Project uses storytelling to engage children with nature

• Immersive experience is delivered at Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust nature reserves and built on in the local community

• Initial teacher feedback is that the contact with nature is helping children recover from the Covid-19 pandemic

ACTION

Shortly after arriving at a Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust (WWT) nature reserve, primary school pupils taking part in the Generation Wild project stumble across a creature that is half-bird, half-girl. But this “chance” meeting with Ava, who can be found sleeping in a giant nest, is far from an accident.

As the pupils watch the life-size puppet “wake up”, the children are quickly drawn into an immersive performance where they learn that Ava, who is half osprey, is unsure who she is, where she came from or how she ended up at the site.

She tells them that by using magical “translatorphones” they can listen to the animals around them and find out how she travelled here from her other home in west Africa.

They are told that only the animals on the site know the secret behind Ava’s migratory journey and they need to gain their trust to help her reunite with her family in West Africa.

This narrative, played out during their visit, is just one of the carefully crafted layers of the project that has been specifically designed to reach children from disadvantaged areas.

Not only does Generation Wild aim to improve their wellbeing by helping them to connect with nature but it also seeks to break down the barriers that might have prevented them from engaging – and benefiting from – the natural world in the first place.

Over the course of this three-year project, the trust hopes to reach 45,000 children from disadvantaged areas, whose eligibility to take part in Generation Wild is determined by the percentage of pupils at their school that receive free school meals (FSM).

The qualifying percentage varies by area to account for regional differences in levels of economic deprivation, from 20 per cent in areas where there are fewer children who qualify for FSM to up to 40 per cent in areas with higher rates.

“We’ve thought about what we mean by vulnerability and for this particular project it’s around being economically vulnerable,” says project manager Charlotte Levene.

Since the project’s soft launch towards the end of last summer – it was officially announced in September – nearly 3,000 children aged five to 11 have visited one of the WWT’s seven sites.

Prior to their visit, classroom work sees the children introduced to Ava and her family through a digital illustrated story book. A guide for teachers advises them not to mention anything that will happen on the visit or the remainder of the project. This helps “keep the element of wonder and surprise” when pupils stumble upon the nest and meet Ava for the first time.

While pupils read Ava’s story they are able to click on information buttons that reveal factual information about ospreys and how they live in the wild.

They are also drawn into a narrative where Ava is warned by her family not to fly too close to the wetland centre because past persecution had led to a fear of humans.

Levene says a small company, Stand + Stare, commissioned by WWT helped come up with the creative concept for the project.

“They worked really closely with us and developed the idea of having a narrative approach which helps to engage children’s imaginations,” she says. “It also works for those children that don’t really engage that well.

“The children see this magical puppet show and walk around with the translatorphones and because it’s so special, it also makes them feel special too.”

While learning is one of the outcomes for the project, Levene says building a connection to the natural world is equally as important.

“We want the children to have a long-term passion for nature because it’s something they can take into their adult life,” she adds.

“If you feel part of that as a child, that’s something in the bank for when you are an adult. You know there are things that are going to make you feel alright as you get older.”

To promote and develop this connection with nature, children that take part in Generation Wild are offered a free return visit with their family to a WWT site.

Back in the classroom, they are also encouraged to complete nature activities, similar to those they carried out on site, to achieve a “Guardian of the Wild” badge and certificate.

It is these elements of the project that help to ensure children remain engaged both in school and at home and also feel welcome to return to the wetland sites, says Levene.

“Historically, there’s a fear for some families that if you go to a nature site that you haven’t got the right equipment or the right clothes or they might be scared to ask questions or think they have to know the rules. We wanted to get rid of those barriers and make people realise that nature is for everybody,” she says.

IMPACT

The project’s aim to connect children and their families with nature in a “lasting and meaningful way” is being evaluated by a researcher funded by the School of Psychology at Cardiff University.

PhD student Nicola Parkin says she is currently interviewing teachers that have taken part in Generation Wild with their class during autumn 2021.

“I am hearing many very moving accounts of how crucial the project has been for children who are experiencing difficult circumstances,” she says.

“Also, how teachers see this opportunity to visit a WWT site and be in contact with nature as being particularly vital at this time, as part of children’s recovery from Covid isolation and disruptions to education.”

Parkin believes the project is set apart from similar schemes by its involvement of schools and families in the follow-up to the site visit.

“Generation Wild has a beautiful website, crammed full of engaging and accessible nature connection activities for children to carry out,” she adds.

According to Parkin, there is very little research that evaluates methodologies for assessing nature connection in young children, “so finding the right techniques is our first step and we are busy piloting different potential methods”, she adds.

In addition, evaluation of a previous WWT project to engage children at schools in economically disadvantaged areas found despite providing some pupils with “exceptional experiences”, the overall impact was short-lived.

A research report says that this previous project appeared to inspire children from schools with 20 per cent or more pupils eligible for FSM than among those from schools with less than 20 per cent of pupils eligible for FSM.

Key indicators showed an increase in interest in wildlife and nature immediately and up to two weeks after the visit. However, after six to 12 months attitudes and activity reverted back to pre-visit proportions.

“We concluded that inspiring long-term change not only requires continued intervention by the school and WWT but importantly helping change family and community culture around access to wildlife and nature,” the report states.

• Read more in CYP Now's Outdoor Learning Special Report