Green Party champions children's right to access to nature

Since I became ill about a year ago I have suspended my work with primary school pupils engaging with nature in Fryent Country Park LINK but was very pleased when the Green Party passed a motion at last weekend's conference asserting children's right to access to nature.

I have seen for myself how children can become enthralled by contact with nature. I remember one child emerging from the woodland and gazing over the meadows and exclaiming, 'This is like Paradise!'  On another occasion a child was chatting happlily to me as we walked through a meadow and a teacher ran up to ask, 'Was she talking to you?' I replied that we had been having a chat about all the things she had seen. The teacher drew me aside later and told me that the child was an elective mute and had never spoken to an adult in school. 

Natalie Bennett, former leader of the Green Party, moved the motion at Conference and has written about it in the Ecologist LINK. This is part of what she had to say.  I think it fits in very well with the move I have been supporting over recent weeks to make London a National Park City.

--> When I was a small child, five or so, I first went blackberrying in Australia. At the same time, I was taught to find yabbies (freshwater crayfish) in the streams around my grandparents’ house in a national park near Sydney with a piece of meat tied on a string. (A few years later all the yabbies’ disappeared – pesticides, it was said.)

I also collected the shed shells of cicadas, and learnt about metamorphosis. It was also where I learnt to use a crosscut saw, built childish dams across a muddy stream, and to shower under a waterfall.
These are the kinds of experiences that the Texas City of Austin - perhaps a politically unlikely location - has decided should be the right of every child. In 2016, its council, with not a Green Party member on it, unanimously adopted a Children’s Outdoor Bill of Rights, guaranteeing its young people the right to many of those activities I so enjoyed as a child.

We’re increasingly understanding that these activities aren’t just fun, aren’t just educational, but are essential for human wellbeing – will develop skills, knowledge and expectations that will take people through a lifetime of better health and wellbeing.

And of course they’ll prepare people for physical activities – develop the practical skills that equip people to be active in a society where many are suffering from obesity, diabetes and other health issues arising from inactivity.

Lack of opportunities and exercise of these activities has been identified as “Nature Deficit Disorder”. It’s something that many children now suffer from. 

The International Union for the Conservation of Nature has prepared a major report on children’s need for access to nature, pointing out that as well as the health, wellbeing and skills that time spent in nature provides, its essential that if we are to care for our natural world in the future, coming generations have knowledge of and love for it.

Acknowledging this research, and reality, Green Party members before its spring conference, held in Bournemouth, made a motion on the issue their top policy priority for conference.
In it the party backed the call for access to nature to be recognised as a human right, operating at the international level, but also acknowledged that this is something that cities and local government can implement at a local level.

In many parts of the country Green councillors are already fighting to save local parks and green spaces, from the Sefton Park Meadows and Rimrose Valley Park, to Sunderland and Stoneham.

But the framework of a children’s right to nature, something that’s particularly likely to be denied to those in the poorest communities, that acknowledges also that barriers can be lack of knowledge and opportunity as well as lack of access, is an important additional tool, that you can expect to see wielded for the benefit of our children, and our world.

Walkers get active in Fryent Country Park via Streetlife

It has been great to see local people organising various walking groups in Fryent Country Park  on Streetlife this week. One group is walking in the park as I write this. LINK

Since I made the above video celebrating the park's Green Flag Award, Brent Council has withdrawn from the award and has privatised parks maintenance in the borough. Veolia has taken over the role as part of the Public Realm contract.

I hope that these two decisions do not signal any deterioration in the care of our park.  We are lucky to have the volunteer work of the Barn Hill Conservation Group who are out in the park most weekends clearing litter, maintaining footpaths and enhancing its unique landscape.

Fryent is a wonderful resource and deserves to be better known. With the pressure on green spaces for development it is vital that it is used and valued by local people.

I run nature walks and activities in the park for Brent School Without Walls LINK and many parents accompanying school groups are amazed to discover it for the first time.

On Saturday September 6th Willesden Harvesters, Kensal and Kilburn Fruit Pickers, Mapesbury Pickers the Conservation Group are joinign together to harvest fruit from the 900 or so small trees in the park.

If you are interested in joining them contact: Michael.Stuart6@gmail.com

Little comfort after a wet and cold start to Spring 2013

It was so good to feel warm sun on my skin this afternoon when I walked in Fryent Country Park in preparation for a Brent School Without Walls LINK visit by three classes next week.

The city from Barn Hill

What a contrast to this time last year during the mini-heatwave when the blossom was out and ponds were drying up in the drought. Today there was just a small amount of blackthorn blossom in bloom and the first leaf buds of hawthorn were hardly evident.

Blackthorn

 Last year much of the frogspawn shriveled up in the sun as the ponds dried up. I was optimistic that this year with ponds over-flowing the amphibian population would have a chance to recover. Alas, many spawned before the severe cold spell and the spawn's jelly does not appear to have protected them from sub-zero temperatures and frozen ponds Much of the spawn is discoloured and tell-tale flies hover over it. The pictures below contrast the damaged with a rare clump of healthy spawn.

Today's sun did bring out the Lesser Celandines which are always a bright relief after a grey winter:

 

There is a chance that some frogs, toads and newts have not spawned yet and the presence of heron at several of the ponds may indicate activity.

 

Overall, I reckon Spring is 4-6 weeks behind last year. Back on my Birchen Grove allotment the soil is waterlogged. Autumn sown onion sets, garlic and shallots have been squeezed out of the wet clay like pus from an adolescent's spots. Many seeds will have to be started off inside given the cold and wet soil conditions. With such a poor start and the weather unpredictable it is likely to be another poor harvest this year with a further rise in food prices.

Still, enjoy the view across Fryent Country Park to Edgware on a sunny afternoon...

Making hay while the sun shines in Fryent Country Park

I had the first class of the Autumn term in Fryent Country Park today.  The Year Ones were studying seeds and seed dispersal and eagerly searched for seeds and fruits in the meadows and hedgerows of the park and found them in great abundance, although the squirrels seemed to have had all the acorns.

They enjoyed watching a pair of kestrels hovering while hunting over Gotsford Hill and were excited by toads, tadpoles and newts as children have been for centuries.

Walking back across the fields from Kingsbury to Wembley I found hay making in progress.  Few realise that Fryent Country Park is a certified organic farm for hay which is sold off contributing to park expenses. Harvest was delayed by bad weather and sodden ground difficult for tractors to negotiate. Hay prices have gone up as a result but today's crop looked in pretty good shape.

Enjoy the pictures below and reflect on how fortunate we are to still have a little Middlesex countryside in our borough.

This is  a black and white photograph of my Aunt Muriel hay making at Bush Farm in 1942 complete with horse and cart. Today's baling machinery is much more advanced than her pitch fork but the hay left to dry before baling would be familiar.

Anyone wanting to book a class or club trip to Fryent Country Park should go to the Brent School Without Walls website HERE

Kids needed to promote the outdoors

Using the sense of touch to get to know a tree in Fryent Country Park

Seeing the reaction of children when they visit Brent School Without Walls LINK with me in Fryent Country Park and have the chance to run through meadows, build shelters, pond dip and bug hunt, always reminds me of the importance of such experiences.  Often children seen as behaviour problems in school surprise their teachers by their engagement and on one occasion that I remember a child who was an elective mute in class chattered happily about what she was doing.

Now there's an opportunity for children themselves to find ways of encouraging more children to make use of the outdoors.

A group of advisors – made up entirely of children – is being recruited by the National Trust to provide advice on how to encourage more of the nation’s children outdoors. The idea follows the charity’s recent Natural Childhood Report of 50 things to do before the age of 11¾ campaign. It shows the Trust stepping up its game in encouraging children to explore the outdoors and to experience nature at first hand.

The National Trust is looking to sign up ten children aged between seven and twelve to the council where they are to take up an important role in developing the charity’s outdoor campaigns as well as making their properties more fun for younger children.

The perfect candidate will be brimming with enthusiasm and fun, plus having a natural love for the outdoors and fresh air. Potential applicants are also required to have an adventurous spirit and a wild imagination. A fondness for rolling down hills or jumping in muddy puddles would be considered a bonus.

 Offering children the chance to try out the National Trust and to gain inspiration on what might be improved, if appointed to the Kids’ Council, the Trust has opened up its doors to children for free during the whole month of August. Over 200 places are be free of charge to children, giving the opportunity to explore National Trust properties across the country.

Successful applicants to the council will be announced later in the year. These children will be offered free year-long access to places for themselves and their family. Canoeing, surfing and camping will be part of the winning prize to offer kids and their families access to the full range of the National Trust properties.

The Kids’ Council will meet throughout 2013 and will report its findings to the National Trust’s Visitor Experience Director so that suggestions can be put into practice, helping make the outdoors more fun for the nation’s kids.

The application process closes on 7^th September 2012. Application forms can be downloaded from the website at www.nationaltrust.org.uk/kidscouncil and sent back via email or handed in at National Trust properties.

Tony Berry, Visitor Experience Director of the National Trust, comments: 

We are really committed to helping kids enjoy the great outdoors and we want to make our places the most fun and family-friendly day out destinations in the UK.  I’m really excited that our new Kids’ Council will help us do just that. Our Kids go Free promotion for the entire month of August will not only give kids and their families the chance to go out and explore, but hopefully inspire them to apply for our Kids’ Council and so let is know what we can do better in future.

I welcome these restrictions on professional dog walkers

Dog walker van parked at Fryent Country Park*

The November 14th Executive will be asked to agree the introduction of the Dog Control Orders in parks. The Orders would limit to six the maximum number of dogs that may be taken onto land by one person; exclude dogs from playgrounds, multi-use games areas, tennis and netball courts and bowling greens; and specify certain areas where dogs are to be kept on leads.

I welcome the limitation on dog numbers being walked by one person. Professional dog walkers have increasingly been using Fryent Country Park as other boroughs have introduced limits in their parks. The walkers, who charge up to £10 an hour for each dog, sometime have very large numbers of dogs off their leads in the park. I have counted 15 with one walker.  The dogs act as an excitable pack, often rampaging well ahead of the walker, and clearly not under immediate control. It appears to be impossible for that person to be able to pick up all the excrement deposited. In the summer I saw several dogs from a large group rushing around the pony paddock at Bush Farm with the walker nowhere in sight.

I take classes of primary school children to Fryent Country Park for nature walks with Brent School Without Walls. Generally dog walkers are sensitive and put their dogs on a lead when approaching their children, or take a route to avoid them. However, I have had encounters with the large groups of dogs when the  front-runners, off their leads, see the children, or smell their picnic lunches, and rampage around them, often frightening those children not used to dogs. Again the dog walker is well behind the leading dogs and thus not available to intervene. The mix of excited dogs and scared children is potentially dangerous.

From my chats with local people walking their companion dogs I think the Orders will be generally welcomed.  One issue on which the orders are silent is more than one person walking with a large group of dogs. Two people could have 12 dogs between them

* The criticism of professional dog walkers in this posting are not aimed specifically at the owners of this van.

Grabbing ears helps local children

Parachute games at last year's Festival

I spent a very pleasant day at Queensbury Eco-Cultural Festival on Sunday running the Brent School Without Walls stall and organising parachute games. Brent green groups were well represented with Friends of the Earth, Brent Sustainability and Brent Cyclists running stalls. As usual there was amazing dancing from various local groups.

The event is organised by the Friends of Eton Grove Park who have been extremely effective at, as they state writing a few letters and grabbing a few ears, to make improvements to a park that was run down: 'cracked walking paths, no tennis courts anymore, no football posts, no cricket crease and no flowers!'.  The group was formed in 2008 to 'bring back life, energy and security to the park'.

Since then they have managed to get:

• New fencing up along segments of the park boundary
• The children's playground has been revamped
• The reintroduction of tennis courts and a new multi-use games area

They have worked with local local schools and the community in a number of projects to improve safety in the park and local area. They have spread the environmental message working with Roe Green Junior School and Kingsbury High School.

In many ways this is an excellent example of community action which has succeeded in making real improvements in the quality of life for local people, especially the children.

There are more projects in the pipeline including a cricket pitch and facilities for older residents. I wish them well.

Fun at Eco-Cultural Festival on Sunday

Click on image to enlarge

The Brent festival season is  well under way now and I will be in Queensbury with a Brent School Without Walls stall and running parachute games for children. This Festival is a great showcase for local dancing groups.