational; fostering friendships and helping children and families enjoy, socialise and play in their local green spaces every day. The aim is to allow outdoor play to happen, connect with nature and have fun!
We believe that a little bit of nature and outdoor play everyday can help us keep healthy and active, feel good, learn, act and be connected. No matter how big or little we are, we can all play!
Did you know? Every child in London lives within 15 minutes walk of a park and yet one in seven London’s children NEVER go to a green space.
Being a Wild Walk Leader is rewarding, fun and creative. It is a great opportunity to get to know your area better and make more friends in your community.
As Wild Walk Leaders, we make sure everyone is welcomed, safe, happy and having fun. We plan Wild Walk routes through large and small green spaces and find spots for picnicking and play. We make sure our walks are flexible and easily accessible to accommodate for all ages, buggy and wheel-chair access, the weather, hungry children, spontaneous play and unexpected adventure!
The time commitment as a Wild Walk Leader is not huge. Ideally you would lead or support one walk a month, but this is flexible and a commitment that can be shared between Wild Walk Leaders. Wild Walks are about 2-3 hours long and 2-3km in distance (we take it slow!). Preparation and feedback time for each Wild Walk to take around 2-3 hours. This means the total monthly commitment for a Wild Walk Leader is up to 6 hours (including the walk).
Wild Walk Leaders are ambassadors for community, outdoor play and nature in our neighbourhoods.
The responsibilities of a Wild Walk Leader include:
You are supported by Outdoor People staff and Islington Bright Futures throughout your journey as a Wild Walk Leader.
Wild Walk Leader Training includes three 3-hour workshops, plus some homework between the workshops. As part of the training, you will plan, plot and lead your own Wild Walk with the support of an experienced Wild Walk Leader. Childcare is available for training commitments, if needed.
The workshops will be 11am - 2pm on a week day (day tbc, depending on availability of trainees) and will be held at Whittington Park, Archway N19 4EG.
Workshop 1: Week commencing 31st January 2022
Workshop 2: Week commencing 14th February 2022
Workshop 3: Week commencing 28th February 2022
You will have access to Outdoor People resources and equipment, become part of a small, supportive network of Wild Walk Leaders in Islington and work closely with Parent Champions and Bright Futures staff. Outdoor People have a wide selection of waterproof clothing for parents and children, at a donation you can afford.
We are looking for enthusiastic people living in Islington that value getting outdoors, playing and walking on a regular basis. Ideally you are a parent, carer or someone who regularly looks after children, however this is not essential. You don’t need any particular experience or even to get outdoors as frequently as you would like, becoming a Wild Walk Leader will help you get out more!
This role is suited to people with good communication skills, who are reliable, well organised, caring and sensitive to people’s needs and are able to speak in front of small groups. You will be closely supported and these skills will develop as you gain confidence and your own style of facilitating the Wild Walks.
We are inviting Hackney residents to become members of a small research team to work together across four workshops to explore our experiences of getting outdoors in Hackney.
Workshop 1: Tuesday 23rd November 4-6pm
Workshop 2: Tuesday 30th November 4-6pm
Workshop 3: Tuesday 7th December 4-6pm
Workshop 4: Tuesday 14th December 4-6pm
Winter Solstice Celebration: Tuesday 21st December 4-8pm
All workshops will be held at Outdoor People Community Shop, 352A Mare Street, E8 1HR. Dinner will be provided!
Each adult will receive a £20 Retail Gift Card (of your choice). Each child will receive a magnifying glass, a Live & Learn First Aid Pocket Guide and a pair of Stance socks (the most comfortable socks ever!). All travel expenses will be covered.
]]>The Muddy Hands report, written by Outdoor People team Cath Prisk and Harry Cusworth, states “regular time outdoors has been linked to increased physical activity, improved mood, better eyesight, better bone development and healthier immune systems.”
With the nights drawing in, the cold weather on its way, and another lockdown or restrictions looking evermore likely, taking the time to get outdoors everyday - making use of this free resource on our doorsteps - is something we can all do to keep ourselves safe and heathy this winter and all year round.
“In 2010, Qing Li, a South Korean researcher reported on the positive effect of forest bathing – being out in the woods – with the smell of pine being particularly beneficial for increasing T-killer cell counts.” (Muddy Hands Report, 2019).
We also know that this time of year can be difficult to get outdoors. Some people hate the cold and rain, while others just don't have the right kit to make getting outdoors whatever the weather easy and fun. The early nights mean going out for a walk after work can be less appealing and, for some, less safe.
With all this in mind, we are turning to our community to ask... how can we help ourselves feel good on the inside about getting outside everyday?
We are inviting Hackney residents, especially families and people working with children, to join a small action research team to explore this question. Over four workshops, we will share our personal experiences and undertake research activities, such as interviewing friends, taking photographs, going on an adventure or keeping a diary - whatever the group decides! In each workshop, we will reflect together on what we learnt and plan a new activity to explore our questions further, following the principles of Participatory Action Research.
In the final workshop, we will decide how we want to share what we've learnt with our community and share with our community at our Winter Solstice celebration the following week. This might be an exhibition, publication or even a song!
Workshop 1: Tuesday 23rd November 4-6pm
Workshop 2: Tuesday 30th November 4-6pm
Workshop 3: Tuesday 7th December 4-6pm
Workshop 4: Tuesday 14th December 4-6pm
Winter Solstice Celebration: Tuesday 21st December 4-8pm
All workshops will be held at Outdoor People Community Shop, 352A Mare Street, E8 1HR. Dinner will be provided!
Each adult will receive a £20 Retail Gift Card (of your choice). Each child will receive a magnifying glass, a Live & Learn First Aid Pocket Guide and a pair of Stance socks (the most comfortable socks ever!). All travel expenses will be covered.
Who are these workshops for?
These workshops are open to anyone who is interested in exploring how they can help themselves and their family, friends and neighbours to get outdoors more. We are especially keen to welcome people who have children in their lives, whether you work with children, have children of your own or in your family. We welcome people of all ages and from all backgrounds.
You don't need to have any research experience or have ever been involved in something like this, we are all experts of our own experience and that's the most important thing!
If you have children, they are welcome to join the workshops too. There will be some time in the workshops for everyone to participate together (children and adults) and also separate child-friendly activities.
What is required of you?
We require you to commit to all four workshops, unless of course unforeseen circumstances mean you are unable to. We ask that you join with an open mind and lots of curiosity. Between the workshops you will have research activities to complete, these can be done within your own time, capacity and comfort. Most importantly, the research activities are decided by you, so there is no obligation to do things you would prefer not to do.
COVID-19 Precautions
There will be a maximum of 8 participants, allowing for physical distancing. Hand sanitiser and face masks will be provided. All participants will be asked to undertake a lateral flow test on the day of each of the workshops. We will have a discussion at our first workshop about Covid-safety.
How to get involved...
If you would like to join the action research team or find out more about the project, please email beth@outdoorpeople.org.uk to express your interest. Please share whether or not you can attend all the workshops and a little bit about why you are interested in participating.
Thank you to our funders Hackney Giving Coronavirus Response Fund, Arc'teryx Outer Peace and It's Great Out There for making this exciting project possible.
]]>For our community, our Family Camping trips are a huge highlight of the year. We go to our haven, Fairyland, and we create a community together for a week. We share games, recipes, dreams, stories, adventures… Together, we make discoveries, meals and memories.
We rely on one another. "It is not possible to go camping with a baby single-handed unless you have a community around you to help," said one mum. "We are like a big family," said a child.
]]>For our community, our Family Camping trips are a huge highlight of the year. We go to our haven, Fairyland, and we create a community together for a week. We share games, recipes, dreams, stories, adventures… Together, we make discoveries, meals and memories.
We rely on one another. "It is not possible to go camping with a baby single-handed unless you have a community around you to help," said one mum. "We are like a big family," said a child.
This year six families joined us for their first ever camping trip and four families - who were once first-time campers and are now experts - joined us as volunteers. We went on two camping trips to Fairyland at Green Farm Kent, one in the May school half term and another at the beginning of the school holidays.
It is always a week of firsts… Yaa’s first time in a natural pond. Isha’s first shooting star. Hayley, Leila, Lloyd, Jamila, Seb, Hannah, Filipe, Patrícia and Claire’s first time as Outdoor People Volunteers. Mark’s first time putting up a tent. Jim the dog’s first time at Fairyland. Everyone’s first time visiting a dairy farm and baking cake in oranges over the fire!
"My one great thing from the family camping trip has been seeing my child open up and be more confident"
We worked hard behind the scenes this year to develop processes and resources so that families felt more empowered to lead the camping trips and make them ‘their own’. We developed laminated recipe cards, how-to guides and a volunteer training manual. We held our first Volunteer Training Weekend in April, where we proofed tents and ran training sessions in Safeguarding, Diversity & Inclusion and Top Camping Tips. This training weekend meant our new volunteers for 2021 - especially families who learned how to camp through our Family Camping trips - had space to grow their confidence, skills and awareness of how to create a brave and welcoming community space for everyone joining our Family Camping trips.
COVID-19 was still a worry this year, but thankfully we’d learnt so much from our 2020 camping trips that we were able to make sure the trips were Covid-safe. One of the key implementations for reducing the spread of the virus was to set up family pods, where each family pod had their own kitchen area and compost toilet. This reduced the number of shared facilities and gave families a greater sense of independence.
Another great thing we did this year was to invite a big group of fresh campers to join us on the weekend at the end of our last camp of the year. Chris, Seb, Claire, Yaa, Hannah and Patrícia joined us with their energy and expert camping skills to help us pack up the camp and give our kit some TLC, ready for the next adventure. After a long couple of days of cleaning, sorting, packing, lugging, golf cart-driving and proofing, we were treated to a dip in Green Farm Kent’s beautiful natural swimming pool. Thanks to the team, we are all set for next year’s family camping trips!
Meanwhile, back in Hackney, we’ve been going on adventures closer to home. Throughout the year, every two weeks our community has gathered together to explore our local green spaces on Family Wild Walks. We’ve adventured to Finsbury Park, Gillespie Park, Springfield Park, Walthamstow Marshes, Hackney Marshes, Mabley Green, Clapton Square and so many more great green spaces in Hackney! On every Wild Walk this year families have discovered a place they’d never been to before. We now have 10 Wild Walk maps around Hackney for children to take their adults on adventures! Our Wild Walks are free or pay-as-you-can but we ask every family joining to take another family on their own Wild Walk, and in this way, pay-it-forward. To find out more, visit our Family Wild Walks page.
We’d like to thank our Outdoor Families community for making every Family Camping trip and Wild Walk adventure a welcoming, playful and friendly experience. We’d like to thank our sponsors and funders - The National Lottery, Arc'Teryx, Marmot, It's Great Out There, School of Social Entrepreneurs, Hackney Giving, People's Postcode Lottery - without whom these vital adventures could not have been possible. And we’d like to thank our friends Green Farm Kent and Pearce Coggan Foundation for nurturing the magical land of Fairyland and so kindly welcoming us to this special place every year.
If you'd like to support our Outdoor Family camping programme, you can donate through our Local Giving page.
You could choose to stay at Green Farm Kent, visit their spa, go on a retreat or go along to one of their Thursday Coffee Mornings. Like us, Green Farm puts a part of all their profits into the Foundation, and if you mention us they'll dedicate a portion of what you spend to Outdoor Family Camping. Find out more here.
"My one great thing from the family camping trip has been the change in pace"
]]>
As a community, every two weeks, we go on adventures exploring our local green spaces in Hackney and nearby. The aim is to create an environment where children feel they have permission to play outdoors, connect with nature and have fun!
If you would like to join any of our Wild Walks please email beth@outdoorpeople.org.uk, and Beth - our Community Coordinator - will book you and your family in. It's free - all we ask is you pay it forward by taking a friend for a walk in the future...
]]>As a community, every two weeks, we go on adventures exploring our local green spaces in Hackney and nearby. The aim is to create an environment where children feel they have permission to play outdoors, connect with nature and have fun!
If you would like to join any of our Wild Walks please email beth@outdoorpeople.org.uk, and Beth - our Community Coordinator - will book you and your family in. It's free - all we ask is you pay it forward by taking a friend for a walk in the future...
If you would like to donate to support our Wild Walks programme, we will be very grateful! Donate here: Link
Cambridge Heath Overground Station (10 minute walk to start point)
Nearest bus stop: Stop HA Bonner Road or Stop SN Skipworth Road
Walk Leader: Beth
Newington Green Wild Walk Sunday 13 February
Meet at 11am at Newington Green Playground
Location details:
What3words - ///takes.fine.bunny
Google maps
Nearest station: Canonbury Overground Station (8 minute walk to start point)
Nearest bus stop: Stop NK Newington Green.
Walk Leader: Beth
Download your printable Wild Walk map here: PDF (colour) | PDF (black & white)
Follow the route on the Go Jauntly app. Follow it on the OS Maps app: Link
We recommend you bring some water and snacks. Also don't forget to bring weather-appropriate and waterproof clothing. We can provide families with waterproof shoes and clothing, if you do not own any!
Note: All Wild Walks are subject to latest government guidelines. The Wild Walks will be cancelled if the guidelines change. Since numbers are limited, you and your family book a place on the Wild Walk.
If you would like to join any of our Wild Walks email beth@outdoorpeople.org.uk, and Beth - our Community Coordinator - will book you and your family in. It's free - all we ask is you pay it forward by taking a friend for a walk in the future...
If you would like to donate to support our Wild Walks programme, we will be very grateful! donate here: Link
Family Wild Walks is part of the Outdoor Families programme. A year-round programme, connecting families from across London with nature, gradually increasing their range of experiences – from weekend walks exploring local green spaces, through to a weekend camp in the countryside.
Would you like to feel more confident going outdoors with your family? Would you like to meet other families in your community and discover new green spaces?
If you are struggling to get outdoors regularly with your children, we would love to hear from you!
]]>There will be a Volunteer Weekend camping trip 24 – 25 April for volunteer training and camping gear preparation. We will host 2 or 3 Family Camping trips throughout the summer (depending on funding, and progress on the 'roadmap out of lockdown'. The first camping trip is scheduled for 31 May – 4 June, during the May half-term school holidays. All camping trips will be at Green Farm Kent (near Ashford). Food and travel expenses are available for volunteers.
If you would like to apply to volunteer with us, please fill in this form. Or to find out more, email beth@outdoorpeople.org.uk.
]]>Every summer we take families living in London for their first ever camping experience to Green Farm, Kent. For some children, it's their first holiday outside the capital.
This programme has been running for the last 5 years. Over that time, 107 families have joined Family Wild Walks, 49 families have joined Outdoor Family Camping and 247 children have benefited in direct activities, half under 7 years old.
We are now looking for volunteers to support our family camping trips this year. We have planned a covid-secure Volunteer Weekend camping trip on 24-25 April for training and preparation. We will then host 2 or 3 camping trips throughout the summer (depending on funding, and all being well with the 'roadmap out of lockdown'). All camping trips will be at Green Farm Kent (near Ashford), in partnership with Pearce Coggan Foundation. Volunteers will be provided with food and tented accommodation, and travel expenses if needed.
The first Outdoor Family camping trip is scheduled for 31 May – 4 June, during the May half-term school holidays. We will also require support setting up camp and packing down the camp on the weekends before and after the camping trip (29/30 May & 5/6 June).
Ideally, you will be available to join the Volunteer Weekend in April and some or all of the days between 29 May and 6 June. If you are not available for these dates, but would like to volunteer, do get in touch as there will be more opportunities in the future!
We are looking for volunteers who have a passion-for or interest-in some or all of the following:
We encourage parents and carers who enjoy camping (and feel quite confident camping with their family) to sign up as volunteers and bring your children along too!
We appreciate not everyone has the time to commit to join as a volunteer for a full family camping trip, which is typically a full week including set up and pack down. As such, opportunities to volunteer can range from a one-day trip to the farm or up to five days of camping. Not all volunteering opportunities will involve working directly with families, some are more suited to folks that love a bit of graft in the outdoors. We will chat with you about the roles that will suit you most, and match what you love about camping and the outdoors.
Volunteering gives you the chance to learn more about outdoor play and nature connection, improve your camping skills, try out different types of camping gear, meet new people from different backgrounds and places, spend time in nature and connect with the land at Green Farm Kent. Also, volunteers receive a 15% discount with Outdoor People shop, top tips and latest news about outdoor gear!
We are also looking for one or two volunteers that are interested in working directly with Beth, our Community Coordinator, to support the organising of our family camping trips. If you are interested in some remote work throughout March/April/May/June and enjoy administrative tasks and event organising, this might be a role for you! Tasks will include liaising with families and volunteers who will be participating in the camping trips, organising transport, food and camping gear and organising the volunteer rota and co-writing the family camping pack.
“We love family camping because it’s a big group of us from all different backgrounds which makes us feel really comfortable as a family. If we could replicate that in every visit to the countryside it would be great!”
Our community is representative of and celebrates Hackney's diverse communities. We welcome people from all backgrounds, abilities and lived experiences. We are LGBTQ+ friendly. It is our priority to ensure that we offer inclusive volunteering opportunities. We will work with you to ensure you are supported to participate, learn and thrive.
If you would like to apply to volunteer with us, please fill in this form. Or to find out more, email beth@outdoorpeople.org.uk.
]]>
We help people get outdoors by supporting families, working with schools, doing research and campaigning AND we have a great community shop!
We build community around the idea that going outdoors everyday is as important as getting a good night’s sleep. We acknowledge everyone's experience of accessing and being a part of nature is unique to them. As a community, we overcome our barriers to getting outdoors at each other's own pace.
If you are passionate about nature connection and outdoor play. If our local green spaces, nature, biodiversity and being a part of nature are important to you. If you are an Outdoor Person. We'd love to hear from you!
Our community shop in Hackney is a great place to meet people! Volunteering in our community shop is a hybrid role between shop assistant and community work. From chatting to people about the outdoor adventures and supporting them find the gear that will work for them, to sharing top tips to help parents and carers get outdoors with their children more, to hosting events, to stock-taking... There's plenty to get involved in and plenty of opportunity to develop your skills whilst volunteering in our magical little shop!
Family Wild Walks - adventures for children to take their adults on! - are community walks exploring our local green spaces. Whether it’s the comfortable set of waterproofs, where to go, who to go with, how to make it fun, feeling safe and welcome, our Family Wild Walks supports families to get outdoors more.
Do you have a walk you love to go on with children? Share it with us!
Are you interested in organising your own Wild Walk or supporting our regular community Wild Walks? Or become a Wild Walk Buddy and get to know another family in your area by committing to meet up regularly and go on an adventure together!
We support families to go on their first ever camping trip with friends and families in our community to Green Farm Kent in the school holidays. On this trip families learn how to put up a tent and cook over a camping stove and have the time to relax, play, meet the farm animals, explore the woodland and (most importantly) climb trees!
Do you love camping? From facilitating play sessions and workshops, to proofing camping gear and pitching tents, to cooking over a campfire - join our wonderful community in Fairyland at Green Farm Kent.
We encourage parents and carers who enjoy camping (and feel quite confident camping with their family) to sign up as volunteers and bring your children along too!
Are you interested in developing your grant-writing and fundraising skills? Work alongside the Outdoor People team to apply for funding to continue the work we do!
Are you creative? A writer? A social media whizz? Fancy gaining more experience with copywriting or social media? We have so many creative ideas - from blog posts to family activity sheets to campaigns - and we'd love to hear your ideas too!
And if all that weren't enough, there's also plenty of opportunity to get involved in our research projects, campaigns or help us organise events! Have an idea? We'd love to hear it!
Our community is representative of and celebrates Hackney's diverse communities. We welcome people from all backgrounds, abilities and lived experiences. We are LGBTQ+ friendly. It is our priority to ensure that we offer inclusive volunteering opportunities. We will work with you to ensure you are supported to participate, learn and thrive.
If you would like to find out more about volunteering with Outdoor People, email beth@outdoorpeople.org.uk. To register your interest in volunteering, fill out this form!
Would you like to be involved but you're not yet sure how? Fill in the form and we'll be in touch to chat about volunteering with Outdoor People and support you to find the role for you.
]]>We believe everyone can go on an adventure, big or small. From Wild Walks (adventures for children to take their adults on) to human powered travel around the world, adventures help us see the world from different perspectives.
Hana is the co-founder, tech wizard and CEO of the fantastic GoJauntly App. She is a noted 'woman in tech', but we know her as a great inspirer of wanders and jaunts. She inspires folks to get outdoors for short walks. An adventure doesn't have to be Everest or even Scafell, it can be round your local park or two stops down the bus route... Hana's podcast Nature Bantz is fantastic!
Follow her on Twitter and Instagram.
Here she is describing her brilliant app when she won the cities category at the Impact Awards in 2018:
This 21 year old climate activist, the Founder & Executive Director of @forceofnature.xyz is herself a force of nature. She's interviewed some of the worlds most influential and interesting climate activists and is set to really shake up thinking.
We first heard Clover on the Force of Nature Podcast and more recently she did a really powerful TEDxLondonWomen talk about the very real and skyrocketing problem of ecoanxiety. Take a listen. Follow her on Instagram and Twitter.
Mya-Rose is an 18-year old bird watcher who in 2019 became the youngest person to have seen half of the world's birds (5,369)! And last year she's had another first: youngest person in the UK to be awarded an honorary degree!
Birdgirl is campaigning to make nature more accessible for Visible Minority Ethnic young people. In 2016, Mya-Rose created Black2Nature, a not-for-profit running nature camps for black and minority ethnic children. "I am half Bangladeshi, and ever since I was a child I have been keenly aware of the lack of people like me out in Nature in Britain." (Resurgence and Ecologist).
Mya-Rose was at the Bristol Youth Strike last week, joined by Greta Thunberg. You can watch her speech here (starts at 28 minutes).
Follow her on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook!
Amy is a wild swimmer, whatever the weather! She has been wild swimming most days, all-year round for four years. Amy describes her body as a 'vessel for adventure' - we love that!
We had the joys of watching Wild Swim, a short film about Amy's journey with wild swimming, mental health and body positivity, on the big screen at Adventure Uncovered Film Festival this year. It was beautiful and moving, we recommend!
'Growing up I very rarely saw my body type represented and at school I really struggled with body image and self-esteem... Swimming is something that my body can do exactly as it is without anything needing to change.'
We love wild swimming and all sorts of swimming at Outdoor People. But we also know there are barriers to swimming for many people, especially women and children. In collaboration with Deakin & Blue and Ella Foote (another inspirational adventurous woman!), we hosted a Swimming Women event to chat about what we love about swimming and why we don't swim.
Read more about Amy's story and watch Wild Swim here. Follow Amy on Instagram @swimthewild.
Wild Swim from Kate Drucquer on Vimeo.
Carole is a walker, gardener, community activist, nature lover and beekeeper, among much much more! Carole has consulted and supported the growth of community gardens in Southwark for the last 10 years. She's an incredible role model; in an interview with Niellah Arboine (gal-dem) Carole says "It’s for me to say to young black women and girls, ‘did you know you can be a bee farmer?'".
Carole is always on adventure, she walks everywhere and brings people together along the way. “I want promote the simple act of walking and talking as a point of accessibility, which aren’t dependant on social, cultural or financial status in society” (Eden Project Communities). Come and join us on a Family Wild Walk, Carole!
You can follow Carole's adventures on Twitter or Instagram @Blak_Outside
We recommend listening to Go Jauntly's podcast episode featuring Carole, interviewed by Hana Sutch (another inspiring adventurous woman!).
Photo credit: Lou Jazmine
Anoushé Husain describes herself as "a champion for all those experiencing barriers and self-limiting beliefs." We definitely agree. She shares her story and life experiences with authenticity and perseverance.
Anoushé is the founder of the charity Paraclimbing London. “We help a variety of people, whether you’re missing a limb or you’re visually impaired or you have invisible conditions like cancer or mental health issues, Paraclimbing London wants to remove the barriers you face and help you get into climbing.” (Ali Mitib, Hackney Post)
She is an ambassador for Ehlers-Danlos Support UK and Limb Power, a national charity created to engage amputees and individuals with limb impairments in physical activity, sport and the arts.
We recommend watching If I Can, a film by Peter Cadman and Liam White.
Follow Anoushé on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
Sky is a 12 year old, British pro-skateboarder and she's heading straight for the next Olympics! She should have been there in 2020... one to watch for the future!
Sky is an ambassador for Skateistan, a not-for-profit empowering children through skateboarding and education in Afghanistan, Cambodia and South Africa.
“I feel like, some girls, they’re scared to do it. Hopefully, if they see me, this little girl and crazy chick, ‘They’ll be like, I can do that’. There’s a lot of girls skateboarding now, which is pretty cool. Before, there wasn’t any. I was the only girl at the skatepark, but now there’s at least one girl at the skatepark.” (Fiona Thomas, telegraph.co.uk)
Follow Sky on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram!
Photo credit: Sky Brown Facebook
Campaigner, adventurer, forager, boat dweller, community builder.
Beth joined Outdoor People an unbelievable four years ago having just come by the market stall. She had recently come back from cycling to Hong Kong with her friend Julia (tasting food in 20 countries...) and what she didn't know about 2 person Vango tents wasn't worth knowing... Last year when we had to put her on furlough she set up another social enterprise, the National Food Service North London, which now serves over 500 meals a week to people in need of food.
She is the power behind our Outdoor Families programme, designing and leading the Family Wild Walks and very much looking forward to welcoming the families camping this summer.
Read Forks on Wheels, follow Beth on Instagram.
This is my mum, who took me camping and on walks and most importantly instilled in me the core belief that I could do anything i wanted to if i only try. Who when I was 14 supported me and Penny in our plans to get a train to Eskdale and to climb over Esk Fell to Wastwater and back, and on many further adventures. She never, ever said 'i don't think you should do that'. Well, OK hardly ever!
Follow her on Twitter.
Our final adventurous woman nomination is someone very close to you. It is YOUR sister, mother, daughter, grandmother, friend and you.
We love inspirational women that are pushing boundaries and inspiring change, whether close to home or on big adventures, but sometimes we forget these women are right next to us.
Gender equality is about everyone. We must stick together, celebrate and elevate one another. We need to be allies to all women and non-binary people.
Our Outdoor Families community is filled with incredible women and girls. This is our thanks and appreciation to all of you. Here's to all the women in the world that are adventuring out of their comfort zone every single day.
************************
Written by Beth Martin and Cath Prisk
Photo credit Outdoor People, on top of Snowdon in October 2017
]]>
Doorways Podcast with Martin Crabbe for London Climate Action Week
Loose Parts and Risk Taking: Improving Children's Play
]]>
Updated 27th March
With the rules changing, one thing is certain - you CAN go outdoors!
As spring goes into overdrive spot the tiny changes happening every day.
We recommend listening to this podcast: https://melissaharrison.co.uk/podcast/
Take a listen to this and see if you can hear any of these birds near you yet...
The guidance...
From 29th March
Now is the to be getting involved in #Springwatch, take a look at Springwatch 2020 to get a headstart on knowing what to look out for...
From 12th April fingers crossed
We recommend listening to Sam Lee's compilation of the highlights of Singing With Nightingales. That series of online concerts really kept us connected last year. The nightingales should be starting to sing wherever there is coppiced blackthorn.
From 17th May more fingers crossed
Find Campsites to book:
Or just decide where and use Google Maps or OS Maps to find camp sites (search 'camping') which should take you to sites individual websites, often the best place to go, especially if you have time to do the research...
Many websites will have pre-pitched bell tents or 'glamping pods', but if you want to buy a tent or hammock set up do go check out our Camping gear.
So how do I get quality outside time?
The ongoing measures mean the tough job of keeping children healthy and happy, learning, playing, is hard. We’re adding new suggestions to our blogs to keep yourself calm, active and connected to nature every day, as well as some ideas for homeschooling. Hopefully, they contain some useful ideas and strategies to keep you, your family and friends safe and sane over the coming weeks. However, with over 20% of the world’s population in lockdown and over 80% of children not at school, you know you are not alone.
Even when you are stuck inside, battling boredom and a low mood, the tiniest connection with nature (just tending a pot plant) can help with your mental wellbeing. And, for children, playing becomes even more important.
Nature can bring balance and calm. It can be a resource for renewal and respite.
Please ask everyone you know to pay heed to the social distancing message. Social distancing will help limit the spread of the virus, and will mean the most vulnerable among us are not put at risk. It will take some adjusting to this new reality, but the reality is that following these guidelines will save lives and protect the NHS.
Take a break from the media. Keeping up-to-date on developments is important, as the situation is changing daily, but overloading yourself with news and rumours will only increase your anxiety. Turn off your phone and look at ways to connect with nature.
Go for a walk; take your shoes off; stand on some grass; breathe deeply; gaze at a tree for a minute or two and lift your face to the sun.
A hop/walk/skip around the block can give you the calming moments you need, and a chance to notice nature either alone or with your children. Perhaps there's a tree just coming into leaf; a verge that's home to flowers, some native, some which may have escaped from a nearby garden. Explore the streets near to your home, and the pocket parks - you should still be able to take a walk and respect the social distancing rules. Ordnance Survey's Greenspace Map is FREE and we can almost guarantee you can use it to find a green space within 20 minutes of your house that you didn't know was there. A bit of space, a good run around, explore and play is always a good thing, and even more important just now.
Take a look at this blog from BBC News: What to do if you go for a walk and it's crowded?
If you're going outside every day (and we'd suggest it's essential that you do), you'll need some inspiration. You'll probably be familiar with Google Maps and Google Earth (fun learning resources in their own right), but also check out the GoJauntly app, which has hundreds of suggestions for walks, or Plot A Route, which allows you to invent your own.
If you're going to commit part of your day to help with your children's learning, make sure you make time for play – and make sure children know which part of their day is 'their time'. Children need time to process and assimilate learning, have fun, and let off steam.
For children, play can be a way of processing stress and working things through, in a way that is non-threatening (hence the emergence of the 'coronavirus' game in playgrounds, a somewhat darker version of kiss-chase).
You'll want them to keep up with their learning, but when they're playing, they don't need (or necessarily want) an adult to play with. Playing games together is great, but most of the time hanging back is the best thing to do.
The great thing about outdoor play is, all the play resources you need are right there, and they're all free. Logs to leap from; sticks to turn into wands or horses; bugs to watch and birds to spot.
Learning Through Landscapes has created two groups on Facebook, and are starting weekly newsletters with sections aimed at those with children at home or educators setting activities and work for children. Resources, advice, inspiration, support: free to join, just go to ltl.org.uk for more information.
We've moved all the information we've found around homeschooling to our blog post Homeschooling tips to make the indoors easy. There's more and more every day, so we'll update it regularly if you need further inspiration.
5. Thinking about silver linings
We're enjoying such a beautiful spring, warm sunshine, blue skies. The birds are in song, the flowers are beginning to emerge.
What's more, community spirit seems very much alive... in a country that had seemed irrevocably divided only a year ago.
We know it may be weeks before things begin to return to normal, but in other countries the lockdown seems to be having an effect, which gives us hope that in the not too distant future, the situation here will similarly improve.
If you have any questions or feel there's a subject you'd like us to cover in future posts ... please leave a comment and we'll try and find you an answer. Also note, this blog is written from the perspective of a UK-based organisation, if you're visiting us from elsewhere, please follow the appropriate public health guidance within your own state or country.
We'll be updating this blog regularly. Lots of ideas to bring the outdoors indoors to come...
]]>The latest guidance (in England) on exercising over lockdown continues to be:
Now
Stay Local
You can spend time in an outdoor public place for exercise or recreation:
So while you may not be able meet up in a crowd, you can go for a walk with a friend. And that walk can become a real joy if that friend starts out a bit reluctant to go… because more likely than not, you’ll both feel great after, and you might just spark a lifelong love of the outdoors.
Here’s our five top tips to get even the most reluctant indoors person outside exploring!
NOTHING cuts short a winter walk like the cold and wet. We live in Britain, from November to February it is usually about 8 – 12 degrees, and often much colder, wetter and wilder. So Tip Number One is...
Wrap yourself in wool and waterproofs, hats, gloves and boots, and suddenly it’s not grim. It is exhilarating!
Umbrellas are great if rain is coming straight down, but waterproof trousers, boots and a raincoat won’t let you down by blowing inside out in the wind. Suddenly there is nothing stopping you…
If money is the biggest barrier getting waterproofs, get in touch. We have a small selection available for families on low incomes – for parents as well as children.
Having something to put on a seat means your bum won't get wet when you pause for a break. Again, don't stress if you can't afford the latest technical thermal insulated sit pad, you can improvise – cut up an old yoga mattress, use a plastic ‘for-life’ bag, or a waterproof picnic mat (borrowing your friend’s or child’s coat for this purpose is not fair).
The sit pad is even more important if you’ve come with children as it means you can take time to sit in comfort on your own.. to read, observe nature or Facetime another friend while the kids go off to play.
It’s a fact. To quote the rather marvellous Caitlin Moran:
“If you can leave the house with half a litre of hot tea in your luggage at all time, you will feel as a god. There is nothing the day can throw at you that can’t be remedied by remembering you’ve got a brew in your bag.,..”[†] Caitlin Moran, 2020
With a friend? Make sure you bring your own (no sharing in Covid, sorry…), and for children hot Ribena, lemon water with a bit of sugar or good old hot chocolate.
Seriously... your back will thank you. Handbags and satchels are lovely, but for a walk, especially in winter, the backpack is your friend... especially if you are avoiding cafes and have other people’s children with you.
What to pack? A book. A game. A small first aid kit. A map. Snacks. Maybe even a magnifying glass or binoculars to better see the wildlife. But make sure you leave space to put your coat and outer layers (when the sun comes out and you get too hot).
Recently Arc’treryx UK asked our CEO Cath Prisk specifically what she always carries in her rucksack on their podcast. Her answer?
“A sense of curiosity, awe and smattering of stoicism…”[‡]
They don’t weigh very much on your back, but the more you walk (and carry the layers), the more of them you and everyone you take outdoors will have.,
Oh and a backpack is great to carry your hot tea (as Ms Moran also pointed out!).
If you can identify only five birds, plants, trees and cloud formations, you’ll wonder how you missed the diversity of nature right on your doorstep whether you are in Hackney or Hull.
You don't have to learn the 'proper names, why not come up with your own?
But if you want to know more, there are lots of books, apps and websites. Our favourites include:
With your five things you've got instant Nature Bingo... see if you can chalk off seeing a Magpie, a Robin, worms and/or woodlice, a London Plane or an Oak tree, and on the way home find Mars in the sky, then you know you've had an adventure. Once you know these you’ll know them forever and you’ll see so much more around you.
And finally, while the destination is rarely the point for children at least, the Ordnance Survey Maps app and website has hundreds of routes mapped on it for inspiration, and a green layer so you can find a new playground or woodland. Go Jauntly is another favourite for short walk inspirations, and especially useful around London.
So your mission today is just to ask a friend to come for a walk, and tell us where you went! If you tag us in any social we'd love to share your adventures to inspire more people to just get outdoors.
_____________
[*] https://www.gov.uk/guidance/coronavirus-covid-19-advice-on-accessing-green-spaces-safely
[†] Caitlin Moran (2020), More than a Woman. Edbury Press
[‡]What's In My Pack? | Episode 8 | Rob Ferguson meets Cath Prisk https://open.spotify.com/episode/2F4aPBF8GKX46EOxk3YUzw
]]>What is the purpose of education? This is a question posed by the Purpose/Ed campaign back in 2013, and this was my response... Given we are now returning to school post Covid this seems ever more important.
The news about schools leading ‘catch up’ sessions in the summer made us think about what this means, and reminded us of this journal post. Yes give kids the tools they need to learn, but before the autumn they need to be given the space to catch up with themselves and just to play.
]]>The news about schools leading ‘catch up’ sessions in the summer made us think about what this means, and reminded us of this journal post. Yes give kids the tools they need to learn, but before the autumn they need to be given the space to catch up with themselves and just to play.
Outdoor play has a key role to play in education, not just in the early years, but throughout school. Not just as a small break between classes, but as an integral and often overlooked part of the school day for all children and young people. Anyway here's my essay...
What is the purpose of education? Surely to prepare us for life! I don't just mean work - though that is important - but for life in all its richness.
Life as a child, a young person, an adult.
Life as part of a family, and as part of a community.
Yes, schooling should build key skills such as reading, writing and maths. We should know why Mendel bred peas, be able to get by in French, have a passing acquaintance with quadratic equations. But school alone cannot teach us everything we need for work let alone for life. Based on my experience to date and a fairly erratic reading list*, I'd like to suggest that the real purpose of education, in a nutshell, is to help us:
These are not skills and attributes we can fully develop in a classroom. They are, however, capabilities we develop when playing outside.
When the choirmaster Gareth Malone in 2012 was challenged to increase the literacy skills of a group of lacklustre Yr 5 & 6 boys (in his ‘extraordinary school for boys’), he didn't sit them down to do intensive reading and phonics.
He had them climbing trees and playing outdoors and really engaging with who they were physically until their ideas were brimming over.
Their reading ages jumped dramatically in just a few weeks.
Time to play - before and after schooling and in the breaks in between - are the ‘liminal spaces’ of schooling.
They are neither home nor school, belonging to children, and yet not quite theirs to control.
These are the spaces and places where I believe we achieve much of our real education. They provide the warp to the weft of schooling. Just listen to what the teachers say in this video from Children’s Scrapstore Playpods:
And yet Professor Peter Blatchford’s and Ed Bainnes' research into playtimes and breaks over the last twenty years shows that despite clear evidence of the value of playtimes as part of a child or young person's learning (and enjoyment of school), they are shrinking fast. Over 45 minutes a week has been lost on average.
Even very young children rarely get the one-and-a–half hour lunch breaks that were common in the 70s and 80s, and secondary pupils have barely any free time between lessons.
The situation is often even worse in the United States where it is estimated 50% of children have no recess at all.
What a Primary school play time CAN look like
If we want children and young people to be inspired by their schooling, to really get an education, then take a look at an adventure playground. Think back to the wild play of your own childhood. Be inspired by schools that have taken the leap and put some of that wildness into their playtimes. Schools like Beacon Rise in South Gloucestershire and Gawthorpe Community Primary School in West Yorkshire, and like St Michaels Primary School in Surrey where they are seeing the difference great playtimes - supported by the OPAL Primary programme - has made to children's confidence, creativity and 'readiness to learn’.
The purpose of education is far more than schooling, it has to meet the needs of the whole child and young person. And if we agree with that, then schools need to champion freedom to play.
*suggested reading… In compiling this post I have been influenced by the usual educational theorists such as Piaget and Vygotsky, and more recently by Sir Ken Robinson, and Sue Palmer, as well as the philosophers Locke, Hume and Amiyata Sen. There is a fuller reading list within our Playtime Matters literature review.
For the teachers and educationalists out there can I strongly recommend exploring the world of play theory? I'll practically guarantee it wasn’t in your teaching qualification, but that you’ll be asking ‘why not??!!’ before you get to the end.
Reports such as Best Play and the research collected in the comprehensive literature review Play for a Change and more recently World Without Play [and even more recently The Play Return which focusses on schools] give the evidence base. Play thinkers such as Bob Hughes, Tim Gill, Michael Follett and Wendy Russell (amongst many others) will help you view the world you thought you knew from a completely different angle. In the summer we are looking forward to OPAL's literature review and will add links when it is available.
You can find out more about the OPAL Primary programme and get a free introductory session by either contacting us or by signing up through the OPAL main website.
Enjoy!
This was first published on the Love Outdoor Play blog and the Purpose/Ed Campaign site on May 15th 2013
]]>In fact, children have one of the most effective coping strategies, working through fears through play (it's no surprise to hear that a number of corona-themed playground games have emerged). By reflecting on the playful, happier moments, and the sparks of light in the darkness, we can tap into the wellspring of our resilience.
In March, as the lockdown days began to pile up, we organised a virtual campfire for our volunteers and families. It was at the point when people were really beginning to feel the strain, so it was a welcome relief to give and get some mutual support. We made a nature camera out of a cardboard box - which would capture memories as we went on our walks - and a campfire out of tissue paper and a Little Sun light.
It was consoling to hear most people had been able to get outdoors every day. Having been in contact with charity workers and teachers across the globe, we knew that in some countries lockdown had really meant lockdown, with kids confined to their houses for weeks at a time.
Thankfully, here in the UK, official guidelines have, in the main, emphasised the benefit of time outdoors, and on the whole continue to do so. Having children's play at least a bit 'officially' recognised as essential was, for us, one of the silver linings of the year.
Bright spring days helped lift the spirits. Stripped of the constant background noise of traffic and planes, we heard birdsong in a way that we’d never heard it before.
Home working, home learning, new technologies to get to grips with, a new rhythm to the day. If we hadn't done so before, we truly appreciated the value of decent public services. Empty streets, empty skies, the world of commerce and capital overturned. Coupled with the protests following the death of George Floyd, which gathered momentum in May and June, it seemed like things were shifting deep below the surface.
Recognising that time spent outdoors was essential to people's wellbeing we restarted our Wild Walks programme at the first opportunity, although changing Covid guidelines made it a very different experience. We were so, so grateful for a small grant from Arc'teryx UK that helped keep this going.
Pre-booked walks and limited numbers dampened the spontaneous atmosphere, and if people didn't show, it meant the walk would be a write-off. But the majority of the walks were fully booked, and it was clear on these occasions how much people missed the company of others and their connection to the natural places.
The walks evolved and continued until the November lockdown, and we've since substituted guided walks with ideas and suggestions for self-guided walks and activities shared through our social channels and groups.
We knew many London families were desperate for a break by the end of the first lockdown and many had no prospect of a holiday, so with the encouragement of our partners Pearce Coggan Foundation, based at Green Farm, we decided to push ahead with two much-hoped-for Outdoor Family Camping trips. The first was in the heat of the summer; the second in the October half-term, when the weather was much more autumnal. Both were glorious, magical, and a huge learning experience for all.
In the summer we pitched the tents in blazing sunshine (2020 has been recorded as one of the hottest years on record in the UK). The trip meant we could rejig the procedures to take into account Covid restrictions - and also begin to develop some new activities with Green Farm around healthy eating and sustainable farming practices.
A foraging walk was very popular, led by Claire, one of our volunteers, as was making (and eating) jam from the fruit that we found. We also loved learning to cook the rainbow of vegetables that Green Farm provided on our individual camp stoves, and in the autumn we carved pumpkins - a first for everyone on the trip. On our October trip we all decided pumpkins are WAY easier to carve than turnips!
It will be great to see how this added dimension will help shape future Family Camping trips to Green Farm. Helping children to learn about the land helps them to develop a greater connection with nature, and means they will be more likely to want to protect the planet when they grow up. We hope a better connection to food will also support healthier eating habits too.
In October the weather was much less forgiving, and in the evenings in particular it became distinctly chilly, as the sun sank beneath slabs of grey cloud. Physically distanced, sitting in our bubbles on either side of the fire, we enjoyed the company, if not the close proximity of our fellow travellers.
On the first afternoon the children led us on a frog hunt into the deep ancient woodlands. We found no frogs, and neither the whisper of a newt, which wasn't altogether surprising, given it was not the season for frogs and newts (or maybe they had all been scooped up by the north wind, to rain from the skies in Dover). However the lack of amphibians was more than made up for by the superabundance of fungi, including some really magical finds...
We learnt about the fungal mycelial cultures that exist under our boots – each single organism made up of a million interconnected threads, stretching for hundreds of metres.
Whatever the success of our springtime Zoom digital campfire, it was immediately apparent as soon as we sat around the real thing how the virtual was a thin substitute for being in the presence of friends, families and colleagues and the deep stillness of green spaces.
When the dark can takes the form of our worst fears, we can raise each other’s spirits. But if the last year had shown us anything, it has been our interdependency, our capacity to help and heal.
So over this third, and what might well be the toughest lockdown, we will be tapping into these sources of resilience. At Outdoor People, we're keeping an imaginary campfire burning, keeping a mindful eye on the flames, remembering that protective sphere of warmth and light. The wolves and the bears may still be out there, but we can draw together, knowing there is always some hope to share.
************************************
Big thanks go out to our sponsors (Marmot, Vango and Pearce Coggan), grant givers (Arc'teryx Piccadilly, Hackney Giving and It's Great Out There) and all the customers of Outdoor People, without whom we couldn't fund our Development manager Beth to run our Wild Walks Programme, connect with our community or go on Outdoor Family Camping Trips.
Find out more about how we work with Pearce Coggan here. Donate to support Outdoor Family Camping here. If you would like to volunteer or help in any other way please do get in touch.
Photo Credits: Liz Seabrook and Outdoor People]]>
So lockdown may soon be easing, and you might be dreaming, as we have, of going a bit further than a few miles from your front door... perhaps you are thinking about finding a cosy little campsite tucked in the hills, maybe finding a magical hidden spot no-one else has found.
At Outdoor People we love wild camping and hammocking, we love to encourage people to go a bit further and seek out the wilder spots. So it was deeply depressing to read about some rogue wild campers in Dartmoor who have been dumping litter, tents (and worse).
We were chatting to our Marmot rep Hazel - lovely person, just adopted a cat - and reminiscing about how when we were at school we all learnt about the Countryside Code. Do they still teach that? To be honest, we don't know.
When the National Parks Commission first came up with the Countryside Code they hoped it would mean: ‘…as knowledge spreads, there should be much less of the damage often done by sheer thoughtlessness in well-intentioned people.’
It isn’t very long, it’s not complicated, it isn’t hard to follow and it applies to nearby urban green spaces as well as to mountains and moors.
Could you share? Or could we, as a community, do something better?
Maybe you could come up with a better designed version that might go viral and help people think twice before they leave a bag of dog poo at the trig point on top of a mountain (we counted over 30 bags at the top of Moel Famau last summer... and far more than that by a fence post in Epping Forest).
Maybe something along the lines of the poster designed by our Netil Market neighbours Brother to challenge unthinking picknickers who were leaving piles of rubbish in London Fields.
The dumped tents, open fires in woodlands, mounds of plastic... if you have ideas about how we can make sure visitors to green spaces, whether urban oases like London Fields or the top of Dartmoor, #LeaveNoTrace, then do share it with the #OutdoorPeople community! Let's help everyone to take nothing but memories, leave nothing but footprints...
The Scandinavian Outdoor Award is a competition exclusively for Scandinavian brands, with an international jury of experts from across the outdoors fields from skiers and alpinists to sustainable material scientists and retailers - including our very own Cath Prisk.
__________________________________________
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/scandinavianoutdoors
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC7P7IgewyAUXHGa9KRmK4-A
All the products can be seen on the Scandinavian Outdoor Awards website. Hopefully next year we can be back at ISPO in Munich to celebrate great design and innovation in person! in the meantime i'll have to source my own Scandi snack and cold beer and enjoy online.
We are super proud that Cath Prisk, our CEO, was asked this year to represent independent retail, and review the nominated products with an eye to what would sell to the savvy customers of our East London based shop, Outdoor People. Here's what she thought...
With Lockdown 3.0 in full swing in the UK, it was a total joy to be thinking about the new products coming out of Scandinavia, inspiring more of us to go outdoors. I've been part of three ISPO Awards juries before, but this was my first Scandinavian Outdoors Group (SOG) panel, and being online definitely made it a bit more of a challenge (but it did at least feel very environmentally-friendly).
The gear was posted to us, giving us a week or so to test it before sending on to the next judge. The panel meetings, chaired by Gijs Loning, a veteran reviewer of outdoors gear, were held online and were a great chance to debate the standards of the gear, compare uses from places with the deep snow of Scandinavia to here in soggy England. My fellow panelists came from all across Europe - Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Germany, Poland and the Netherlands - and in these interesting times it was clear the outdoors is even more important to our friends, families and neighbours than ever before.
All the products, whichever award they were entered for, were being tested against the same some high standards including:
In addition I was particularly looking at whether I think it would sell to the savvy and demanding customers of our shop in Netil Market, Hackney, East London.
On to the judging...
You can see the full range on the Scandinavian Outdoor Gear Award website.
Outdoor People Shop, Christmas 2020
"The Viking Axe is a versatile and good-looking hobby axe that easily fits in a backpack" is what they said and they were right.
I loved this axe, the traditional shape and the felted cover. It is light enough to take in my backpack, which immediately makes it more useful than my beautiful but much heavier - and more expensive - hand axe.
The haft is made from ash, not (yet) certified as sustainably grown but hopefully will be soon. The head is hardwearing and durable forged steel. It's not handcrafted (at this price that's not expected, but its a lovely bit of kit). Perfect for backyard firepits, a bit of bushcraft and wild camping once the lockdown lifts.
The backstory is fascinating too... a replica of a Viking axe that was found near Øyo's production facilities at Geilo, Norway. It is assumed that the original axe was used in everyday household activities around year 1000AD. Here they kept the original form and characteristics and improved the quality of the steel and the edge of the blade.
This practical, stylish coat kept out a six-hour steady rainfall and was given the Hackney seal of approval by the young people that came in my shop just before Christmas. I really liked it, in terms of fit, functionality, durability and practicality. It's pricey, but the price is what a coat of this quality costs.
This will make make a good school/home/hiking jacket, with the multiple uses needed at this price point. It will certainly last through several children! Given schools will be expecting to take children outdoors in all weathers I think this is a superb coat that will give children many, many hours of outdoor play - and then be passed on or sold second hand to give more hours of play to more children.
The ilmavilla dress is a lovely reversable longer jersey dress, a midlayer that will get endless wear. The lack of buttons/zips/rough points will appeal to lots of active children, especially those who find fastenings frustrating.
We love this whole concept. It's the most Zen, circular, pared-back-living proposition I've seen in clothing, certainly in the outdoors industry. It's a vision of the future with it's feet firmly in traditional manufacturing technology. It cocks a snook at the futurists thinking in silver foil and 'smart' clothes, recognising that in reality we want to tread lightly and disconnect.
The base shape and construction of the anorak is taken from a 1950’s Bergans anorak, updated with modern design lines. The fit is unisex and oversized. The folding neck fan opening, and the olive wood clasps are inspired by the Bergan's Collection of Tomorrow 05.A Backpack, which won the sustainability award in 2020.
But truly, stylish as it is, it's not the jacket that is the star here - it's the material, a brand new concept called spinnova. The fibre is classified as natural paper fibre (not man-made). Spinnova technology is mechanical and uses no harsh chemicals (as opposed to viscose/Lyocell/Tencel). The only by-product of the fibre process is evaporated water (which is collected and re-used). The fabric is treated with a traditional wax from Halley Stevensons and can be re-waxed by the consumer as needed. The wax does not break the circularity of the product. The Anorak will be made as one dyed colourway and one completely undyed colourway.
It is lovely to feel, and would wear-in beautifully as cotton waxed smocks do. The fact they have looked at every detail for sustainability makes it really stand out - no greenwashing going on here... and it arrived in sustainable packaging in a spiral card box that unwrapped to display the jacket in all its glory. Nice touch.
I really wanted to love this. I love water bottles, i particularly love ones that keep water cold or hold a hot cup of tea. Anyone that follows our social media will know how much i love a cup of tea on the move...
There will be some that think this hits the sweet spot, but unfortunately not me. The quality just wasn't quite there - a few sharp edges, the metal lid was a bit clunky and most importantly, 4 hours after filling it the tea was, well, not hot. Sigh. It would be a good waterbottle, but then it might want a slightly different lid.
It's nice, it fits the Känken rucksack perfectly; it's just not brilliant. And in an award of this calibre, i wanted brilliant.
Nice colours though!
The Kånken is an absolute favourite of the East London school kids, students and young creatives sitting around London Fields. The basic design design of this pack is not much different, with a couple of tweaks including slim fit side pockets and replacing the front pouch with a zipped pocket.
The pockets fit the Primus bottle perfectly but won't stretch to most mainstream bottles. Perfect for the axe or a slim brolly though! They have added a sit pad in the back that will no doubt be mostly used to protect laptops and tablets.
To introduce a new, durable, bio-based material to such an iconic pack is to be applauded. We asked them why they hadn't extended the sustainability story to the straps, threads and fastenings and were told that this is the first product in the line, with the implication being that they will address the rest of the pack in future iterations. One to watch.
******************************
And that's it. I got involved in discussions about all the rest of the products, but these are the ones i got my hands on. I was super impressed by the process set out by the Scandinavian Outdoor Group and facilitated by Gijs. It felt robust and in depth, recognising the effort the competitors had gone to to submit their applications and get products to us in time.
We had a lively debate yesterday to finalise the award winners, always a fun process with so much good stuff to choose from and so many different perspectives. I'm glad to say in the end we were unanimous in our decisions. I hope you enjoy the award ceremony - hopefully next year we can be back at the wonderful ISPO in Munich to enjoy it in person!
Photo credit for title image: Piotr Drożdż, Gory Magazin, Poland from the Jury 2020
]]>Outdoor Classroom Day may look a bit different during the pandemic, but one thing remains the same – huge numbers of teachers and parents around the world want to support children’s health and wellbeing by making the most of time outdoors.
As children return to school and to just being allowed to play out near their homes, the Outdoor Classroom Day community is here to support everyone to get outside to play, learn and explore.
Whether you’re teaching in school, delivering lessons remotely or homeschooling – here are five ways to celebrate Outdoor Classroom Day.
1. Take at least one class outdoors on the day. If you’re an outdoor learning pro, use the day to celebrate what you’re doing already. If you’re new to getting outdoors, use our lesson ideas to get started.
2. Play around with playtime. Outdoor play is critical to children’s health and wellbeing. Try out some of these top tips from OPAL on Outdoor Classroom Day and witness the impact better playtimes can have for everyone.
3. Set children an outdoor task to do at home. If any of your students are learning from home on the day, share outdoor learning and play ideas with parents. From mud play to dressing up in nature, there are lots of easy ideas in our resources section.
4. Use the journey to and from school to explore nature. From collecting natural items to playing a game of outdoor bingo, there are lots of ideas on our outdoor journeys Pinterest board.
5. Get a friend involved! Share this post with a friend or colleague to help grow the movement and make sure more children experience the benefits of spending time outdoors.
Do you believe that children need time outdoors every day, at home and at school? Join the Outdoor Classroom Day community today! Together, we will make sure children experience the benefits of the outdoors as we move through the coronavirus pandemic.
This is re-blogged from the Outdoor Classroom Day website with their permission.
]]>We choose the best so you know you'll be super cosy, check out our range here.
You may be looking ahead to next year's big adventure, or maybe you've got plans for a bit of a wild staycation over the summer, as long as you have access to an outside space and a couple of trees, you can still enjoy a little relaxing, even in a post-lockdown age.
You don’t need to be an expert to hang a hammock, your set up can be as simple as you want. You generally need between 10 and 15 feet (that’s 3 – 5 metres) between your attachment points, sling up the ropes, hook on the hammock and you are set for the afternoon.
Ticket to the Moon have a pretty good video explaining how to use their straps (which we happen to think are some of the easiest to use).
One of regular young customers has slept out in her Ticket to the Moon Hammock in her back garden every night since lockdown began! Now thats how to make the most of home schooling...
If you’re just looking for a hammock to sling in the garden or park for sunny lounging we recommend the Ticket to the Moon range.
Made from bright-coloured breathable nylon 'parachute silk', they’re super soft and the double is big enough to get 2 or 3 people in. The company also donates a portion of their profits to education and water projects in Indonesia where they are made. Ethical and comfy. Nice.
Grand Trunk’s One Made is a huge double size hammock that packs down to the size of a Nalgene water bottle. It's tough enough to take whatever the path has in store, whether wild camping or beach lounging. I once put five - yes FIVE - nieces in ours for an afternoon nap in the back yard. after an initial scuffle they all slept for over an hour. Bliss.
For serious woodland camping you want an integrated mosquito net, so look no further than the tried and tested DD Frontline Hammock, a classic beloved by the bushcraft community and wild campers alike.
Our tiniest hammock is the DD lightweight range. The Superlight weighs in at just 270g, and packs down smaller than a tiny can of beer.
If you’re in the mood for an overnighter, add a ridge-line to hang a lightweight mosquito net from DD to keep out the bugs at night, then hang a Petzl Noctilight from it, so you can pretend you’re reading your book when you're looking at the stars.
Just make sure you have the ropes you need and add a tarp if hanging overnight. Also a cosy blanket or sleeping bag makes it super comfy and prevents chills on your back, add a pillow for neck support and possibly a Hammock Beer Holder and you may never want to leave!!
]]>A year ago this week we were celebrating the launch of the London as the world's first National Park City.
In the intervening months, as people have learned to cope with life in a lockdown, it's become abundantly clear that our parks and green spaces are not just a 'nice to have' - when you live in a city they're essential for your health and mental wellbeing.
We are restarting our Family Wild Walks next week, 'adventures for children to take their parents on', to explore the hidden (and not so hidden!) green spaces of Hackney and beyond, inspiring every day outdoor adventures.
As we are testing out our post-lockdown processes we'll just be inviting our regular families for the first one. We are hoping to open up the walks and to get all of them on the great walking app Go Jauntly from the end of August. We'd love to hold more walks for more families as we emerge from Lockdown and learn to navigate this new normal. We are seeking sponsorship, but in the meantime If you can donate even £5 that could help us take a family in need out on a potentially life transforming walk...
Have you thought about the community run green spaces at risk?
Unfortunately, without public support, some smaller nature reserves and green spaces may be forced to close their doors.
As part of our Family Wild Walks project, we've run a few guided walks taking in Dalston Curve Garden. They've struggled with the loss of income since closing their doors in March, and have put out a public appeal to raise the £100,000 they need to keep going. Happily, another of our favourite destinations, Woodberry Wetlands have raised enough money in the last weeks to stay open until 2021. These little oases of green are valuable community resources, we need to do everything we can to keep them open.
As we emerge from the lockdown, we shouldn't forget what we've learned - that fresh air and freedom to get outside is a precious resource . It's why the newly-trained National Park City Rangers are asking people to make a Lockdown Legacy Pledge - a promise to stick with one positive change you've made over the past months. It may be that you've started cycling to work every day, it may be that you're now getting outside every day with your family.
You may also like to take part in the celebratory 100 Voices project, a free online event bringing together a century of stories from people who have helped make greener, healthier and wilder over the past 12 months..
This week also marked one year of the Backyard Nature project, which encourages children to take ownership of a local patch of land and nurture it for nature. There's already over 10,000 Backyard Nature Guardians across the UK and there are loads of free resources and fun missions online. We were very proud to act as consultants on the development on this project - testing some of the materials with families from Hackney and Liverpool.
Find out more about our role as co-ordinators of the London National Park City Schools network, and our research and consultancy work, on our Community pages.
Did you know that 25% of London's children get to a green space less than once a month?
And that was before lockdown.
In London over one fifth of households have no private gardens, and for the last month many parks have been overflowing with people.
Children's fundamental biological need to play outdoors with friends has, clearly, been one of the most overlooked of this last three months.
This has dramatically affected every single family, but most especially those living in inner city Hackney and surrounding boroughs.
As restrictions lift we are champing at the bit to re-start our Outdoor Families Programmes, leading Family Wild Walks, offering Outdoor Family Camping and hosting events to help make getting outdoors easier.
But.
When lockdown happened we were in the middle of pitching for funding. It all stopped, obviously.
Then we had to put all our efforts into putting the shop online properly (THANK YOU to all of you that shopped and shared!) and giving the support we could to families through Zoom and Facebook... But it was nowhere near enough.
Now we want to restart our Outdoor Families Programmes again but we need YOUR help.
First: Funders require recent data - so please can you take 5 to 10 minutes to complete this survey?
Link HERE
Second: if you can donate, help us fundraise or know anyone that can, our LocalGiving page is: https://localgiving.org/charity/outdoorpeople/
The wonderful peeps at Marmot have just given us lots of tents ad raincoats, Stance Europe have donated lots of socks, Vango have been super generous with kit too, and our friends at Green Farm can't wait to see children back camping in Fairyland.
But to make this happen we need cash.
We've already raised £1600 of our £6k target, but to go camping socially distanced we need far more portable toilets and a second minibus, and we need people to make it happen.
Any help is very gratefully received – and everyone that supports us, whether its by taking the survey, donating or simply sharing our campaigning tweets, posts and ‘grams, will have the extra joy of knowing they are helping kids play outside in nature this summer.
If you’d rather not fill in the survey and instead just want to email me with the story of your lockdown and how much going camping would mean to you, that would also be amazing!
Have a wonderful summer outdoors,
Very best wishes
Cath, Tom and Beth
Outdoor People
As head teachers in the UK wrestle with the whether, when and how of reopening their schools, they are having to drastically rethink the school day and the learning environment. In this article, written by Cath Prisk for the London National Park City Schools Network, we consider how getting outdoors could offer some potential solutions.
]]>As London’s Primary Heads wrestle with the whether, when and how of reopening their schools, they may need to drastically rethink the school day and the learning environment.
The current, and urgent, debate around school opening leads me to propose two key questions for London schools:
What would be needed to make this happen? Could such an approach lead to happier, healthier, more resilient children who are ready to learn and more inspired to look after the planet? (Hint, that’s what the research suggests…)
These questions are already part of the policy debate.
The DfE Planning Guide for Primary Schools[1] and the supplementary guidance ‘Implementing protective measures in education and childcare settings’[2] both invite schools to consider how they can use outside space for exercise, breaks and outdoor education where possible, as this can limit transmission and more easily allow for distance between children and staff.
There has been such a flurry of guidance and commentary these short statements seem to have been largely overlooked, but the official endorsement is there:
Taking classes outdoors is not only possible, it is recommended by the DfE.
So, on to the necessary considerations…
Do London Schools have the space?Most London schools have playgrounds, and many have school gardens or playing fields nearby, which they can use. Some do not, but they may have regular access to nearby parks and streets. Unlike in other countries (India and the USA mostly[3]) it is a very rare school that has no playtime or access to outdoors[4].
If space is limited, with local authority support, schools could look to close the streets around them[5], to create extra square metres for play, and make parents’ drop off and pick up (on foot of course!) easier and safer. As the GLA is already rethinking urban space to prioritise pedestrians and cyclists, Heads may find it much easier to facilitate this now, compared to pre-lockdown.
As we enter late June and July schools may need to rig up sun shelters, and schools will definitely need to invest in sets of clothes for children and staff, to protect them from summer sun or English rain. Nonetheless, taking all lessons outdoors is physically possible.
Planning to move teaching outdoors and to extend playtimes involves the same sort of careful transition as say, introducing team teaching (or indeed remote learning). It may be a bit of a learning curve – and require sun lotion or extra warm hats – but it can also be one of the most rewarding changes teachers can make.
The Outdoor Classroom Day campaign has guidance written by experts in outdoor learning[6] and in creating playful environments[7] that can help start schools’ journeys, as well as providing connections to thousands of other schools on the same path. This guidance is available in multiple languages too – useful in multi-lingual London! The campaign was founded here in London and you can find all the other London schools involved just by looking at the map.
A number of organisations, such as Learning through Landscapes, EcoSchools and The Garden Classroom, offer training packages giving teachers the basic skills they need. Support is also available from Groundwork, Council for Learning Outside the Classroom (CLOtC), Trees for Cities, the Scrapstores, OPAL CiC and others – all of whom can help in planning to make the best use of the outdoors in line with current guidance.
Over the last few years, many London schools have developed remarkable forest schools, garden learning, chicken coops, bee-hives and Eco-groups. In addition, London already has several award-winning all-outdoor nurseries such as Free Range Urban Kids in Hackney. In September last year the first all outdoor primary school was opened – Liberty Woodland School in Wimbledon.
Those starting out on this journey will find help is just a tweet away.
As we weigh up the risk and benefit of re-opening schools, it is vital we balance the risk of potential transmission against the benefit of socialisation and a return to learning and community.
Every teacher knows children spread illness. However, the evidence is emerging to suggest children may be less at risk of catching coronavirus and less likely spread it.[8] With outdoor learning as a default, the risk of transmission could be reduced, as children and teachers can more easily social distance outside. David Sobel (2004), in one seminal study noted how students in an ‘Outdoors in All Weather’ programme reported suffering 80% fewer infectious diseases (colds, sore throats etc.) than children in conventional programmes[9]. This is echoed in almost every evaluation of outdoor learning undertaken – and comes through loudly on Outdoor Classroom Day every year.
Juliet Robertson, author of Messy Maths and Dirty Teaching says one immediate benefit of opening schools would be to counter the effect lockdown is having on children’s mental health: ‘Being outside, especially in greenspace is known to reduce stress levels in children and adults. Cortisol levels drop. Furthermore, as studies indicate, transmission rates of COVID-19 are significantly lower outside, so if children are unable to keep their social distance, it may not be of such significance as indoors.’
Lizzy Hassay, Co-Founder of Free Range Urban Kids, says: 'you can do the curriculum easier in an outdoor environment than in an indoor setting. Once you have realised that you have overcome the largest challenge.'
The biggest difference for children right now could simply be being able to play with other children and to re-connect to the world around them.
While everyone is focusing on the lessons children are missing, it’s their socialisation and mental health needs that are of greatest concern to children’s health professionals across the country. In a recent news article Sam Cartwright-Hatton, Professor of Clinical Child Psychology at the University of Sussex, said: ‘All the research indicates that children’s emotional health is suffering in the lockdown and it seems likely that this suffering will, in many cases, continue into the long term.’[10]
Families I work with through Outdoor People have told us their normally cheerful children are crying for no reason; and that younger children are regressing a little, demanding to sleep in the same bed as their parents. Online playdates are fun up to a point, but even parents and older siblings have had enough of Zoom. As stress levels increase, homeschooling has got harder.
Dr Jenny Gibson, Senior Lecturer in Psychology and Education at the University of Cambridge recently said: ‘It’s easy to dismiss play as unimportant, but for children, playing with friends and classmates has a very significant impact on their social development.
‘Critically, it is an important way of working through emotions ... for that reason it’s important that whatever steps are taken to ease social distancing restrictions, children are given time and space to play with friends.’[11]
Children may well be playing differently in the next few weeks and months, as they have had to cope with new experiences, possibly traumatic ones. It is essential that they have the time, space and opportunity to work through these experiences.
As the play theorist Brian Sutton Smith said, play makes the world less boring and less scary[12]. The International Play Association Play in Crisis resources for parents [13] summarise this:
Can we capitalise on the learning that happened in lockdown?
Over the last few weeks it seems everyone in London has suddenly realised the importance of the natural world in their lives, in a way that may have been unthinkable only a few months ago.
One of the children that started coming on Outdoor People’s Wild Walks five years ago, has spent the last eight weeks becoming an expert on newts, and now the lockdown has been eased he and his mum are exploring parks and rivers across London finding more of them. It’s an experience that may shape his life forever.
To build up a deep connection to nature, so that you care about it and want to protect it, requires just two things: regular everyday access to an outdoor space nearby that you can visit and spend time in, and a knowledgeable supportive mentor to help you develop your regard for nature[14].
For some children this last eight weeks will have furnished that. For others, perhaps it could be the next eight weeks?
What if we changed the way children learn for good?
Over the next few weeks, school leaders and educators will need to reflect, respond and adapt. One thing is certain, however: the shape of the school day is guaranteed to look very different from January this year.
So… What If London schools made full use of their outdoor spaces as they re-open, whether in June or later in the year?
Lizzy Hassay, CoFounder of Free Range Urban Kids, an all outdoor nursery says: 'Outside space allows for social distancing to happen more naturally. The weather is on our side, so the children are able to play freely. We have no toys and use natural resources so it is easier to manage and control infection risks better outdoors.
'Children enjoy the simpler things, like playing with mud and water – they can make mud pies or jump in muddy puddles. There are so many things to explore in nature from encountering ladybirds, centipedes and worms, to building dens or just feeling the sun and the wind on your skin.
'Being in nature and outdoors is good for the soul, spirit and immune system.'
So… What If London schools really did make the outdoors their classroom year round?
Maybe today’s Year Sixes will at least be able to spot a newt and understand the lifecycle of an apple tree. Teachers and pupils would be calmer and happier. Children may be able to more quickly adapt and re-connect to their safe place of learning. And your school may have time to develop the skills to sustain outdoor learning and to create great play spaces that will be of benefit to your school community – and your teachers – for many years to come.
Thursday, 21 May, would have been Outdoor Classroom Day… we are inviting everyone – families, schools, anyone that thinks children should be outdoors - to dress up and celebrate #PlayfulNature and join our community.
Find out more here: https://outdoorclassroomday.org.uk/
Join the London National Park City Schools Network here: http://www.nationalparkcity.london/schools-network
Cath is an ex-teacher and a campaigner for children’s rights to be outdoors. Six years ago she set up this social enterprise, Outdoor People, supporting children and families to get outdoors every day, and has been the Global Partnerships Director, for Outdoor Classroom Day (hosted by Semble) for the last five years. Last year she convened the London National Park City Schools Network, which is bringing together all of us that care about connecting schools to all the amazing outdoor space London has to offer.
[1] https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/preparing-for-the-wider-opening-of-schools-from-1-june/planning-guide-for-primary-schools
[2] https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-implementing-protective-measures-in-education-and-childcare-settings/coronavirus-covid-19-implementing-protective-measures-in-education-and-childcare-settings#class-or-group-sizes
[3] https://outdoorclassroomday.org.uk/resource/muddy-hands-report/
[4] ibid
[5] http://schoolstreets.org.uk/where/
[6] https://outdoorclassroomday.org.uk/resource/getting-going-outdoor-learning/
[7] https://outdoorclassroomday.org.uk/resource/making-playtime-key-part-school-day/
[8] https://rethinkingchildhood.com/2020/05/14/covid-19-children-science-lockdown-schools-childcare-outdoor-play/
[9] https://outdoorclassroomday.org.uk/resource/muddy-hands-report/
[10] https://www.theguardian.com/education/2020/may/07/prioritise-play-when-schools-reopen-say-mental-health-experts-coronavirus-lockdown
[11] ibid
[12] https://www.thedeveloper.live/places/stop-the-traffic-and-make-uk-streets-into-public-spaces-during-lockdown?fbclid=IwAR365yK1R08utVd7ZFqBfex5g1mv9Dx4tN9uBqeAT4547BJjaoyGhOHisoA
[13] http://ipaworld.org/resources/for-parents-and-carers-play-in-crisis/
]]>It’s quite a cursory phrase, considering the maze of complexity, compromise, make-do and mend we are now entering. When children go back to school, what will the school day look like? If it's truncated, how will that affect people's working day? Will children only be allowed to play out on their own, with their siblings, or will they be able to meet with a small circle of friends? It seems hopeful we'll soon be able to go for a long country walk, but will we be able to take a holiday this summer, if not abroad, then within the UK?
Five years ago, Cath, our Director, took part in the Natural Childhood alongside the National Trust, the NHS and the RSPB to make sure every child has the opportunity to be a bit wild, to go outside regularly to play, in their street, at school, in the local park or further afield. There was a consensus about what childhood ought to be like, built from responses to the National Trust's Natural Childhood report:
Almost every aspect of this vision will be profoundly different post-lockdown. The most familiar aspects of family life – play, friendship, learning – will alter, perhaps irrevocably.
If lockdown has shown us anything, it’s that time in outdoor green spaces can be a lifeline, especially in relation to our mental health, and particularly in cities.
We need space to walk, breathe, play and destress.
The 'ticking time bomb' of health that existed prior to the coronavirus outbreak did not suddenly stop ticking. If anything, Covid-19 has made a more urgent case for tackling the underlying factors contributing to our nations' poor physical and mental health.
Obesity and conditions such as Type II diabetes seem to be linked to higher death rates during the outbreak. Researchers are also taking seriously the correlation between higher death rates and air pollution, given that respiratory conditions are more prevalent urban areas. In countries that haven’t allowed children out to play during lockdown, the discussion is now about dealing with the potential trauma that may have engendered. Researchers within the UK are also assessing how the lockdown has affected children's mental health (we've included a link to a survey at the end of this blog, please help with this if you can).
The health issues caused by our reliance on cars have not disappeared. Similarly the benefits of car-free solutions remain, tangibly within reach - and there may be no better time to shift behaviours to make a more positive post-lockdown world.
This week, Grant Shapps, the Transport Secretary hinted that active travel, walking and cycling, may be key to government thinking about how we can get Britain moving again (without offering any detail as how this might happen).
Unfortunately, the pressure to jumpstart the economy could instantly lead to more traffic on the roads. A report in the Sunday Times estimates that capacity on trains could be reduced by as much as 85% if social distancing guidelines are observed, and many commuters may see their car as the only option to get to work. Home working for some could lead to a reduction in rush-hour traffic, but local authorities and national government need to follow through on promised investment in order for more people to cycle or walk as a first option.
Squeezing car-use in cities may be the only option if social distancing guidelines remain. In many places, there simply isn't enough space to maintain the requisite 2m from fellow pedestrians. It seems that city leaders are alive to the fact - as a recent online summit highlighted. In New York, up to 100 miles of streets are being earmarked for 'socially responsible recreation'. In California, 75 miles of streets are being made pedestrian-only. In London, boroughs are looking at ways to ease pedestrian congestion – for example introducing measures to widen pavements at 'social congestion' hotspots.
One of the most urgent questions is how we can bring back some sense of ‘normality’ to children’s play. Although children are remarkably resilient, we don’t yet know the effect of months without face-to-face contact with friendship groups, rough and tumble, and unregulated time outdoors.
It seems certain that over next couple of months at least some children will return to school. Most proposals involve some element of social distancing, or potentially splitting the school day so that some pupils attend in the morning and some in the afternoon. How the latter will have an impact on parents' working day remains to be seen. But one thing that homeschooling will have shown parents (if they didn't already know) is that play and socialisation is critical for children - and it can be traumatising when children are unable to get outside with their friends.
If people continue to flock to parks and local green spaces on sunny days, making effective social distancing nigh on impossible, some parents may see screen time as a less risky option for children's play. So making spaces where children can play outside safely should be a priority.
One thing we can be sure about the ‘new normal’ is that extreme pressure will be put on local government budgets. Funding which was previously earmarked for greening and humanising the urban environment will be in the frame, as local authorities try to plug funding gaps for core services.
But is this the point where we should be re-imagining what we count as a 'core service'? The lack of access to green space caused problems in the very first weeks of lockdown, when some Councils were obliged to close public parks due to overcrowding. Thankfully the decisions were later revoked – although there are still clearly tensions around enforcing compliance to social distancing guidelines.
In this light, access to green space, particularly within cities, could, perhaps should, be considered on a par with public amenities such as water, power and transport, making funding more of a priority.
If financial support is not forthcoming, it may still be possible to catalyse change through grassroots action, something which happened through the London National Park City campaign. Plenty of changes can happen without huge buckets of cash, but it will require bold and imaginative thinking by policy makers.
Organisations such as Living Streets have been campaigning for years to allow residents to convert parking bays to create micro public gardens. Hackney campaigner Brenda Puech persuaded the Council to modify local planning guidance to allow for 15 parklets to appear across the borough: ‘We make walking, cycling and playing outdoors difficult and unattractive… Public spaces in cities and kerbsides should be people, not just for storage of private, stationary metal boxes.’
The lockdown has massively disrupted our way of life. Any complacency we may have felt around our health and wellbeing, job security, and the rhythms and systems of the working and learning day, has been shaken. It has also been a sharp reminder (to anyone who needed reminding) of the deep-rooted inequity within our society.
Over the coming months, we will be walking into a new world. But as we recover and assess the fallout, there is an opportunity here to shape things for the better.
Can you and your children complete this survey?
Dr. Helen Dodd of the University of Reading is working on two studies that are tracking children’s mental health during lockdown. The aim is to work out what children/families are struggling with the most and what help they might need.
One of the studies is for 2-4 year olds, the other is school age up to GCSE. Both focused on UK children. The school-age study already has several thousand families taking part and we’re aiming for 10,000+. The preschool study has only been launched this week and already has 250+ families enrolled.
Please can you help Helen and the team by sharing online and if appropriate, filling in the surveys?
2-4 year old children:
www.cospyce.org/survey
School-age children (up to 16):
www.cospaceoxford.com/survey
Can you help? Can you and your children complete this survey? This research on children's mental health during Covid will be super, super important!
Dr. Helen Dodd of the University of Reading is working on two studies that are tracking children’s mental health during lockdown. The aim is to work out what children/families are struggling with the most and what help they might need.
One of the studies is for 2-4 year olds, the other is school age up to GCSE. Both focused on UK children. The school-age study already has several thousand families taking part and we’re aiming for 10,000+. The preschool study has only been launched this week and already has 250+ families enrolled.
Please can you help Helen and the team by sharing online and if appropriate, filling in the surveys?
2-4 year old children:
www.cospyce.org/survey
School-age children (up to 16):
www.cospaceoxford.com/survey
[re-blogged from Learning Through Landscapes]
]]>With the rules changing again we've updated the guidance below - but keep scrolling for what you definitely CAN do right now!
Now, today the rules are...
Stay Local. Remember a magnifying glass can help, and a local ordnance survey map or google maps. Even with a year of stayng local, can you find somewhere you've never been?
You can spend time in an outdoor public place for exercise or recreation:
There is nothing stopping you talking to a friend or family member as you walk - though headphones help even if they make you look like you are takling to yourself.
As spring goes into overdrive spot the tiny changes happening every day.
We recommend listening to this podcast: https://melissaharrison.co.uk/podcast/
From March 8th
You will be able to sit and enjoy the outdoors, including having a picnic on your own, with one other person, or with your household or support bubble.
Children go back to school and wraparaound care restarts.
Our Family Wild Walks will then be advertised...
From 29th March
We recommend this concert of highlights from Sam Lee's Singing with Nightingales,
From 12th April fingers crossed
We recommend listening to Sam Lee's compilation of the highlights of Singing With Nightingales. That series of online concerts really kept us connected last year. The nightingales should be starting to sing wherever there is coppiced blackthorn.
From 17th May more fingers crossed
The majority of parks in London are still open, but leading politicians have reiterated advice about maintaining social distancing after a month of lockdown. The guidelines issued around Victoria Park give an indication of what is considered 'acceptable' when you're taking your once-daily exercise:
Community Support Officers and the Met will be in the area to police activity.
Elsewhere in London, the message remains the same: stay local, only go out once a day by yourself or with your family group and steer clear of 'honeypot' areas... you can read the guidance about going out here.
These reasons are exceptions – even when doing these activities, you should be minimising time spent outside of the home and ensuring you are 2 metres apart from anyone outside of your household.
So walking within a few blocks of your front door is the way to go.
A few London parks are now closed, as people weren't following the guidelines, and there are now restrictions on gathering together with more than two people in public (excluding people you live with).
The Mayor has also requested adults to 'Visit your park at different times (later/earlier) to allow parents, children and older people to use these spaces.'. This should leave parks and green spaces a bit quieter for families.
Those who are self-isolating (who are unwell, or have been in contact with someone who is unwell) should stay indoors, and go outside only if they have access to a private garden or balcony space. The same applies if you have been sent a letter because you are at high risk.
If you're unsure about what you should do, you can find the latest guidance on when you should self-isolate, and how long for here. The Scottish site NHSinform is also excellent, but note Scotland is a few days behind the UK and especially London.
The more people adhere to these guidelines, the less likely even stricter measures will be introduced, so it’s in all our interests to follow the advice as it is given.
Thankfully, the message is that a daily connection to nature – even if that is from your window or just outside your door – remains a crucial part of our collective wellbeing:
"keep your windows open to let in fresh air, get some natural sunlight if you can, or get outside into the garden."
So how do I get quality outside time?
These new measures mean the tough job of keeping children healthy and happy, learning, playing, has just got harder. We’re adding new suggestions to our blogs to keep yourself calm, active and connected to nature every day, as well as some ideas for homeschooling. Hopefully, they contain some useful ideas and strategies to keep you, your family and friends safe and sane over the coming weeks. However, with over 20% of the world’s population in lockdown and over 80% of children not at school, you know you are not alone.
Even when you are stuck inside, battling boredom and a low mood, the tiniest connection with nature (just tending a pot plant) can help with your mental wellbeing. And, for children, playing becomes even more important.
Nature can bring balance and calm. It can be a resource for renewal and respite.
Please ask everyone you know to pay heed to the social distancing message. Social distancing will help limit the spread of the virus, and will mean the most vulnerable among us are not put at risk. It will take some adjusting to this new reality, but the reality is that following these guidelines will save lives and protect the NHS.
Take a break from the media. Keeping up-to-date on developments is important, as the situation is changing daily, but overloading yourself with news and rumours will only increase your anxiety. Turn off your phone and look at ways to connect with nature.
Go for a walk; take your shoes off; stand on some grass; breathe deeply; gaze at a tree for a minute or two and lift your face to the sun.
A hop/walk/skip around the block can give you the calming moments you need, and a chance to notice nature either alone or with your children. Perhaps there's a tree just coming into leaf; a verge that's home to flowers, some native, some which may have escaped from a nearby garden. Explore the streets near to your home, and the pocket parks - you should still be able to take a walk and respect the social distancing rules. Ordnance Survey's Greenspace Map is FREE and we can almost guarantee you can use it to find a green space within 20 minutes of your house that you didn't know was there. A bit of space, a good run around, explore and play is always a good thing, and even more important just now.
Take a look at this blog from BBC News: What to do if you go for a walk and it's crowded?
If you're going outside every day (and we'd suggest it's essential that you do), you'll need some inspiration. You'll probably be familiar with Google Maps and Google Earth (fun learning resources in their own right), but also check out the GoJauntly app, which has hundreds of suggestions for walks, or Plot A Route, which allows you to invent your own.
If you're going to commit part of your day to help with your children's learning, make sure you make time for play – and make sure children know which part of their day is 'their time'. Children need time to process and assimilate learning, have fun, and let off steam.
For children, play can be a way of processing stress and working things through, in a way that is non-threatening (hence the emergence of the 'coronavirus' game in playgrounds, a somewhat darker version of kiss-chase).
You'll want them to keep up with their learning, but when they're playing, they don't need (or necessarily want) an adult to play with. Playing games together is great, but most of the time hanging back is the best thing to do.
The great thing about outdoor play is, all the play resources you need are right there, and they're all free. Logs to leap from; sticks to turn into wands or horses; bugs to watch and birds to spot.
Learning Through Landscapes has created two groups on Facebook, and are starting weekly newsletters with sections aimed at those with children at home or educators setting activities and work for children. Resources, advice, inspiration, support: free to join, just go to ltl.org.uk for more information.
We've moved all the information we've found around homeschooling to our blog post Homeschooling tips to make the indoors easy. There's more and more every day, so we'll update it regularly if you need further inspiration.
Thinking about silver linings
We're enjoying such a beautiful spring, warm sunshine, blue skies. The birds are in song, the flowers are beginning to emerge.
What's more, community spirit seems very much alive... in a country that had seemed irrevocably divided only a year ago.
We know it may be weeks before things begin to return to normal, but in other countries the lockdown seems to be having an effect, which gives us hope that in the not too distant future, the situation here will similarly improve.
If you have any questions or feel there's a subject you'd like us to cover in future posts ... please leave a comment and we'll try and find you an answer. Also note, this blog is written from the perspective of a UK-based organisation, if you're visiting us from elsewhere, please follow the appropriate public health guidance within your own state or country.
We'll be updating this blog regularly. Lots of ideas to bring the outdoors indoors to come...
]]>But, you're getting through. And whatever you're doing... it's enough.
One way to stay grounded, keep your head above water and keep healthy is to #NoticeNature.
If you're feeling a little frazzled by not being able to get outside as much as you'd like, take five minutes to enjoy this short film of shaded forests, lapping waves and sunlit meadows (honestly, this works...)
Here's a few more tips for maintaining your balance...
Look after yourself
Make sure you take time to get outside once a day. You can go outside to exercise on your own, or with family members, for a walk or a bike ride, although you should limit the time you spend outdoors.
Find a sheltered spot to soak up a little sunshine or feel the breeze. Go for a walk; take your shoes off; stand on some grass; breathe deeply; gaze at a tree for a minute or two and lift your face to the sun. If you haven't already discovered meditation; you can meditate for just 5 minutes – Headspace is a good introduction for beginners.
Even if you're having to self-isolate, you can get into the garden, or open a window – some connection with nature will act as a restorative.
The guidance around social distancing should (we hope) be second nature by now. Yes, go outside once a day for a walk, but keep 2 metres between you/your family and others.
There is lots of volunteering to do – not least helping other families to know they can and should go outdoors. However, please ask everyone you know to pay heed to the social distancing message. Social distancing will help limit the spread of the virus, and will mean the most vulnerable among us are not put at risk. The reality is that following these guidelines will save lives and protect the NHS.
Enjoy deeper Nature Connection
A walk around the block can give you the calming moments you need, and a chance to notice nature either alone or with your children. Perhaps there's a tree just coming into leaf; a verge that's home to flowers, some native, some which may have escaped from a nearby garden.
Plan a Family Wild Walk to a quieter spot, at a quieter time. We’re updating our blog ‘Can I go outside’ regularly, giving the latest guidance on outside activities. The guidance around social distancing is simple. Yes, go outside once a day for a walk, but keep 2 metres between you/your family and others.
When you're on your walk, take a note of what you see. Maybe the hawthorn is showing in the hedgerows, or the cherry blossom is livening the parks and streets.
Take a note of what you can hear. Spend just a few quiet moments, and listen. One sliver of a silver lining... there's less traffic on the roads, and less pollution. So there's more space for bird song...
Start a Nature Journal
It's a good time to start a daily nature journal. Good for both children and adults... a place you can write, doodle, stick in leaves and flowers, record what you have seen and heard. Over time this will become quite a body of work and self-reflection. As a personal project, it could develop as a meditative practice, or it could be something that you'd like to share with friends. It doesn't have to be anything too elaborate, just a few notes on your day.
Take a break from the media...
Not easy, but this is recommended. Keeping up-to-date on developments is important, as the situation is changing daily, but overloading yourself with news and rumours will only increase your anxiety. Schedule a time to check-in on the headlines, but otherwise, give yourself a break, turn off your phone and look at ways to connect with nature.
Maybe choose a book to read. It won't distract you with notifications, dispiriting updates or the latest conspiracy theories. If you and your family can't get outside, let your favourite author take you on a journey. Visualise following in their footsteps.
Keep looking for the rainbows
Reflect on the positive changes that have come about over the last ten days. An incredible sense of community; visible in the rainbows posted in the windows, and the weekly round of applause for the NHS and front-line carers. Changes to our working patterns, which means some of the most unsustainable aspects of modern life have been disrupted. The city air is easier to breathe. There is a lot to draw upon if you want to retain your sense of optimism. A daily dose of nature may be the smallest change you can make, but if it's one that you maintain, it will serve you well.
Photo credit: Alex Jackman on Unsplash
]]>It can be a bit overwhelming, but through all of this, just remember: whatever you’re doing, it’s enough. While there are lots of learning links here to help you, just focus on keeping a balance between the time available for your children's learning, and other commitments you may have if you're working from home. Keep a good hold on what you can achieve, and what simply isn’t practical, and recognise most of all that calm adults make for calm kids.
This is where nature connection can really help you. If you can, get outdoors. If not, get at least a bit of fresh air: it's as important now as ever for your children, and just as importantly, for you. Don’t forget to follow the guidance on social distancing!!
A hop/walk/skip around the block can give you the calming moments you need, and a chance to notice nature either alone or with your children. Perhaps there's a tree just coming into leaf; a verge that's home to flowers, some native, some which may have escaped from a nearby garden.
Plan a Family Wild Walk to a quieter spot, at a quieter time. We’re updating our blog ‘Can I go outside’ regularly, giving the latest guidance on how you can get the prescribed once a day walk. The guidance around social distancing is now much clearer. Yes, go outside once a day for a walk, but keep 2 metres between you/your family and others.
Explore the streets near to your home, and the pocket parks - you should still be able to take a walk and respect the social distancing rules. Ordnance Survey's Greenspace Map is FREE and we can almost guarantee you can use it to find a green space within 20 minutes of your house that you didn't know was there. A bit of space, a good run around, explore and play is always a good thing, and even more important just now. Take a look at this blog from BBC News: What to do if you go for a walk and it's crowded?
If you're going outside every day (and we’d suggest it’s important you do), you'll need some inspiration. You'll probably be familiar with Google Maps and Google Earth (fun learning resources in their own right), but also check out the GoJauntly app, which has hundreds of suggestions for walks, or Plot A Route, which allows you to invent your own.
If you're going to commit part of your day to help with your children's learning, do your best to make it the same part, morning or afternoon, or ideally something which roughly equates to regular school hours (although this may be difficult if you're home working).
Within a structured day, make sure you make time for play – and make sure children know which part of their day is 'their time'. Children need time to process and assimilate learning, have fun, and let off steam. This helps them focus in the parts of the day when they need to learn.
Remember, they'll be missing out on some regular outside time that's part of their routine – for example, the walk to school. However challenging it is to manage, doing things as a family is important if children are unable to go on play dates due to social distancing.
Learning Through Landscapes has created two groups on Facebook, and are starting weekly newsletters with sections aimed at those with children at home or educators setting activities and work for children. Resources, advice, inspiration, support: free to join, just go to ltl.org.uk for more information.
Hopefully your schools will recommend a group to be part of, or you could set up your own with the parents of your child's classmates.
There are now many more online resources for core curricula adapted for home schooling. TES (Times Education Supplement) is now offering a lot of their curriculum-linked resources for free. Twinkl, on of the largest online learning providers, is also a good place to start. There are also a few tips and plenty of links you can pick up from homeschooling sites. We also came across lockdown_learning on Instagram which has some great visual ideas for KS1 learning.
Ed Tech impact (based in Chester, but with a worldwide scope) has rated nearly 150 websites and apps offering home schooling resources for parents. Quite a few are available to parents for free over the next weeks, and user reviews on each app gives you some indication of what may be most suitable.
From 20 April, the BBC will offer daily programmes to help families with schoolwork, for all ages.
Inside or outside, children need to play.
For children, play can be a way of processing stress and working things through, in a way that is non-threatening (hence the emergence of the 'coronavirus' game in playgrounds, a somewhat darker version of kiss-chase).
You'll want them to keep up with their learning, but when they're playing, they don't need (or necessarily want) an adult to play with. Playing games together is great, but most of the time hanging back is the best thing to do.
The great thing about outdoor play is, all the play resources you need are right there, and they're all free. Logs to leap from; sticks to turn into wands or horses; bugs to watch and birds to spot.
Have you ever studied a small patch of land really near your flat or house? I mean really studied it? Mission: Explore outside the Classroom is a set of ten missions gathered to do in school playgrounds of any size, and they work just as perfectly in a yard, on a street corner and often on a balcony or even in a hallway if you can provide a tray of natural objects... One of them is a classic Bioblitz: how many different species can you find in just five minutes?... even looking from an open window you should be able to do that! Do share your adventures!
It's a good time to start a daily nature journal. Good for both children and adults... a place you can write, doodle, stick in leaves and flowers, record what you have seen and heard. Over time this will become quite a body of work and self-reflection. As a personal project, it could develop as a meditative practice, or it could be something that you'd like to share with friends. For children learning at home, completing the nature journal also offers a useful transition from outside time to the learning part of the day. They'll have something to write about or reflect on straight away, and the journal will be a useful tool to bring the excitement of playing (and being outside), or experiential learning, into focus. And, again, it's a way of bringing structure and a calming rhythm to the day.
You can be a Nature Detective looking out a window, or even with your eyes closed. If you’re out in the open, ask the children to take note of the identifying characteristics of the birds they see in a field notebook (colour, size, what its beak looked like, and the colour of its legs). Use the RSPB’s Bird Identifier to find out what you may have spotted. Try it again with your eyes closed. See if you can match what you hear with common British bird songs. For plants you can use wildflowerfinder which filters plants by the colour and shape of the flower, size and number of petals, as well as stem and leaf shape. Trees for Cities have a template so you can play Nature Bingo (good for early years) and the Woodland Trust’s tree identification guide will help children to gain an understanding of common species. Or, buy one of the Mission Explore series, created by the Geography Collective, a fantastic series of nature challenges for kids. If you only have a patch of sky as your nature connection, you can still become an expert on cloud formations.
It’s a well-established fact that caring for something helps us feel happier and more connected. The most humble pot plant will fill this role if you only have a small flat and little access to green space. If you have a small patch outside that is just showing a few green shoots, then ask your child or children to adopt it – and establish a regular routine of watering and tending. Early spring is still a good time for planting wild flowers or herbs and veg – you can order them online (make sure you opt for UK native species). An ivy, or some flowering peonies are a good idea – something that is hardy, and that will grow quickly over the next few weeks. If children are at home, they can share photos with each other of progress, research the best ways to care for their plant/s, and use it to inspire creative work like a poem or story. Do make sure you plant plenty just in case a few don't make it!
Encourage your children to sign up as Backyard Nature Guardians. Help them find a small patch of unloved green space – and help make it a haven for plants and animals. This could be the space outside your front door. The Backyard Nature campaign has missions-a-plenty, free resources, inspiration and a whole lot more on their website.
The Eden Project has some great family-friendly resources on gardening, green living and play:
The hawthorn is showing in the hedgerows, and bowers of cherry blossom will soon adorn city streets. Spending just a few quiet moments standing catching the scent of the flowers is deeply relaxing and focusing on our senses offers a route to connecting with nature; opening up a different view of how we understand the world. Think about how nature has inspired poetry, literature, art and language through the ages (we recommend you download the amazing Explorer's Pack for KS2 and KS3 students from Robert Macfarlane's Lost Words project). Think about how nature inspires symbolism, myth and spirituality. What emotional response does it inspire?
Use these weeks to ask your children 'What if?' questions to get them thinking, planning and imagining a positive future. For example:
What would it look like? What difference would it make? What would need to change?
This is a great project for an afternoon, a week or a month. It's a task a child or small group can do alone or with a parent or carer to support, and one that any adult can help with. Check out the London National Park City website for inspiration.
It's so 20th century. But a book won't distract you with notifications, dispiriting updates or the latest conspiracy theories. If you and your family can't get outside, let your favourite author take you on a journey. Visualise following in their footsteps.
The STEM learning website has stacks of downloadable curriculum-linked resources and is updating them so parents can use them too. The Great Plant Hunt is a particularly good example, a series of themed worksheets developed by the Royal Botanical Gardens, Kew, following in the footsteps of Darwin on a journey of discovery.
You can use the 33 Climate Actions produced by the London Sustainable Schools Forum as a basis for a project – lots here for KS2 and KS3 students in every different curriculum area, and much of the work can be self-directed.
The Ordnance Survey is gathering together activities, events, games, challenges and clips to inspire, educate and entertain. Events include the Great Garden Campout on 4 April.
If you can't camp outside, then camp inside. All you need is a table and a sheet – make your own tent, pile up the pillows and duvets. Even changing around your living room furniture can be an adventure for an 8 year-old. There are a few ‘how-to’ guides on the web, we quite liked the one created by mykidsadventures
Don’t forget the huge online compendium of easy-to-follow activities and lesson ideas on the Outdoor Classroom Day site. It's a movement to get children out every day, with inspiration for playing, learning and exploring, and a great way to connect to schools round the world. Do sign up - you too are a teacher now!
Learning Through Landscapes has a mix of activities that work well with groups or individuals at ltl.org.uk Also, check out the world renowned Juliet Robertson's excellent website creativestarlearning.co.uk, which has hundreds of wonderful downloadable lesson plans and activity ideas. You can buy her guide to Outdoors Learning, Dirty Teaching, through the Outdoor Play and Learning section of this website.
Remember: a classroom is not made up of four walls. It's about imagination and connection.
If you have any questions or feel there's a subject you'd like us to cover in future posts ... please leave a comment and we'll try and find you an answer. Also note, this blog is written from the perspective of a UK-based organisation, if you're visiting us from elsewhere, please follow the appropriate public health guidance within your own state or country.
]]>I have been a lone parent to my 6-year-old son Noah since he was 4 months. Pre-child I was definitely not what you would call an outdoor person. I mean, I was out a lot, but at night, partying, socialising and all the rest.
Lone parenting hit me, hard. I was an emotional wreck and living in a small flat in London didn’t help. All I remember from the first couple of years is walking, walking, walking, with no plan really. I just needed to be out and process everything. I carried my new-born everywhere in Hackney on my sling. Sleep-deprived, an emotional zombie and worried about how I would do this lone parenting thing, I managed to get to know Hackney in and out, without realising. I am lucky to be living in this borough, the greenest in London!
This led me to go farther afield. Epping Forest became my safe place and I would purposely go in a different direction each Sunday to then get totally lost for at least 3 hours and somehow find my way back to Chingford station. Sometimes more successfully than other times. It was great fun and it gave me so much confidence.
Fast forward a few years, my son and I are now avid walkers and campers. We are just in our element when we’re outdoors. My son climbs trees. If you met him in the forest you would never guess he is being raised in a city. We like walking, with no route in mind, we just like exploring. We like stepping in puddles, looking at insects, looking at flowers and observing the different shades of green all around (there are so many!).
Last week on Monday, I decided we would semi-isolate as I couldn’t take all the build up around the Covid-19 situation. I felt overwhelmed and I didn’t like what I saw around me when out. I was also worried because I had been speaking to friends and family in Italy and it didn’t sound good.
In retrospect, I am so happy we took the decision before the guidelines came from the government. I feel it helped us to prepare mentally and at our own pace.
It’s been hard, very hard as we are both extremely social humans but we have now taken the habit daily to take wild walks and really appreciate nature, which is the only thing not failing us at the moment (and always).
This is what we are doing to combat the increased solitude and hardship of lone parenting with no other family around, and now with no social contact with friends:
It’s hard, don’t get me wrong, this whole situation is really having a huge impact on our mental well-being and the fact that we don’t know when it will end makes it even more surreal BUT I am just grateful that...
If I can take anything positive from what is happening around us now is that I am being taught to slow down and appreciate the small things, like watering a plant or looking up at the sky.
I hope you feel better and I hope my tips help.
Valentina and Noah
]]>Read about one Hackney-based single parent's journey navigating home-schooling for the first time...
]]>Sadly, we can’t arrange staff-led family walks as usual, but we CAN give parents in London advice on where to go, how to get outdoors, and explore spaces for play, for learning and for mental health.
We can help both parents and children have a bit of nature connection, a bit of destress time, and come out of this time having learnt how important time outdoors is and how many green spaces are nearby.
We’re going to publish a series of blogs over the next couple of weeks, giving different perspectives on families’ experience of home education, play and the outdoors: the challenges they’re facing, and the ideas and tips on how they’re connecting with nature. For many of the families we work with, we recognise these are challenging times, but what’s clear is that people are already working out approaches that suit their family and their circumstances.
Our first guest blog comes from Emily Hunt, based in Hackney, who has been balancing working from home with looking after her daughter for just over a week now.
'By 3:45 in the afternoon of the first day, I was shattered. Bone weary shattered and unable to move from the couch for an hour while I re-collected myself.
I didn’t come into homeschooling blind. Perhaps I’m lucky. I have a number of friends who homeschool in America, and at various points and for various reasons, I have vaguely considered homeschooling my daughter here in London. So when we decided that thanks to corona virus, it was time to give it a whirl, I may have thought I was more or less prepared.
That first day felt like sprinting the length of a marathon. The good news is every day has gotten better, and now that we’re all in a UK-wide crash course in homeschooling, I thought I’d share my hard-won knowledge with you - only because I’m a few days ahead of most families in this journey.
From wake up time to breakfast to getting out the door, we do our mornings in the exact same way we have for the rest of this year. Our after school time is pretty similar too, except much to my daughter’s delight, she has far less homework to do as almost everything gets accomplished during the day. She’s even taken to FaceTiming with a buddy from school during some of her breaks and they chat in pretty much the same way they would during break at school. Her routine feels, frankly, as routine to her as possible given the circumstances.
I am not a perfect mother. Maybe other people can organise educating their kids on the fly while trying to get work done and battling an ever growing pile of dishes, but I cannot. On Sunday night, I put together a master schedule with different blocks for learning time, break, and moving around time. Each evening after my daughter is in bed, I set the tasks for each learning block in the master schedule. It takes maybe 15 minutes.
This is an example of our master schedule:
7:45-8:30 |
“Walk to school” |
8:30-9:00 |
Tidy up, get set up for the day |
9:00-10:00 |
Learning Block 1 |
10:00-10:30 |
Break |
10:30-11:30 |
Learning Block 2 |
11:30-12:00 |
Reading |
12:00-12:30 |
Lunch |
12:30-1:00 |
Recess |
1:00-1:15 |
Typing Club |
1:15-2:15 |
Learning Block 3 |
2:15-2:45 |
Movement Break |
2:45-3:45 |
Independent Research Project |
3:45-4:00 |
Tidy up |
4:00-5:00 |
After School Activity |
5:00-6:00 |
Any Homework |
By the fourth day, she was referring back to her schedule and instructions and just getting on with things without too much intervention from me. It’s verging on magical. I’m getting on with my own work.
When putting together your master schedule and learning blocks remember that this is not forever: do some math and some reading everyday but you are not designing a curriculum to holistically educate your children until they go to university. This doesn’t need to be perfect. Plus, there are tons of resources going around right now - everything from free bundles on Twinkl to enrolling in Outschool classes - you don’t need to reinvent the wheel.
What is something that they have been wanting to learn and is there a way to empower them to learn all about it?
My daughter and I started walking the 35 minutes to school every morning at the start of the year, and she has said that when she sits down at her desk at school, she is ready to learn.
I knew we needed to keep our morning walk. But I don’t think I quite realised just how much energy she has and how much she really just needs to be outside and moving to have any chance of burning it off.
We have quite a few breaks in the day, and we try to get outside and walk around (or in her case run around) as much as we can. We’ve even created a special schedule for Wednesdays to make sure that there is extra outside time - because by midweek I could see her concentration suffering from being in the house so much.
---
You can follow Emily and The Kiddo's homeschool journey over on Instagram at:
]]>Moreover, the survey revealed 80% of Britons said they rarely or never took a photo, or drew a picture of nature.
This last fact is particularly surprising when nearly two-thirds of the UK's population are regularly on social media – sharing pictures and updates from their daily lives. There may be over 50,000,000 posts tagged with the hashtag sunrise on Instagram and 250,000,000 posts with the hashtag sunset, but if social media is a looking glass of human concerns, it’s clear that people are significantly more interested in celebs than they are lonely clouds or daffodils. Eighteen of the top twenty posts in 2020 feature famous people; no less than a third feature Kylie Jenner (although, happily, the famous ‘egg’ instapost still occupies the top spot).
So are we in danger of completely losing our connection with nature? And, knowing that active engagement with nature, especially at a young age, is a predictor of pro-environmental behaviours (see the Outdoor People Muddy Hands report), could this disconnection prove a problem when we're trying to encourage action on the climate crisis?
Day to day, we have little time to spare, and what time we have is often whittled away by the urge to maintain online connections. It seems the liminal opportunities we have for engagement with nature (ten minutes to sun ourselves in the garden, or to watch the birds on the feeder) are increasingly being replaced by snatches of screen-time between daily tasks, scrolling through Buzzfeed.
We know that time spent in nature can make us feel happier and less stressed (according to research published in Nature, as little as two hours a week can make all the difference); and that time spent online frequently has the opposite effect. Yet this disconnection is an acute contemporary example of an eternal human paradox: we expend time and effort on things we know are bad for us, or bring us down, and neglect the things that make us healthier and happier.
Recently, one of the young people who is a regular on our Family Wild Walks complained they never had enough time to spend outside, and expressed a wish that adults would ban them (occasionally) from time-stealing social media: ‘You sit down for one minute and then you’re there for hours.'
We know that children need time, space and permission to play outside (see the Best Play report, Play England): and by playing, climbing trees, counting bugs and ants they develop a deep and lasting connection with nature.
Could we find a readily available mechanism that helps create these little oases of time? If nature lacks a Like button, perhaps we can use social media's not-so-secret weapon, connectivity, to bring more people outside, enjoying nature.
Many of the families who come on our Wilds Walks say the thing they most appreciate about the programme is the time it allows them to enjoy a sense of community that it engenders; being in nature is an extra, welcomed, pleasure.
Time spent alone can be wonderful, and for a child, solitude can mean a chance to engage in deep play and explore the world unencumbered, but in the main we still seek connections, reflection, friendship. Someone to share a sunrise with.
At Outdoor People we create communities who see the value of being outdoors, and encourage each other to go outside more often. Unquestionably, our projects wouldn't function without online social networks to communicate and share - but active engagement with nature is always the end goal. By encouraging each other to actively engage – to come on a Family Wild Walk – friends and friends-to-be can help make the experience of nature come alive.
Photo https://unsplash.com/@lukeelliscraven; stats for Instagram taken from Brandwatch.
]]>
Two miles from home, plodding through a muddy field, I missed my step and went ankle deep into a freezing puddle. ‘Brilliant’, I thought bitterly, as the unpleasant wetness oozed into my socks. ‘Brilliant.’ I muttered again. Then, after a half dozen sodden steps: ‘Why exactly am I doing this?
Over the past year, for various reasons – pressure of time, ageing dog who wasn’t up for half-marathon training, creeping laziness – I’ve slipped out of the habit of going on big adventures. So, like millions of others, I decided New Year was the time to make an appeal to my better self, start anew and become a New And Better Person.
Well, not quite. Rather than going down the ‘New Year, New You’ road, I adopted more of a ‘New Year, Old You’ resolution. Once upon a time I’d been super-fit: a postie with a couple of broken-lifted tower blocks on my route, a committed runner and hill-climber. I wanted 2020 to be the year I got back to that level, starting off with a few miles every day. Not exactly an earth-shattering challenge, but I felt sure with a bit of a push, I’d rediscover my urge for adventure.
First time out, and it wasn’t going too well (as evidenced by the one wet foot). I’d chosen to ignore the forecast – cloud, bit of drizzle – the kind of day that puts the ‘meh’ into meteorology. I also realised, pretty soon, that the route I had chosen was a lot less glamorous than it looked on the map: there was a long stretch through a seventies housing estate, then an A-Road which took me under a heavily tagged underpass, opening up to what I hoped would be the ‘pastoral’ bit, but instead involved a complex and lengthy detour around a flooded pathway.
I’d also messed up my timing, setting out much later than planned. As the dusk gathered, the sky started lowering and the trees began to loom. The horizon, once sharpened by a blade of light, was gradually lost to the gloom as the sun dipped nightwards.
It wasn’t only the horizon that was lost; I was in no-man’s land. Lost on a golf course in the dark. Golf courses can be quite unnerving places when the light is fading and you don’t know where you are. Abandoned golf carts, ghostly bunkers, flags whipping in the wind. Truth be told, I got a bit carried away with the whole Gothic atmos. ‘Wow!’ I thought, ‘This is exactly like walking through a Caspar David Freidrich painting! (as the pictures below clearly illustrate).
Spot the difference. On the left, Caspar David Freidrich painting (Winter, 1807); on the right, a golf course in the dark. Both, in their own way, examples of allegorical landscapes, which, in the words of art historian Christopher John Murray, invite the viewers to ‘gaze towards their metaphysical dimension.’
When I finally made it back home, after a few more wrong turns, diversions and cul-de-sacs, I was both exhausted and relieved, and not all that enthusiastic about the next day’s run. Still, wet feet aside, it hadn’t been a complete disaster. The golf course was good.
As conch shell is to hermit crab, duvet is to human. Only Day Two, and I was already aware of how much I had lost touch with my inner Polar Explorer. Waking up in a comfy bed, I was severely tempted to bin the whole resolution thing off.
A few years back I’d been to a workshop on the Wim Hof technique and this saved the day. If it works for wild swimmers running near-naked into the November Baltic, I thought, it’ll work for me standing upright. A few deep breaths, count to three, and just go for it… one, two, three… off with the duvet, on with the thick socks, on with the jumper. Go, go, go!
First story on my daily news feed: a re-post celebrating the youngest-ever explorer trekking unaided to the South Pole. This is the kind of bitter irony that life serves up on a daily basis, without so much as a second thought. Commit yourself to doing a few sit-ups a day, and immediately your phone is awash with reports of human beings achieving extraordinary feats – one-armed climbers taking on El Capitan, six-year olds embarking on solo walks through the Arctic, people rowing the Atlantic while standing on their heads. The honest acknowledgement that you can’t be arsed to go for a mile-long jog through the local park makes you feel quite inadequate.
I decided to dial down the blogs about Polar Explorers, and went on a different tack. I needed a bit of human-level positivity and inspiration. Although I’m not a regular visitor to the self-help section of my local bookstore, I figured there must be some good stuff in all those miles of titles, a few choice lessons that would help regular mortals like me.
If your thing is self-help you may well fall about at the next section, incredulous that someone could be so ignorant of the whole Being A Better Person canon. I accept I am a complete dunce when it comes to self-improvement, which probably explains why I still drink milk straight from the bottle and put it back in the fridge. But, you know, everyone’s got to start somewhere, and I’m here to learn.
Reading the back cover of ‘One Small Step Can Change Your Life’ by Robert Maurer I discovered the notion of Kaizen: a Japanese word to describe how big changes can be made through small, but obtainable, increments. The key idea here is that enacting tiny, non-scary changes is a more achievable way of going about things than undertaking something that turns your universe upside down. Add all the tiny changes together, and they amount to an earth-shattering improvement.
I realised my biggest obstacle to progress was the idea of going on a daily run. Truth be told, although I used to be a super-fit person, I don’t enjoy running on a deep level. Moreover, (I rationalised) there’s plenty of evidence to suggest that, if you’re a bit out of shape, in body, mind or spirit, going on a daily walk can be just as beneficial as training for a marathon.
Setting aside the running jersey and trainers (just for a week) I resolved to stay warm, keep dry, and walk. Start small and build. I layered up with thermals, thin jumpers and a big coat, thick socks and boots, woolly hat, flask of hot coffee. Once I’d settled into a routine, I’d streamline the outfit, but for now, Marathon Man was out. Michelin Man was the way to go.
At this point, in my parallel self-help odyssey, I came across another Big Idea in Angela Lee Duckworth’s book, Grit: the Hard Thing rule. Basically, having to take on (at least) one thing in life that is hard to do, with the caveat that you’re not allowed to quit until you reach a natural break (say, a month or a year). Okay, technically, in the short term I’d given up on my Hard Thing, which was going for a run every day. But I hadn’t quit on the daily exercise. By making things a bit easier and more manageable, I negotiated a bumpy bit in the road. If I managed to establish ‘a walk every day’ as a habit, I’d just increase my speed every day until, hey presto, I’d be a fully-fledged fell runner!
This fits in with the Grit schema. Keep the larger aim in mind, focus on getting one small aspect of your goal right, improve, move on, but don’t fixate on smaller goals at the expense of progression.
The real turning point came about a week in. I was going for a walk along the sea-front on one of those days that give the British Weather its (mostly deserved) reputation: driving rain, a battering wind with a real edge to it, a Turneresque maelstrom. I took refuge in a pavilion and sat, watching the real-life masterpiece that nature had conjured up. And that was it. Sat for about ten-minutes, an eye in the storm, not moving, not really thinking. Present.
When I finally surfaced, I realised: ‘This is why I do this.’
As I pointed out, even when I was at peak fitness, I didn’t really enjoy running. Once I’m in full flow, I love it, especially ‘wild’ running through woodland or moors, but it wasn’t the physical challenge that gave me the Big Endorphin hit, it was being outdoors that appealed.
Turner’s ‘Snow Storm’. If you’ve never visited, this is what the UK looks like most of the time.
Once I gave up on the idea that I was establishing an exercise regime, and reframed my purpose as ‘Getting Outdoors’, it stopped being an effort and started to become a pleasure. What was really working for me was the act of breaking the bubble and feeling part of a natural whole, every day. Setting aside time in my schedule meant I had longer to enjoy it; getting fitter meant I could go further, and travel out from urban streets into open country; but these were only aspects that contributed to the core purpose, buttresses that allowed the cathedral to spire to the sky.
With my purpose fixed, I moved from Floundering Eejit into Warrior Flow.
It’s pretty well understood that if you write your goals down, you’re far more likely to achieve them. For me, this really helped, in particular, focusing on the reward rather than the effort. My daily ‘to-do’ list is now headed up with a little reminder: ‘Outside every day: it makes you feel better’. In addition, I started making a couple of notes about what I enjoyed on the previous day’s adventure (often quite cryptic: ‘the sparrows chirping, hidden’ being a particularly enigmatic example). The great advantage of a Good-times Diary is it’s there to give you a boost on the days when you can feel yourself backsliding.
By Week Two I felt I was well on the way to establishing a routine. Getting to the heart of the ‘higher’ goal certainly helped. My daily walks, now slowly graduating to daily jogs, didn’t necessarily involve big landscapes or rolling hills, but there was always some connection to the natural whole that manifested itself in the ordinary – city streets, pocket parks, even golf courses.
Crash diets, as we all know, don’t really work. You can make dramatic gains, but pretty soon you’re back on the pudding, sliding down a big snake back to square one. You need to form steady, long-term, positive habits that will eventually reap lasting rewards. If this sounds all very grown-up you wouldn’t be wrong, Angela Lee Duckworth says forming good habits is a mark of maturity:
‘We learn life lessons we don’t forget, and we adapt in response to the growing demands of our circumstances. Eventually, new ways of thinking and acting become habitual … We’ve adapted, those adaptations have become durable, and, finally, our identity – the sort of person we see ourselves to be – has evolved.’
I find this immensely pleasing, as I’ve often thought of myself as a part-time adult. Turns out I can actually be self-helped, and I’m better for it.
I have learnt much, travelled far – well, thirty miles or so over the past two weeks. As well as sharpening my appetite for adventure, I think I've also dulled slightly my cynical edge, and I'm a little more open to the insights of the gurocracy. If asked to rank my top three tips from my experience, I’d set out the following:
Maybe a fourth: push yourself a little bit every day – go a bit faster, walk a bit further.
If you’re still on track with your New Year’s resolution, be it Dry January, Veganuary or Outside Every Day, the best of luck. Stick with it. I’m still on track for my 2020 goal, as earth-shatteringly unamazing as it is. Deep into the new year and I’m feeling a lot better, I’ve even started going for the occasional run on top of my daily walk. Still not using a glass to drink milk out the fridge, but nobody’s perfect.
If you’re looking to make 2020 the year of Making The Outdoor Easy, join us on our next Family Wild Walk. They take place every month – and we’ll be adding more as the year goes on….
]]>