A Child's Place
The following report from the Green Alliance (www.green-alliance.org.uk) discusses why a childs environemnt matters in a childs development.A child's place: Why environment matters to children
press release - 24 May 2004
A new report into children and their environment shows that children would like to spend more time out of the house but are often too frightened to do so. The report, A Child's Place, by Demos/Green Alliance, is to be launched by Charles Clarke, Secretary of State for Education on Wednesday 26 May. It recommends pupils should be entitled to out of classroom learning activities, including regular 'school safaris' to help them explore their local environment and reverse the decline in school trips due to increased insurance premiums and fears of accidents and litigation.
The researchers talked to children in two city schools and one rural school, teachers, parents and headteachers, as well as carrying out field trips with pupils. Through in-depth interviews with the children, the researchers gained a detailed knowledge of the way children relate to their environment. What emerged was a picture of children frightened by many things, ranging from car traffic to kidnapping and terrorism.
Despite having a good understanding of the big environmental issues such as climate change, pollution and deforestation, the children often associated being outdoors with danger.
Unsurprisingly it is the children from urban areas and low-income families who are most deprived of access to the environment.
Although there are a series of Government initiatives aimed at children, currently there is no part of Government focusing on giving children access to green spaces, (a recent publication by Shelter argues that more than a million children suffer health and education problems because of an overcrowding crisis), with DfES focusing on education and health services for disadvantaged children and DEFRA responsible for the needs of children in rural areas. Although local authorities are responsible for the provision of "play space", how this is interpreted varies between authorities.
"We are constantly hearing messages about kids have become ‘couch potatoes’ said Guy Thompson, Director of Green Alliance and one of the authors of the report. "This research shows that kids still have an innate desire to explore their natural surroundings but because the opportunities for them to access quality spaces are diminishing , some youngsters are at risk of becoming disconnected from the environment ."
The children wanted to see more trees, more green spaces, less traffic and less litter. They often blamed teenage and elder children for vandalism and anti-social behaviour outside. As well as being loyal to their own patch, secret hideaways or special places were particularly important for them. Ranging from a piece of disused parkland to the bottom of their own garden, the children saw these spaces as having personal meaning for them. Usually these were near to home and seen as safe.
The authors conclude that by depriving children access to outdoors, their confidence in moving through the larger world is held back. Children’s’ out of school experiences play a critical role in shaping lifelong attitudes, values, and patterns of behavior toward natural environment. Fear of their environment means that children are much less likely to connect with wider ‘green’ environmental problems. Policy-makers should use practical steps towards improving children’s environments as a way of increasing their understanding of green issues.
One way to do this would be to promote an eco-friendly schools fund which would award money to schools for environmental innovations. The government should encourage school building projects that include features such as energy efficient classrooms, rainwater harvesting and solar panels in their specifications for contractors. Making sustainability a daily feature of school life would considerably advance children’s environmental awareness.
The paradox is that we are fostering a generation that is likely to face the toughest environmental challenges yet to be experienced by mankind, climate change and the ever-increasing pressure on natural resources. Yet our research suggests that children are losing their connection with the natural environment, said the researchers.
A child's place: Why environment matters to children - from green-alliance
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