At our My Wild Child sessions, children aged under five have enjoyed exploring insect habitats, collecting nature treasures and much more – taking the need for social distancing in their stride! After a year of lockdown, their parents were equally delighted to be back at our My Wild Child sessions.
One of the Mums said, “My daughter isn’t going to nursery, so seeing her playing with other children safely in nature is brilliant!” A 2-year-old Wild Child agreed, telling me, “The best thing today is meeting new friends”. Importantly, she added she had also “seen a queen bee!” Many young children have not been able to socialise during lockdown, so seeing them interact with children their own age was a joyful benefit to these outdoor sessions.
One Mum, whose 3 year old is a bit of an insect enthusiast, described why the sessions are so vital to her: “I wanted to encourage his curiosity in nature and learn about the real world; something different to football and soft play.” One thing all the parents agreed on is that children need to spend time outside in nature. They promised they would be coming back next week, not to mention the week after that!
Meanwhile, for older children aged between five and ten, our popular Wildlife Watch club has restarted on the first Saturday of the month. With wildlife encounters, fascinating animal facts and creative crafts on offer, these sessions have enabled our young wildlife enthusiasts to enjoy returning to our fabulous venue, Grow Wilder.
One 5 year-old Wildlife Watcher has been attending our sessions since she was 2 years old! She loves exploring Grow Wilder and birdwatching, but her highlight has been seeing a vole. Her mum told me, “She wants to join the young volunteers when she’s old enough and maybe even work here when she’s older!”.