London, England -- (SBWIRE) -- 03/30/2012 -- The National Trust is planning a campaign this year to improve peoples' links with nature and wildlife. The Trust's director-general Fiona Reynolds said children needed freedom to discover nature for themselves. “It's about wanting to give children a sense of freedom to discover,” said Ms Reynolds at a news conference in London, “The campaign will help children to get outdoors and connect them with nature, including things that can be done at trust properties, to try and stimulate a nation of nature-lovers.”
A source at SSC Marketing, a London-based sales and marketing company said, “There’s definitely been a large decrease in the time young people spend engaging with nature in a positive way. It’s a modern problem, which needs a modern solution.”
A 2009 report for Natural England showed that only 10% of children now experience woodland play, as opposed to 40% of their parents' generation. This retreat has even led to suggestions of a new quasi-medical syndrome, nature-deficit disorder.
The exact nature of the campaign will be made clearer in April but it is likely to include an expansion of activities such as den-making and pond-dipping, which children can do now at some Trust properties. Matthew Oates, the Trust's specialist on nature and wildlife experience, said he wanted to help children and adults have “epiphany moments”.
“Mine was at the age of four when I saw a willow-warbler's nest,” he said, “But it's not just for children - we want adults who've gone to cities, with children and grandchildren, who can go out and experience nature and recall that in the end, we belong to it and it's part of us.”
A staff member at SSC Marketing said, “I have some very fond memories of playing outside and in nature from when I was a child. It’s a shame that a lot of young people nowadays don’t have that, because I think it did me a lot of good. It’s not healthy to spend your life indoors.”
At the same news conference, National Trust chairman Simon Jenkins clarified the organisation's position on wind power following a newspaper report saying it was "deeply sceptical" of the technology. “We are strongly pro-renewables,” he said, “but we are also concerned with the countryside and worried about things that appear to intrude.”
Our source at SSC Marketing said, “When it comes to nature and ecological issues it’s never just black and white. There’s always a wide range of concerns to take into consideration. The trick is trying to achieve a sense of equilibrium between all those factors, which sometimes are in conflict. Balance is key.”
http://www.bbc.co.uk
http://www.prlog.org/11836605-could-this-be-the-end-of-hyde-park-gigs.html
http://www.facebook.com/pages/SSC-Marketing/175953735785391