Occasional Paper Series #50
Connecting Children and Young People with Trees
by Gill Forrester, Jo Maker, Will Price, Hollie Davison, and Heather Gilbert
Introduction
The importance of spending time in nature has never been better understood than it is today (Barragan-Jason et al., 2023). Connecting to nature has a huge variety of benefits, but the ways of creating this connection are even more numerous and diverse. From providing outdoor adventure centers to teaching reading outside under a tree, there are many ways that families, schools, and other groups seek to engage children and young people with nature. But in a world where technology is becoming increasingly accessible and attractive to children and young people, and almost limitless information is available at the touch of a screen, how do we connect them with what’s happening on their doorstep? And what can we do to encourage them to step outside?
The National Forest has decades of experience helping children and young people engage and build connections with and value the stories and significance of their local treescapes. We use “treescapes” here in its broadest sense: any landscape, habitat, or natural area where there are trees. This could be a vast, dense woodland or a small group of trees within school grounds, as each of these varied spaces can be used to promote a connection with nature.
The following success stories range from engagement with treescapes in traditional education settings to the establishment of extracurricular youth groups and the use of art as a connector. Just as in traditional education, no one alternative method will suit all, and so the success of the National Forest’s work lies in the flexibility and diversity of its approaches.
Gill Forrester began her career as a Countryside Ranger on the North West coast of England. Passionate about the environment and education, she subsequently worked as a primary school teacher and then Environmental Education Advisor within disadvantaged communities. Holding an MA in International Tourism, Gill is committed to working with communities to raise awareness of heritage, the environment, and sustainability. Now the community and wellbeing manager for the National Forest Company, Gill focusses on connecting communities to the forest around them.
Jo Maker has over 20 years of experience working in the arts, developing place-based cultural projects that respond to landscape, heritage, and ecology. As the arts & creativity manager for the National Forest Company, Jo develops strategic projects across 200 square miles of the Midlands that reflect upon and reimagine our relationship to nature, climate, and time.
Hollie Davidson is a project officer at the National Forest Company, focusing on supporting community projects to bring more people out into nature to support their wellbeing, enhance their appreciation for the natural world, and better understand the importance of the environment around them.
Heather Gilbert is the research and evidence manager for the National Forest Company. After completing her PhD at the University of Nottingham, United Kingdom, Heather undertook several years of fieldwork studying biodiversity trends around the world. Much of this work involved engaging students of all ages with biodiversity research and the conservation issues it informs. Heather now works with the National Forest teams to support a diverse range of programs encompassing environmental, societal, and economic research into building a sustainable future with trees at the heart.