Natural England has launched its One Million Children Outdoors programme designed to encourage more visits National Nature Reserves in an effort to expose young people to the natural environment.

The launch is off the back of new research, published by Natural England, that revealed less than 10 per cent of children play outdoors and less than a quarter come into contact with nature on a weekly basis. The programme aims to double the number of farm visits by school-aged children to 100,000, funded through green farming schemes, and double the amount of youth participating in educational visits on National Nature Reserves to 60,000. The organisation also plans to introduce a nationwide Undersea Landscape Campaign to promote marine conservation to 50,000 children.

Poul christensen, acting chair for Natural England, said: "Whether through pond dipping or tree climbing, nature-based activities can play an important role in the educational and social development of children. Society must question its priorities in providing safe open spaces for play – the money spent on parks and trees in this country is a fraction of that spent on the roads that cause parents safety concerns."