#GenerationGreen News Update - Wildlife guides help more young people connect with nature

Earlier this year Field Studies Council sent out 5,000 free wildlife ID guides to young people to help them connect with nature – and it worked!

In a recent survey, the number of recipients who felt they had a connection with nature increased from 47 per cent to 66 per cent as a result of receiving the guides. Moreover, more than half (54 per cent) of the recipients said they would now be very likely to volunteer to protect or care for the natural environment, up from 38 per cent before receiving the guides.

The guides were designed to encourage people to have their first go at identifying plant or animal species to get started.

Recipients of the guides praised them, saying: “Very useful. Have helped me identify lots of butterflies, something I knew very little about prior to receiving the guide.” “The guides themselves are easy to use and well designed to get started in various topics and does encourage us to stop and learn a little.”

And it seems it’s ignited a long-term connection to nature for many of the respondents, as more than a third of them (35 per cent) have since gone on to buy more nature guides or take a course to develop their knowledge of the natural world further.

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