With longer days and the beginning of the school holidays we now have lots of time to soak in all of this summer wonder and explore our local nature spots. Getting outside is an exciting and inexpensive way to entertain young ones during the holidays and is also great for both our physical and mental health.  

Studies have shown that spending just one day outside can boost your immune system for up to 30 days after! In addition, many more people are recognising the importance of nature on our mental health; the NHS has recently began prescribing time in greenspaces to support people with depression and anxiety.

How many of us can recognise the improvement in our moods after just taking a little walk outside? Here are some ideas to inspire you to take your little ones into nature this summer holiday.

Set a challenge of finding a set of nature treasures, like one red leaf, one pinecone, one curvy stick and one feather. Look at the different shapes and patterns on the leaves – can you find a round leaf or a jagged one? Do any of your finds have a nice smell? You could also try and make a piece of art using your nature treasures.

Turn over fallen branches and rocks to see what critters are hiding underneath. You would be surprised at how many different species you can count under one palm sized rock – slugs, snails, woodlice, earwigs, worms and even the odd spider! You might even be lucky enough to find a slow worm hiding underneath clumps of grasses or sticks at some of our sites.

Why not go outside and try and work out the different calls of the birds around you: can you hear the caw – caw of a crow, the tiny tea-tea-lilly-lilly-lilly of a blue tit, the cooing of a pigeon, or the squabbles of gulls? There’s lots we can learn about our environment just from closing our eyes and listening.

Why not use two old toilet roll tubes and string and make a pair of snazzy binoculars and see what different colours of birds you can see! This can help us recognise where birds get their names from, a blue tits blue cap, a blackbird’s beautiful, shining black feathers, or see if you can spot the flashes of gold on a goldfinch.

There’s nothing better than have a paddle in a stream on a hot day to cool down. Whilst you’re there why not take a shot at stream/pond dipping? Use an old yoghurt or butter container and collect water from the stream, and then check and see if you managed to collect some living creatures! Some have great names, like the pond skater or water boatman beetle.