The magic of nature: transforming young lives with Generation Wild

Imagine a world where every child has the chance to connect with nature, explore their imaginations and boost their mental wellbeing.

Generation Wild is a nature connection programme designed and delivered by our learning teams here at WWT, the charity for wetlands and wildlife. It isn’t just another outdoor program, it’s a life-changing journey for children from disadvantaged communities.

Through the enchanting story of Ava the bird girl, children embark on an adventure, completing nature activities to become ‘Guardians of the Wild’. The results speak for themselves: lower stress levels, improved emotional regulation and a new-found love for the natural world.

More than just outdoor play

We’ve recently published our evaluation report detailing the programme's impact over its first three years (September 2021 – August 2024). During this time 45,000 children took part. They completed over 150,000 nature activities in their school grounds, gardens and local nature spaces.

You might be wondering, why does this matter? The answer is clear - these children have experienced significant improvements in their mental health. While research has long shown the connection between nature and well-being, witnessing the profound impact firsthand has been truly remarkable.

Giving children a voice

We’ve collected plenty of data from the programme but most powerful have been the children’s comments. Reading through them for the first time was a truly memorable moment. What could have been a laborious process (in the first year alone the children left 8,000 comments, all of which I read) was incredibly moving. I was able to see firsthand that the programme was having exactly the impact we’d hoped it would. I don't mind admitting that I had a few tears in my eyes by the end.

We knew that it had the potential to change children’s lives for the better but also that, because of their background, these were the very children that would potentially benefit the most. I could see from the comments I was reading that their experiences had done just that.

The power of nature connection

Fairly quickly I noticed several common themes emerging in relation to the children’s mental health. The first of these was the relaxing effects of nature. It was clear that nature was having a calming effect, helping the children to regulate their emotions, decreasing levels of stress and increasing their ability to deal with difficult situations:

‘A relaxing feeling washed over my body and enveloped me in calmness and peace.’

‘I loved it. It fell like everything didn't matter. It made me feel at peace.’

‘It felt like it was just me and the world, nobody else. I felt peaceful, inside and out.’

‘It gets my brain working, while it keeps me calm on another level, distracting me from my worries.’

‘I persevered and kept looking outside at nature to try make me calm down when I got angry, so I think nature is great and I want to say thank you too. I’m really calm now and it really made me happy and calm.’

There were mindfulness elements to this, with the activities giving children time to slow down and reflect:

‘You take your time to think about things that maybe you don’t think about often and you appreciate things more.’

‘It puts a smile on my face and makes me feel more grounded.’

‘I was able to reconnect with nature and find my inner self.’

Many children described feeling a sense of freedom, something that many rarely felt in their everyday lives:

‘I liked how alive and free I felt. You can let your spirit free.’

‘I liked the freedom, not caring about a single thing in life.’

‘It made me feel free and able to be myself because I never get to be free.’

This led to a sense of joy and happiness, the power of which shouldn’t be under-estimated:

‘I love the happy feeling that fills your body with warmth and joy even though the rain is cold.’

‘This activity made me feel overjoyed because it just gives you that feeling of being overwhelmed and more happy every time’’

‘This just made my day. This leaf had those colours that just made me smile and joyful.’

‘It gave me a moment to just feel happy.’

It made children feel good about themselves, made them feel loved, made them feel special:

‘It really made me feel like I was worthy.’

[When I rescued an animal] ‘it made my heart feel good inside.’

‘It made me feel good about myself. I feel stronger in myself. I feel strong and confident.’

‘It made me feel like I have a new friend and that I’m loved.’

‘I am a different, kinder person thanks to Generation Wild.’

Many children described how nature had become their safe space, somewhere they could go when they were worried, anxious or feeling lonely. Our ‘make friends with a tree’ activity was particularly powerful:

‘It made me feel so calm and safe. I feel safe with nature.’

‘She [my tree friend] doesn't talk but she is always there in the same place. I talk to the her when I am alone.’

‘When you feel the tree, it feels like you have known it for years. As I hugged the tree it went very soft, it just felt like it relaxed on my arm.’

‘I have no friends at home, so it was really nice to be friends with a tree :)’

‘I thought that the tree hugged me back. It felt like Mother Nature was hugging me.’

This is just a small selection of the children’s comments. They were so powerful that we commissioned Tom Sears to use them as the basis for creating a truly inspirational animation. Take a look, I’m sure I won’t be the only one moved to tears!

As you can see, the programme has had profound effects on these children’s lives with the power for real transformative change. Where children have cared for nature, nature has cared for them in return.

So my message to everyone involved in nature-based education is: Never underestimate the power of your work. You’re not only creating a new generation of nature lovers – you’re changing lives!

Mark Stead
Head of Learning at WWT

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