Nature helps children’s development
There are so many amazing benefits to children spending time in the great outdoors.
Playing out in nature, where trees are climbing frames and streams are skipping ropes, is a great way to strengthen their bodies and keep them healthy.
The natural world sends children’s minds into a creative overdrive as they explore unfamiliar new places, solve problems and learn to tell the differences between new species of plants and animals. It’s a feast for their curiosity!
Plus, engaging with wildlife at an early age teaches children to appreciate how special it is and means they will grow up to care for it. By nurturing their passion whilst they’re young, we are empowering them to make a meaningful difference for our planet when they grow up.
Mixing education with camping
One of our key objectives has always been to promote education in the New Forest. With nature being so beneficial for children’s health and wellbeing, in summer 2023 we teamed up with the New Forest National Park Authority to host a series of fun and educational activities across our campsites.
The National Park Rangers visited four of our sites – Ashurst, Hollands Wood, Holmsley & Roundhill – with their fantastic mobile information unit. They ran engaging sessions covering everything from animals and insects to plants, fungi, and the different habitats that make the Forest so special.
Forest Fun
Arts and crafts are a great way to ignite children’s creativity and passion for wildlife at the same time. It makes learning about wildlife fun and interesting!
The children loved making origami bats, butterfly masks, cardboard snakes and many more creative capers whilst the adults enjoyed chatting with the Rangers and finding out about the New Forests wildlife and habitats.
Ranger Rambles
The Rangers took participants on easy and relaxed walking routes which included as many different habitats as possible.
Along the way, they stopped for ‘mindful moments’ to encourage participants to stop and appreciate the beauty of the Forest, and the long summer evenings were perfect for bat detecting!
Little New Park Rangers
The action continued with Little New Park Ranger courses here at our head office site in Brockenhurst.
With a combination of crafts, learning and practical skills, these outdoor education sessions helped families to learn new skills, have fun and really feel in-touch with the Forest!
Even more next year
By the end of the season, we were delighted to have engaged with a total of 1,405 visitors. It was a brilliant success — but we’re not stopping there. Building on the achievements of 2023, we’re planning to expand our educational activities even further in the coming seasons. Watch this space… exciting things are on the horizon!
Picture courtesy of the New Forest National Park Authority
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