Black2Nature ‘Into the Countryside’ Event
Project at a glance
Area of focus
Despite clear and well-documented benefits of engaging with the countryside, it is not enjoyed by everyone equally. There are nearly 8 million people from ethnic minority backgrounds in the UK who have, on average, 11 times less access to greenspace.
Our intention was to create a welcoming and inclusive day with Black2Nature (B2N) at Blenheim Palace to encourage children from disadvantaged backgrounds in Bristol to engage with nature, and appreciate career paths that are open to them. We wanted to address systemic barriers to accessing and thriving in nature. This included:
- Cultural barriers – providing positive and engaging activities and foods appropriate to the group.
- Structural barriers – the event was affordable (free for attendees).
- Experiential barriers – friendly volunteers and staff.
Objectives
To create a day of activities for the children to learn about nature, eat well, and have fun. The day had an underlying ‘educational’ goal to get them thinking about careers in the outdoors.
Activities included pond dipping, water quality testing, the 3P’s experiment (sewage and water conservation), weaving willow bird feeders, making journey sticks and storytelling, talking about trees, finding a wild bee colony, and exploring the maze.
B2N had emphasized that many of the children did not get substantial meals and were ‘always hungry’ so we endeavored to make food a key part of the day. This included making damper bread from scratch, cooking hotdogs and s’mores, and having a late afternoon pizza at the café.
Outcomes
- 22 children attended the day.
- The children didn’t want the day to end and were reluctant to get on the bus home.
- Long-term benefits of one-off events are difficult to capture and quantify, but we hope each child in future may choose to take opportunities to be outdoors and even pursue nature-related careers.
- A positive relationship with B2N was cemented.
Project highlights
The day was energy intense. The children bonded with staff and volunteers, and thrived outside and in the moment.
An impromptu visit to the butterfly house for four children saw a magical transformation from fear to delight.
Lessons learnt
- Developing relationships with less represented groups can be challenging for a range of reasons.
- Continuity of staff is important to develop and maintain the working relationship.
- Organisers and staff must be friendly, flexible, patient, calm and genuine.
- Have a plan but be ready to adapt.
- Safeguarding and first aid training for staff is important.
Future plans
We have further events planned with B2N. Each successful event presents more opportunities and can bring other groups on board through word of mouth and social media. Funding and capacity are key.
Funding
Total cost: £1,000* (session cost)
Funded by Thames Water.
*This estimate does not take into account the substantial amount of time that our partners at Cotwolds National Landscape put into building relationships with partners and stakeholders to enable successful session delivery.