We are asking Sir Kier Starmer (Prime Minister), Rachel Reeves MP (Chancellor of the Exchequer), Wes Streeting MP (Secretary of State for Health & Social Care), Bridget Phillipson MP (Secretary of State for Education), Angela Rayner MP (Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government), Ed Miliband (Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero), Peter Kyle (Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology) and Lisa Nandy (Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport) to make the evidence-informed, economic and political decision to support a Nature Premium for early years and school children.
Covid-19 lockdown has highlighted the inequalities of access to nature. This is not a new phenomenon(1), but one which now, more than ever, needs addressing.
Time in nature is crucial for children’s mental and physical wellbeing: the benefits are far-reaching and well-documented(2,3,4). Nature provides a way to feel refreshed, revitalised, calm and relaxed. People who visit nature have greater life satisfaction, more self-worth, more happiness and less anxiety (5,6). Other benefits include better resilience, improvements in social functioning and social inclusion(2). Its benefits for physical wellbeing are critical too, obesity affects around 1 in every 5 children aged 10 to 11 in the UK (7) and in 2014-15, the NHS spent an estimated £6.1 billion on overweight and obesity-related ill health(8).
Research published in 2018 showed that children used more energy on a school day with Forest School (playing in woods), than on a school day with P.E (9). Wildlife Trust research also found that natural environments can play a key role in increasing physical activity levels(2). It could be that not all children enjoy organised games and team competition, playing in a nature rich environment is more inclusive.
Prior to lockdown, there was already a mental health crisis in the UK(10) and the probability of this crisis now being exacerbated is high(11). It is not unreasonable to anticipate, as we emerge from lockdown, that children will experience high levels of stress, anxiety and withdrawal as a result of prolonged isolation(12).