Reflections on the Outdoors, Play and Everyday
Better for us, better for all our children, for the economy and society, and much much better for the planet. Take a listen to this great podcast!
Continue reading “Must listen – Richard Louv on how we can create a Nature Rich Future”
Last night I cycled back from Westminster to East London and just as I got over the Old Street roundabout I felt an increasingly familiar sense of ‘Nearly home’. As I turned into London Fields, Hackney, I smiled. This is my place.
What does that mean? What is Kith? Continue reading “Building a Sense of Place”
Check out this glorious video from the John Muir Trust about the wild spaces in the UK and their mission to protect and enhance them
What is the purpose of education? This is a question posed by the Purpose/Ed campaign back in 2013, and this was my response… Given we are now in the last 100 days before the next election I thought it might be a good time to repost. Outdoor play has a key role to play in education, not just in the early years, but throughout schooling. Not just as a small break between classes, but as an integral and often overlooked part of the school day for all children and young people. Anyway here’s my essay… Continue reading “If The Purpose Of Education Is Life! Then Shouldn’t Outdoor Play Be Part Of It?”
The Wild Network, a UK-based network of organisations and individuals promoting outdoor play and access to outdoor space for children, has announced a multi-million pound partnership with computer game giant Minecraft to launch a series of Minecraft theme parks across the UK.
If you go down to the woods today…
Well in the woods in Millfields Park, Hackney on Wednesdays and Fridays what you’ll find is Free Range Urban Kids – the borough’s first 100% outdoor nursery for 2-5 year olds! Continue reading “Free Range Urban Kids Launch!”
Exciting news – Outdoor People has been asked to do a workshop at Somersault Festival!
So if you are going, do come say hi about 12:00 on Friday!
I’ll be doing a fun workshop around why we became indoors people and how we can break free… Discussing issues like why children don’t go out so much, what communities can do about it and giving some examples of where streets and groups have taken back control of their own spaces so kids can play out. I’m replacing the fabulous Jay Griffiths, author of Kith, so just a bit of pressure…
After that I’ll be taking a break to go to Womad with my niece and nephew, something we’ve been doing as a family for 8 years now since both of them were small. As they are now 15 and 18 I suspect it will be a bit different, but I couldn’t be happier that they both still want to keep up this tradition. A year or so ago I wrote a piece inspired by my niece about the importance of ‘laying down memories‘. That’s not something that happens when you leave them watching cartoons!
And then a couple of weeks later I’ll be off to Wilderness festival as a trustee of a The Wild Network to present a showing of Project Wild Thing.
And then on August 22-25th Outdoor People will be at Exhale Yoga Festival, where we are coordinating the play and games, providing a shop and hiring out tents and swags to sleep in! Get in touch if you’d like more information – soon to be live on this site!
Looking forward to meeting lots more Wild Things!
So you may see a couple of new faces on the stall on Broadway Market schoolyard, do drop by and say hi to them if you are in town. Especially if you need anything to make your own festival holidays comfortable and fun!
Festival fun certainly is one way to make the outdoors easy.