Wild Bears, Wolves and Buffalo? No Wonder Our Children Rarely Visit the Country
09 July 2012
Around 50% of school children believe that animals such as wolves, bears, buffalo and meerkats roam wild in the British countryside. And fewer than 50% of children have seen native animals such as deer or owls in the wild, while only 28% have ever seen a bat according to a new survey issued today. Children’s knowledge of British plants is equally low with nearly 40% saying plants such as palm trees, bamboo, cactus and banana trees are native to the UK, whilst 40% believe that fruits such as pineapples, lychees, mangoes and bananas are commonly grown on British farms. And two-thirds of the six to twelve-year-olds visit the countryside less than once a month according to the poll released by The Prince’s Countryside Fund to mark National Countryside Week (9-16th July). The week aims to raise awareness of the importance of the countryside to the UK and the serious issues facing our rural communities. "The results suggest that our children have a low understanding of the countryside, and with our rural communities and economy under threat, this low awareness among our young people could be a real problem for the future," said Victoria Harris of The Prince’s Countryside Fund. "At the moment around 800 village shops are closing each year, cutting people off from vital services. Over 40% of 16-24 year olds in rural areas are unemployed and only 13% of homes in rural areas are classed as affordable housing compared to 21% in towns and cities." More encouragingly, 25% of children say they’d like to visit the countryside more often. And over a third say they would like to live in the countryside in the future, compared with 20% who would like to live abroad and just 10% who would like to live in London. "This is positive news," said Harris. "The rural economy employs 5.5 million people, with domestic food and drink production contributing a massive £22 billion to the UK economy. But the average age of a decision maker on a hill farm is 58 and 60,000 new entrants are needed into farming over the next 10 years so the interest in living and working in the countryside is really encouraging. If we did have wolves, bears and buffalo in the wild, the countryside would be a far scarier place than it is! Perhaps the belief we do have them here is why children appear to visit the countryside so rarely even though they’d like to." National Countryside Week was launched in 2011 by The Prince’s Countryside Fund to raise awareness of the importance of the countryside to the UK. Through National Countryside Week, the Fund aims to champion the countryside, encouraging people to stop and consider the difficult issues our countryside faces and think about how they can help. During National Countryside Week, The Fund is calling on people to show their support for the countryside in the one of the following ways: • Look for The Prince’s Countryside Fund logo on pack when shopping: Brands that provide financial support to the Fund can use the logo on their products in return. By buying products carrying the logo you will show supporting companies just how much their support for the countryside is appreciated. The more successful the products with the logo are, the more businesses will want to contribute to the Fund. • Make a small donation – text PCF to 70300 to donate £3 to the Fund • Hold an event to raise money for The Prince’s Countryside Fund – download our fundraising pack
Or simply get out in the countryside and remember how much you appreciate it and how important it is to the UK. A wide range of activities are taking place to mark National Countryside Week. A new series of grants was announced today with over £400,000 of new funding going to 11 projects including a rural stress helpline, a fast broadband network to support communities and businesses in Cumbria, and a community trust which aims to buy a pub and redevelop it as a community hub. This brings the total amount of grants to over £1.5 million since 2010. Supporters Waitrose, Booths and Asda are all running promotional campaigns. The Prince’s Countryside Fund will be exhibiting at The Great Yorkshire Show and the public will be able to vote for winner of the Great British Countryside photo competition at www.greatbritishlife.org.uk