Last night, some of the educators from Flinders went to watch a documentary called Project Wild Thing. The film was made by a British man named David Bond who is worried about children becoming increasingly disconnected from nature and instead spending time ‘plugged in’ to screens and digital media. David Bond dubbed himself Head of Marketing for Nature and began a nationwide marketing campaign to promote play in natural spaces. This campaign has since become an international movement, which you can read about on the website.
Obviously living in Adelaide does not pose the same challenges to accessing natural spaces as living in London does, however many of the reasons why people spend less time outdoors were similar. The Project Wild Thing website offers a range of apps and play ideas to support families to begin spending more time outdoors. There is even an app where you can put in the amount of time you have available and a range of outdoor play ideas are suggested. You can also check out the trailer for the film and join the Wild community.
We understand that this might not be for everyone, but we were excited by the film and excited by the Wild Thing movement; at Flinders we love being outdoors and this project is a great way to share our joy!
Being outside in natural spaces, fostering a connection to nature, has been shown to have a myriad of benefits for humans regardless of age. Children who spend time outdoors, playing in natural spaces are shown to have decreased stress levels, increased concentration levels, nature play decreases symptoms of ADHD, anxiety and depression. Children and people of all ages have consistently reported that their favourite memories take place with their family outdoors, however these same people also report that they spend less time outdoors than they might like. Project Wild Thing intends to provide the inspiration to get out in nature and go wild.