After two wonderful years, our partnership with the Earthwatch Naturehood project is coming to an end.
Since 2023, the Naturehood project has provided RHJYC with free nature sessions for children who attend our after school youth club.
Each week, the children truly enjoyed learning about nature, asking lots of questions and absorbing information in calm and relaxed outdoor spaces.
The children soaked up so much knowledge, and you could tell they were applying what they had learned the previous week to the next activities the following week.
Through this project, we were able to ensure that children were physically active, and we observed that the children were happy and excited to do the activities, developing their self-confidence, making them proud of their accomplishments.
They were also able to spend time in outdoor spaces local to them, including Rivermead Nature Park, which many had never visited before despite it being on their doorstep.
The children took part in many engaging activities which included:
- Learning about insects and pollinators and building a worm farm.
- Learning about habitats and the environment.
- Planting seeds and bulbs (flowers, fruits and vegetables).
- Painting our own planters.
- Pond dipping and water testing.
- Creating our own hedge and pond.
- Watering and harvesting.
- Learning about natural dyeing with leaves and onion skins.
Our Naturehood report
Comments from our Director, Chris Chaundy:
Collaborating with Earthwatch has been an immensely gratifying experience, due to the profound impact it has had on our children’s comprehension of nature and the environment.
Earthwatch has crafted each session to ensure that they are both enjoyable and intellectually stimulating, perfectly tailored to the children’s level of understanding.
Witnessing the return of our children from their excursions at the nature reserve or our allotment is an absolute delight.
Their radiant smiles and enthusiastic discussions about their newfound knowledge and activities are a testament to the remarkable work Earthwatch has accomplished.
The fact that we can provide these sessions to our children at no cost is nothing short of monumental.
This generous support not only allows us to allocate our resources to other vital areas but also guarantees that our children are not deprived of these enriching experiences.
We extend our heartfelt appreciation to Earthwatch for making this invaluable contribution to our charity.
A big thanks to Earthwatch for also donating wellies and waterproofs for our children to use in the future!
