Young People Are Leading The Way

The Independent recently wrote about the runaway success of a children’s wildlife television show called ‘Deadly 60’. The show follows adventurer Steve Backshall as he tracks down 60 ‘deadly animals’ in exotic locations all over the world. Steve’s ‘deadly’ animals aren’t always dangerous to people - they can instead be deadly for their prey. Which gives Steve plenty of licence to include a wide variety of fascinating creatures, for example, the chameleon as it captures and devours a diet of insects. 3.2 million children have seen the show in the UK, demonstrating just how incredibly keen young people are to learn about the natural world. For parents of older children, the Eden Project’s Real Cool Futures campaign is well worth a visit on the computer at home. It aims to harness this interest by promoting green careers for secondary school students. The website has career information for students; teaching resources for schools; and there is also an interactive database of case studies and film.

Young people will both inherit the world we leave them and become the next generation to take care of it! It is so encouraging that they are keen to learn and there’s never been a better time to foster their interest in ecology. To help them, you can speak to their teachers about the resources available at My Greener School. It’s a website packed with lesson planning ideas, factsheets and products for schools to teach all children of all ages. At home, invest in children’s books about the earth and sustainable living - there are some fantastic titles to teach about wildlife and the earth’s minerals. Finally, I recommend encouraging their interest in growing vegetables from an early an age as possible. From my experience, children absolutely love this activity and of course it has terrific educational value. If you don’t have a garden, you can still use whatever outside space is available with a planter or growhouse. They will fit neatly into all sorts of places - for example your balcony, porch, or roof terrace.

Photo credit: Father and Child by Horton Group.