Young 'losing links to countryside'

The country's largest conservation group issued the dramatic claim as it launched a major new project which aims to revitalise links with the outdoors.

National Trust director general Fiona Reynolds said she feared a "generation gap" had developed, young people becoming less knowledgeable about the countryside and less likely to make the effort to travel outside towns and cities.

"For generations we worked the land, marvelled at its beauty through art and literature and explored our country paths and mountains," she said.

"For some, these pleasures remain one of the great joys of life. But we can't ignore the fact that, whether through pressures of time or physical access, as a nation we seem to be increasingly disconnected from the fabric of the country and there is a real danger of a 'generational gap' opening up where young people feel terrified at the prospect of going into the countryside."

As a result, the National Trust, which manages many of Yorkshire's areas of natural beauty including Runswick Bay and Mallam Tarn, is today launching a six-month project called Outdoor Nation to find out if the UK public is losing touch with the countryside.

Launching the initiative, the trust drew attention to a series of high-profile reports and academic studies showing a growing disconnection between people and the natural environment.

Recent reports have shown that 64 per cent of children play outside less than once a week and the distance children stray from their homes has decreased by 90 per cent since the 1970s. Some 26 per cent of teenagers believe that bacon comes from sheep and children are more likely to recognise a Dalek than a magpie. Also, one third of all under 16s avoids playing outdoors because they don't want to get their clothes dirty.

This contrasted with evidence showing that taking part in simple outdoor activities, such as going for a short walk every day, offers huge potential to improve quality of life, health and wellbeing.

Ms Reynolds added: "As the caretaker for coast, countryside and local green space, equivalent to the size of Derbyshire, it's important for the trust to understand whether we really have lost touch with the outdoors, if it matters, and if so, what we can do to help.

"The Government's forthcoming natural environment white paper offers a once-in-a-generation opportunity to start focusing on bridging the growing gap between people and the natural environment.

"We hope our Outdoor Nation project will help foster local and national partnerships that can help deliver on the huge opportunities offered by the outdoors as we look to its ongoing protection and promotion."

The project will include a roaming reporter travelling across the country talking to people and organisations about their experiences of the outdoors and views about our relationship with the outdoors. The reporter's journey will be reported online at www.outdoornation.org.uk with video interviews and a blog, with opportunities for users to comment on the findings, put forward ideas and suggest avenues for investigation.

The project also aims to explore how changes introduced by the Government in recent weeks could present opportunities for Big Society partnerships, involving local community groups, to help provide greater access to local green space.

TV personality Bear Grylls, who is Chief Scout at the Scout Association, said: "It's so important that we don't lose our connection with the natural world around us. It is such a big part of what makes life special.

"Giving every young person an adventure in the outdoors is what Scouting is good at, and young people today need that adventure in their lives more than ever.

"Outdoor adventure empowers and brings confidence to people that society can often leave feeling vulnerable and disconnected."

The findings from the project will be published early summer 2011.