A breath of fresh air

..is the theme of the spring 09 magazine of the National Trust that came through my letterbox today. Lots about getting kids (and adults) outside to connect with nature, walk and be healthy!
Their article 'Natural Health Service' (pp.20-23) by Dr William Bird, Strategic Health Adviser to Natural England, says:

'Children develop a lifelong ability to connect with nature but only if they are allowed to play freely in streams and woods before the age of twelve.

...Have we drifted away from how we were designed to live?
We need to be restored to our factory settings.

...The Department of health has launched a physical activity plan in which the opprtunities offered by the natural environment are central to getting the whole nation more active. A new scheme has been piloted by london GPs whereby patients are referred to parks and places for outside exercise that may well include Trust properties.'


Another article in the same magazine is about a family of 4 who set out to see 50 of Britain's 100+ mammals, in the wild, in a year. Mammal Magic, by Dominic Couzens (pp. 72-74):

'There was a serious side to our quest too. In the last few years the poverty of Britains' children's relationship to the natural world has become a matter for heightened public concrn. In the summer of 2008 the NT published a survey showing that children, as a whole, are becoming more and more detached from their environment. Only 53% can recognise an oak leaf, and similar numbers fail to recognise common butterflies and birds. Many parents lament this loss.'


The magazine doesn't seem to be online, but here's part of a different NT report
'Nature’s Capital: Investing in the nation’s natural assets'
that has an interesting chapter, page 10, titled:
'The nation needs... access to green space for health'
http://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/main/w-natures_capital.pdf