The National Trust acts now to save children's relationship with the outdoors

A new National Trust report has found evidence of a long-term and dramatic decline in children's relationship with the outdoors is 'overwhelming' and urgent action is needed to bridge this growing gap before it's too late.

In his Natural Childhood report naturalist, author and TV producer Stephen Moss charts years of academic research and a steady stream of surveys on the subject, highlighting how a generation of children is finally losing touch with the natural world. 

The report outlines a clear need to tackle the rise of 'Nature Deficit Disorder', a term coined by the US based writer Richard Louv, to describe a growing dislocation between children and nature.

Report author Stephen Moss, said: "We all know the benefits being outdoors can bring, and as parents we want our children to spend more time outdoors than they do.

"But despite this overwhelming evidence and the different initiatives and schemes run by organisations across the UK, our kids are spending less and less time in the outdoors.

"The time to act is now, whilst we still have a generation of parents and grandparents who grew up outdoors and can pass on their experience and whilst there remains a determination to do something positive in this area."

A two-month inquiry, facilitated by the National Trust, will take evidence from leading experts and the public to look at how we can reconnect this and future generations of children with the natural world.

The National Trust is working alongside Arla, the NHS Sustainable Development Unit and film-makers Green Lions, to organise a summit this summer to bring together a range of experts to develop a roadmap for reconnecting children and nature. 

Fiona Reynolds, Director-General of the National Trust, said: "Getting outdoors and closer to nature has all sorts of benefits for our children. It keeps them fit, they can learn about the world around them and, most of all, it's fun.  

"That's why it's so worrying so many children today don't have the opportunity to experience the outdoors and nature. Building a den, picking flowers, climbing trees - the outdoors is a treasure trove, rich in imagination. It brings huge benefits that we believe every child should have the opportunity to experience and there are huge costs when they don't."

During the last decade conservation groups, academics, social and health professionals and the media have charted the rise of so-called 'cotton-wool kids' and countless examples of what is going wrong.

Authority figures and layers of bureaucracy have combined in a climate of 'don’t do that' to create an environment where fewer children play in the outdoors. This has led to a situation where kids having fun in the outdoors are painted as showing signs of anti-social behaviour.

The research shows that capturing children before they enter the teenage years is crucial with the research clearly showing if kids get hooked before they reach twelve years old, they will develop a lifelong passion for the environment and outdoors activities. 

The National Trust boost for Box Hill wildlife also benefits Olympic spectators

Rare wildlife has a better chance to thrive thanks to a scrub clearance at the National Trust's Box Hill in Surrey.

The work also allows many more cycling fans to watch the Olympic Road Races in July, combining a sustainable Games with excellent sporting facilities.

The hill is home to many endangered species that only live on chalk grassland such as small blue butterflies and man orchids. These species are protected nationally and internationally which is why Box Hill is a Special Area of Conservation and a Site of Special Scientific Interest,

A detailed wildlife survey funded by The London Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games (LOCOG) proved the Trust could safely remove some areas of scrub, creating more grassland where these species can flourish.

The National Trust, LOCOG and the government's wildlife and landscape advisers, Natural England, have worked together to create a balance between protecting wildlife and promoting enjoyment of top level international sport.

It is hoped the work will make room for up to 15,000 spectators to watch the world’s best cyclists tackle one of the most exciting sections of the Olympic race route - Box Hill's Zig-Zag road - on July 28 and 29.

Andy Wright, the National Trust Countryside Manager for Box Hill said: "It's great news that so many people will be able to enjoy the races in this wonderful natural setting.

"Since traditional farming ceased in the 1930s, woodland has been encroaching onto the grassland at Box Hill and we've been battling to keep it back.

"The surveys conducted by LOCOG are the most thorough ever carried out on this site and they have really helped us understand the best way to manage the habitat for the long term.

"The scrub alongside the road has very few species living in it so after we removed it, it didn't matter if people walked in those areas.

"Gradually, over the years that land will turn back into chalk grassland which is a much richer habitat - supporting around 60 to 100 species of plants, animals and insects per square metre."

As well as being a valuable area for wildlife, the steep and winding Box Hill loop is considered to be one of the most challenging stages of the Olympic Cycling Road Race.

Jim Smyllie, Natural England's Executive Director for Delivery, said: "The cycling road races will be world class events in world class scenery and the restoration work at Box Hill will help ensure they leave a living legacy."

The scrub clearance work began on January 30th and the Zig-Zag road was closed for a week to allow trees to be felled. Strips of land on both sides of the road were trimmed but occasional bridges of overhanging trees were left to allow dormice and other woodland creatures to cross.

Warick University Research into possible Woodchester wild cat finds no cat DNA on deer

The National Trust asked the University of Warwick to test a roe deer carcass found near Woodchester Park, Gloucestershire in early January after examination of the wounds led to speculation that it may have been killed by a big cat.

Comprehensive DNA tests have found fox DNA on the Woodchester carcass and what is expected to be fox DNA on the second deer carcass found a few miles away.

Dr Robin Allaby, Associate Professor at the School of Life Sciences at the University of Warwick, said: "We did not detect cat DNA on either deer carcass. Other than deer, by far the strongest genetic signal we found on the Woodchester Park carcass was from a fox. That fox DNA was found on the ribs, legs and fur plucking sites from the Woodchester deer carcass.

"On the second deer carcass we found canid DNA. A more detailed analysis is underway to pin down the canid species but our expectation is that that will also be fox DNA."

Dr Robin Allaby took 45 samples in total, from the wounds of the deer carcasses with the aim of testing specifically for DNA from the saliva of any canid (for instance dog or fox) or felid (cat) species which had killed or scavenged from the deer.

He used those samples to carry out 450 PCRs (the polymerase chain reaction is a standard scientific technique to amplify the target DNA), and almost 600 sequence reactions. The team searched for two gene targets each of deer and canid, but over 30 different cat gene targets.

David Armstrong, Head Ranger for the National Trust in Gloucestershire said: "The story of the investigation of the dead deer has really sparked off local curiosity with a lot of people who visit Woodchester Park to explore. People love a mystery like this and although we haven't found a wild cat, many of our visitors clearly believe there might be something interesting living quietly hidden in Woodchester."

Rick Minter, author of a new book on big cats reported in Britain, said: "There has been some speculation of breeding amongst feral big cats in the UK. We are no closer to indicating that with these results, but lessons have been learnt from Warwick University's valuable input to this exercise. The strong media interest suggests an appetite to look into this subject further, and recent community surveys in Gloucestershire have indicated a strong desire for big cat evidence to be researched carefully. 

"We should not be complacent about possible big cats in the UK, but considering these animals living secretly in our landscape can fire people's imaginations and help us consider all of the wild nature around us. Our outdoors can still hold surprises maybe."

Big cats will do their utmost to avoid contact with people but anyone who does see a big cat in the wild is advised to stay composed and back away from the animal.

Any sightings or possible evidence on National Trust land can also be reported by email to nature@nationaltrust.org.uk.

Tragedy for National Trust MyFarm's Shire Horse foaling

The National Trust's MyFarm team at Wimpole Home Farm in Cambridgeshire had been eagerly awaiting the foaling of Queenie, the only Shire Horse mare at Wimpole for weeks now.

As over 800 people or groups of people saw, Queenie went into her much anticipated labour. At 11.45pm she gave birth to a beautiful filly foal. Although she had a perceptible heartbeat when she was born she was not breathing. Emma, horse manager at Wimpole Farm, tried hard and long to get her to breathe with the help of farmer manager Richard Morris. A vet was on the phone throughout, talking the team through the procedures. None of their efforts could save her and she died a few minutes after her birth. Peacefully, we are told.

Richard said: "As you can imagine, we are all devastated by this awful and unexpected outcome. Although watchers of the foaling on the webcam saw the true, grim realities of animal husbandry this in no way belittles the personal sense of tragedy and loss we are all feeling. This bitter disappointment is tempered only with the fact that the filly foal did not suffer at all."

As part of the National Trust's MyFarm experiment, the birth was broadcast live over the internet. The project, which started in May, aims to reconnect people with the realities of life on a working, commercial farm allowing them to effectively become a farmer. The MyFarm Farmers can discuss and make decisions on every aspect of the farm: the crops grown, livestock, the new facilities to be invested in and the machinery to be used, much like a real life version of Farmville, the popular Facebook game.

As one MyFarm farmer commenting on the website just after the birth said: "I'm so sorry everyone. That was awful to watch, but I guess this is the reality of farm life sometimes. I felt so helpless watching the efforts to save her."

Richard continued: "It was a huge decision for us to do a live broadcast of the birth. There was never a guarantee that the foaling would be straight forward and unfortunately, this proved to be the case. But we didn't want to hide people from the risks involved - it's fundamental to the purpose of this project - to reconnect people with the realities of farming to allow the possibility of lows as well as highs."

In the morning, Queenie was doing well. She was turned out into her paddock to get some fresh air and Emma is speaking to the vet to find out the best way of stopping the milk production.

As Queenie is a fit and healthy mare, and due to it being prime horse breeding season, the team is keen that she gets back to the stallion again in approximately three weeks to see if she can become pregnant once more. There is no reason to believe that Queenie won't foal successfully in the future.