Landscape Design Trust - we're on the way!!

What a journey! 

Nearly two years ago I wrote 'UK children are losing connection with the outdoors'

That was when Landscape Design Trust first decided to fund raise for a project to keep communities in touch with their environment.

Now of course, there is plenty of proof that well being is closely linked to having good quality open space within easy reach. That doesn't mean that there is enough green space out there, though, or that people feel comfortable about using it. Or, particularly with the demise of the charity GreenSpace, enough of us doing anything about it.

This summer, we (LDT) hope to be making a contribution to the comfort zone bit. We will be exploring the wide green expanses of Runnymede with school children, local community groups and families, many of whom may find 'out doors' a bit foreign. 

We aim to learn from their reactions and use their experience to create rucksacks. Yep, rucksacks are going to be the great new open space interpretation tool – stuffed full of games and projects and old documents and .... well, we won't really know what will be in those rucksacks until we are nearing the end of the project!

And, finally, when we do get to the end of the project, those backpacks will be available to other families to borrow, so that others can also find out that 'outdoors' isn't another country at all, but an extension of their back yard, full of exciting things to do.

It looks like being an exciting journey for all of us. We are funded by Heritage Lottery Fund's (HLF) 'All our Stories' programme and that means leaving a digital record of our project. So it's not just Runnymede's kids who are getting a new experience. I'm learning to blog. Wish me luck! Wish us all luck!

JFK Memorial Steps at Runnymede

www.landscape.co.uk