“There’s so much green!” Young people enjoy exploring National Park
Pond dipping, storytelling, guided nature walks, creating new wildlife habitats and beach-combing are among the exciting activities children have enjoyed as part of a new outdoor initiative.
More than 650 children and young people from across Sussex and Hampshire enjoyed a visit to the National Park for “Explorers of the South Downs”.
Thanks to a donation of £10,000 from Friends of the South Downs, 20 activity days were delivered by Schools Without Walls (So Sussex), an outdoor education organisation, with the support of the South Downs National Park Authority and Forestry England.
The participants were all from schools with high levels of pupil premium funding and/or special educational needs.
The Friends of the South Downs is the only membership charity dedicated to protecting the South Downs. The Friends were able to make the donation from a recent generous legacy.
One of the key activities was an introduction to the South Downs National Park, the National Parks movement and the importance of protected landscapes.
Some of the comments from the young people were:
I’ve never been anywhere where there’s so much green!”
“There were so many different types of habitats to explore.”
A
dam Marshall, from Milton Park Primary School in Portsmouth, said: “The trip was an excellent opportunity for children to contextualise project learning we are currently exploring at school about the diversity of habitats, food chains and predators.
“There were amazing opportunities for the children to get hands-on with bug hunting, searching different types of habitats and playing a really engaging, visual game about food chains.”
Andrew Lovett, a trustee of the Friends of the South Downs, said: “We were delighted to be able to help over six hundred children learn about the South Downs. They are the people who will safeguard the Downs in the future.”
Caroline Fleming, Manager at Schools Without Walls, said: “We had a fantastic time supporting children and young people to discover and explore the beauty of the South Downs. For the vast majority it was their first time visiting locations such as Friston Forest, Truleigh Hill, Kingley Vale and the Queen Elizabeth Country Park.
“The generous funding from the Friends of the South Downs enabled valuable opportunities to connect to nature at a time when state schools face significant difficulties in affording transport for trips.