Schools out...

What do you do with the little ones when they're not being gainfully occupied in full time education?  It's the perfect time to get them re-engage with the natural world around us.   A three-year project  by RSPB found that only 21% of children aged 8-12 were "connected to nature".  But just how do you do that?

There are plenty of environmental educational activities and events being run across the country on our many parks and reserves. Everything from teddy bear's picnics for the very little ones to kite making and nature collages for the slightly older ones and adventure activities like kayaking or archery for the older ones (and grown ups too). Look for your local Wildlife Trust, RSPB site or nature reserve to begin with. (AW says bribery of coffee and cake seems to work quite well in getting them there in the first place!).

And if that whets your appetite send them out to get up to mischief on their own. The National Trust has a fantastic list of 50 things to do before you're 11 3/4, even if you're a little older than that.  When did you last swim in the sea, climb a hill or indulge in a spot of stargazing? 

Project Wild Thing has lots of blog posts full ideas too: https://projectwildthing.com/

When I was running holiday activities for children the parents often enjoyed it more than the kids (not really surprising).  If you're one of those and think, "I could do that" or you think that your site could do with some new activities have a look at our list of courses for community engagement and environmental education here: http://www.countryside-jobs.com/Training/short-courses/ed
Or perhaps whilst you're trailing after the family on a guided walk you realise your field identification skills could do with a brush up it's peak season for plant  and mammal ID training

If you run any of these sorts of events and they're not on our directory please send us the details for free inclusion, use the forms here or send your brochure by email to training@countryside-jobs.com.
We now have a downloadable spreadsheet template for you to use to ensure you send us the details we need, you can download it from here: www.countryside-jobs.com/td_images/ShortCourse.xls