Nature Connection for Kids

Connecting kids with nature is the best way to boost their health and wellbeing and nurture a generation of nature lovers who want to protect, respect and live in community with nature.

Here at Wild Child Brecon Beacons CIC, we believe that nature matters. We are all nature, and we need nature to survive, thrive and live a more connected and whole life.

When we show kids that nature matters, they begin to care for it and want to look after it. A reciprocal relationship evolves where they no longer just take and receive from nature, they want to be active eco-warriors, nature-nurturers, and custodians of the earth. We want to inspire kids to be active players in the Earth Community, living at one with nature, the natural world and all wildlife.

There are huge mental health benefits for kids spending time connecting with nature, outside, in all weathers. Nature play and connection improves concentration, focus, empathy and compassion, social skills, problem-solving and risk-taking development. It boosts physical wellbeing, keeps kids active, and helps further develop motor skills, co-ordination and sensory development. It is hands-on practical learning where the woods or fields are the classroom, and the open and free-play style of learning encourages creativity, imagination and independence.

There are 5 key pathways to increase our connection to nature which we explore in our Nature Play and Forest Skills Sessions and Forest School.

1 - SENSES: Sensory contact with nature and the natural environment.

We get our hands, and sometimes feet!, directly in the mud, feeling the earth and exploring textures of trees, leaves and flora around us.

2 - EMOTION: Cultivating a life-long love and nurturing relationship with nature.

We share ways to respect the natural world and look after it with kids in our sessions, and explore why this is so important for our happiness and for the future of the planet. Not taking more than we need when foraging herbs or fruits, litter picking in the local community and being gentle when handling any bugs or fauna and always putting any creatures we find back where we found them are little steps on the path of life-long nature nurturing and help to build compassion, empathy and understanding of why nature matters to us all. We want to inspire children to be pro-active in looking after the environment and encouraging others to do the same - we all have responsibility for the earth and its inhabitants and we are all part of the Earth Community, not better than it or in charge of it, but part of it.

3 - BEAUTY: Appreciating the awe and wonder of nature by slowing down and noticing all that is around us.

We take time and space to simply be in nature and notice the beauty, changes of the seasons and little details that the wild has to offer us when we slow down, awaken our senses and open our eyes, hearts and minds to receive the messages nature has to share. We connect with sight, sounds, smells, touch and taste, sharing in the sensory joys of nature. This leads to a deeper connection, greater compassion and understanding of all things wild and free. And when we connect deeply, we care deeply so it comes full circle as part of the journey towards creating a community of nature nurturers!

4 - MEANING: Recognising the meanings, cycles and signs of nature.

When we understand and learn about nature, we connect on a deeper level and want to care for what we have discovered and explored. We celebrate the changing seasons, acknowledging the full cycle of nature from rest and returning to the earth, to growth and abundance. We explore nature through poems, stories and folklore. We mark the longest and shortest days of the years, the equinoxes and solstices, and open up a whole new world of discovery and exploration by looking at nature through an educational and resourceful lens. We believe in the importance of passing down lore and traditional ecological knowledge so that it continues to be shared and cultivated, and we return to our deeper connection and understanding of the earth.

5 - COMPASSION: We demonstrate active practical steps kids can take to care for nature and protect our wild lands.

From making bird feeders to help birds find food through the winter months, to building a bug hotel to encourage more wildlife in the area, to planting wildflower seeds and growing our own herbs and vegetables, each activity fosters a greater connection to the earth and builds compassion for nature.

Nature Connection is good for us all, and good for the planet too. To build a deep connection that leads to eco-awareness and the desire to nurture and care for nature, involves connecting all of the 5 pathways above. Engaging the senses, marvelling at the beauty of nature, spotting meaning and signs in nature and finding out how to look after wildlife and wild environments all come together to foster connection, care and respect for the natural world.

Join us for a Wild Child session and embrace nature in all her elements, and let your child run wild and free, with time and space to engage with nature, notice nature and nurture a love of nature for life.