#NaturePremium Campaign
Today, I’d love you to get behind a brand new campaign called Nature Premium.
The campaign is being led by the Forest School Association (FSA).
The words within are accredited to FSA themselves and are not my own. They can be found here naturepremium.org
A Part Of Our Green Recovery
They are calling for a Nature Premium to fund regular nature experiences for every child in UK schools.
They believe that the Nature Premium would improve children’s mental and physical wellbeing after lockdown and demonstrate a positive investment in their future development as part of the Green Recovery’
The benefit of time spent in nature to children’s mental and physical well-being is clearly demonstrated by government research.
They are asking Boris Johnson, Rishi Sunak, Gavin Williamson and Matt Hancock to make the evidence-informed, economic and political decision to support a Nature Premium for early years and school children.
The Power Of Nature On Our Health
Lockdown has highlighted the inequalities of access to nature. This is not a new phenomenon(1), but one which now, more than ever, needs addressing.
Time in nature is crucial for children’s mental and physical wellbeing: the benefits are far-reaching and well-documented(2,3,4). Nature provides a way to feel refreshed, revitalised, calm and relaxed.
People who visit nature have greater life satisfaction, more self-worth, more happiness and less anxiety (5,6).
Other benefits include better resilience, improvements in social functioning and social inclusion(2).
Obesity and Mental Health Epidemics In Our Children.
Its benefits for physical wellbeing are critical too, obesity affects around 1 in every 5 children aged 10 to 11 in the UK (7) and in 2014–15, the NHS spent an estimated £6.1 billion on overweight and obesity-related ill health(8).
Research published in 2018 showed that children used more energy on a school day with Forest School (playing in woods), than on a school day with P.E (9).
The Role Of Nature As Healer
Wildlife Trust research also found that natural environments can play a key role in increasing physical activity levels(2).
It could be that not all children enjoy organised games and team competition, playing in a nature rich environment is more inclusive.
Prior to lockdown, there was already a mental health crisis in the UK(10) and the probability of this crisis now being exacerbated is high(11).
It is not unreasonable to anticipate, as we emerge from lockdown, that children will experience high levels of stress, anxiety and withdrawal as a result of prolonged isolation(12).
Support the campaign today by using the hashtag — nature premium or by visiting the website nature premium.org
Your just one session away.
- BRAGG, R., ATKINS, G. A review of nature-based interventions for mental healthcare. Natural England Commissioned Reports, 2016.Number 204 p.3; Commission for Architecture & the Built Environment (CABE) “Community Green: using local spaces to tackle inequality & improve health” CABE: London 2010 Available at https://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20110118100107/http://www.cabe.org.uk/publicati ons/community-green p.4 [Accessed 16th June 2020].
2. Bragg R, Wood C, Barton J, Pretty J. Wellbeing benefits from natural environments rich in wildlife: A literature review for The Wildlife Trusts. Available from: https://www.wildlifetrusts.org/sites/default/files/2018- 05/r1_literature_review_wellbeing_benefits_of_wild_places_lres.pdf [Accessed 16th June 2020 page 13, page 5, page 22].
3. Richardson M, Sheffield D, Harvey C, Petronzi D. The Impact of Children’s Connection to Nature: A Report for the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB): Nature Connectedness Research Group (November 2015). Available from: http://ww2.rspb.org.uk/Images/impact_of_children%E2%80%99s_connection_to_nature_tcm9- 414472.pdf [Accessed 16th June 2020].
4. Tillmann S, Tobin D, Avison W, et al Mental health benefits of interactions with nature in children and teenagers: a systematic review J Epidemiol Community Health 2018;72:958–966. Available from: https://jech.bmj.com/content/72/10/958
5. Department of environment, food and rural affairs. People’s engagement with nature: reflecting on 10 years of the Natural England MENE survey. Available from; https://defra.maps.arcgis.com/apps/Cascade/index.html?appid=d5fe6191e3fe400189a3756ab3a 4057c [Accessed 16th June 2020], https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/monitor-ofengagement-with-the-natural-environment-headline-report-and-technical-reports-2018-to-2019 [Accessed 16th June 2020].
6. Martin L, White M.P, Richardson M, Pahl S, Burt J. Nature contact, nature connectedness and associations with health, wellbeing and pro-environmental behaviours. Journal of Environmental Psychology Volume 68, April 2020, 101389 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvp.2020.101389
7. NHS. Obesity Overview. Available from https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/obesity/ [Accessed 16th June 2020].
8. Tedstone A. Tackling Obesity is everybody’s business. Available from https://www.england.nhs.uk/expo/wp-content/uploads/sites/18/2018/09/14.00-Tacklingobesity-is-everybodys-business.pdf. [Accessed 16th June 2020].
9. Trapasso E, Knowles Z, Boddy L, Newson L, Sayers J & Austin C. Exploring Gender Differences within Forest Schools as a Physical Activity Intervention Children (2018), 5, 138; doi:10.3390/children5100138 www.mdpi.com/journal/children Available from https://www.researchgate.net/publication/327801925_Exploring_Gender_Differences_within_F orest_Schools_as_a_Physical_Activity_Intervention [Accessed 16th June 2020].
10. Young Minds A new era for young peoples mental health Available from https://youngminds.org.uk/media/2620/a-new-era-for-young-peoples-mental-health.pdf; https://www.england.nhs.uk/mental-health/cyp/; https://www.childrenssociety.org.uk/what-wedo/our-work/young-peoples-mental-health [Accessed 16th June 2020].
11. Razai, M.S. et al. Evidence from previous infectious outbreaks and pandemics demonstrates the deleterious mental health and psychological effects of social isolation. BMJ 2020; 369: m1904
12.Global Citizen: 1 in 4 Young People Struggling With Mental Health in Britain Aren’t Getting Help in Lockdown. Available from https://www.globalcitizen.org/en/content/young-people-strugglingmental-health-covid-19/ [
