Hannah's 50 things

From the Mirror Online:
British kids are becoming house-bound couch potatoes who have lost touch with the joys of nature.  A quarter of all children never play outside, a third have never climbed a tree and amazingly one in 10 can’t even ride a bike.  Kids are more than twice as likely to get bumps and bruises falling out of bed than falling out of trees and one in four don’t know what a mouse looks like.  Meanwhile, children spend an average of four-and-a-half hours a day sat in front of a TV or computer screen.  But a report commissioned by the National Trust suggests it may be parents who are stopping kids exploring the great outdoors.  More than 80% of kids say they want more freedom to play outside – to build dens, swing on ropes, go camping or explore rock pools – but fewer than 10% get the chance because their mums and dads won’t let them.  A previous survey by charity Play England showed over-protective parents are banning their children from “dangerous” pursuits that they once took for granted.  One in five youngsters aged seven to 12 have been forbidden from playing conkers and 17% are not even allowed to play tag.  Adrian Voce, former director of Play England said: “Playing is an essential part of growing up and helps to instil ­critical life skills in kids.”
The National Trust has now launched a campaign to encourage ­children to get outside to enjoy old-fashioned adventures in safety.  It has come up with a list of 50 Things To Do Before You’re 11¾ and formed a group of Elite Rangers to help teach them how to play alfresco – a top tree climber, a den building supremo, bug-catching expert, treasure hunter and stone skimmer.


'reckon we can knock these off before she's 5
And we love a good bagger's list:
National Trust's 50 things:
Climb a tree


Roll down a really big hill
 1

Camp out in the wild


Build a den


Skim a stone


Run around in the rain


Fly a kite


Catch a fish with a net


Eat an apple straight from a tree


Play conkers


Throw some snow


Hunt for treasure on the beach


Make a mud pie


Dam a stream


Go sledging


Bury someone in the sand


Set up a snail race


Balance on a fallen tree

Swing on a rope swing


Make a mud slide


Eat blackberries growing in the wild


Take a look inside a tree


Visit an island

Feel like you’re flying in the wind


Make a grass trumpet


Hunt for fossils and bones


Watch the sun wake up


Climb a huge hill

Get behind a waterfall


Feed a bird from your hand


Hunt for bugs


Find some frogspawn


Catch a butterfly in a net


Track wild animals


Discover what’s in a pond


Call an owl


Check out the crazy creatures in a rock pool


Bring up a butterfly


Catch a crab


Go on a nature walk at night


Plant it, grow it, eat it

Go wild swimming


Go rafting


Light a fire without matches


Find your way with a map and compass


Try bouldering (rock climbing outdoors but with safety mats and short drops)


Cook on a campfire


Try abseiling


Find a geocache (use GPS and other navigational aides to locate hidden containers.)

Canoe down a river



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