A wander into my childhood. By J.
J sent us this piece of writing following our screening of Project Wild Thing.
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I had the pleasure of watching a film about a man called David Bond, who has taken up the challenge of marketing director for nature with the aim of getting young children and their parents back out into nature. The film i watched revealed some concerning statistics in relation to children and their engagement with various different activities throughout their day. There were some alarming statistics concerning his own children's time spent in front of a screen, whether that was watching the television or indeed engaging with various games on their tablets or computers.
David had decided that his purpose moving forward was to sell nature to not only his own children but to take on the amazing and rather grand task of selling it to the nation and beyond our shores. Project Wild Thing was such an inspirational film and you couldn't help but get infected by its drive, passion and his exploration of ideas to market this forgotten treasure to lost generations of children in today's consumer culture, to try to coax these children and adults to return to the expanse of adventures that await us in getting outside and getting muddy. The benefits of which are well documented in terms of mental health and physical health studies. With concerns currently around child obesity and behavioural conditions such as ADHD mentioned.
For me it was a magical journey back to my childhood and all the rich tapestry of adventures and memories attached to playing outside and appreciating nature on a daily basis. The first notion that hit me was the gift of patience bestowed to me, the ability early on in life for things not to be instant, for example going fishing with dad. Sat there for a good three hours just soaking up nature all around.
Incandescent dragon flies dancing around the surface of a pool dappled with lily pads whilst i tried to unravel my line for the twentieth time but it was okay because there was calm and connection present, my dad and my brother close by and the time just ticking away with no sense of urgency to the day or the task. The walks over the fields to spot birds making their nests for new life, the heron sat patiently waiting for its next snack along the meandering canal wandering through the landscape. The Times we would go hunting for ant eggs to feed our goldfish with and watch them hungrily gobble them up. The conker hunt every year to find the ultimate weapon for warriors for school playgrounds. Walking along the abandoned railway track for miles to find the jewels of treasure in the form of jade Green stones scattered along the old tracks. The dens we would build with friends with not one adult anywhere to be seen and the rules of the den discussed in great depth between us all and agreed without a vote, more an agreed set of terms we all agreed upon, a collective and collaborative sharing of ideas. Mushroom picking on a Sunday early morning then home to cook them. Having our own vegetable patch in the front garden of our council house. Watching insects in the garden going about their daily business, frogspawn in the small garden pond turning to tadpoles and eventually frogs closely observed each day after school. Having a greenhouse at our junior school where we would take cuttings of plants and grow new ones.
The smell of wild garlic as we walked our dog in Ellesmere I can still recall, better than any pizza you can name. Collecting chickweed to feed our canaries and the dandelions to feed our rabbit. Identifying different trees as we wandered around the green spaces without having to think too much about the time or the weather or anything troubling. Climbing as far as we dare without a risk assessment and forms to fill in. I can recall us seeing how far up these natural climbing frames we could get before jumping down the ground again. Parents not overriding the will of the children because adventures are meant to carry an element of risk for children to build on their confidence and character was another really honest discussion in the film. Finding their own feet early on being so important from an early age. All a far cry from the 'plastic images of nature' we are constantly fed through screens and media. I feel engaging with the 'real thing' allows us to develop a far more sentient self, far more aware of ourselves and our surroundings. Connecting with all of our senses and interacting with the real world and not a synthesis virtually drip fed that convey a sense of third hand experiences. The earlier we can start this process in life the healthier we will be both mentally and physically speaking in my humble opinion. Project Wild Thing I think has this notion at the heart of its operations.
My grandparents small holding where i spent a huge portion of my childhood weekends was therapy, i didn't realise at the time the mechanisms at play i just knew I loved being there and loved being surrounded by nature. It gave me space to develop, to heal, to grow, to work, to observe nature all around me. Lambing time and new life, chickens being fed vegetable peelings, the ducks eggs incubating and hatching into small silkie chicks. Collecting the damsons and plums for jam. Mixing the molasses with shredded sugar beet for feed for the animals and taking it out to the fields and taking time to watch the flock. So many real-time, really tactile, live and unpredicted experiences that shape you and your understanding of the world around accessed by getting back to nature. A lot of these memories i had buried under pile of consumerism culture, work commitments, money worries, obligations, having no time to truly revisit my experiences and relive them out again at the next opportunity. Take back that precious time and just be in the world. Project Wild Thing to me is about taking back ownership of our freedom to enjoy the simple ways of life and pleasure, re-engage with nature and remind ourselves to stop and look around once in a while because no virtual world can simulate the raw power and wonder that nature has to offer. You don't need large expanses of countryside to get children enthralled with the World that surrounds them, merely the opportunity to be torn away from screens and getting back outdoors to experience real moments. If we don't show our next generations the wonder and adventures nature can bestowe for life long healthier living mentally and physically then I think we possibly need to change that immediately.