Founded in 2008. The Landscape Juice Network (LJN) is the largest and fastest growing professional landscaping and horticultural association in the United Kingdom.
LJN's professional business forum is unrivalled and open to anyone within within the UK landscape industry
LJN's Business Objectives Group (BOG) is for any Pro serious about building their business.
For the researching visitor there's a wealth of landscaping ideas, garden design ideas, lawn advice tips and advice about garden maintenance.
Replies
There are green spaces about but sometimes it might mean dumping the car and going for a walk instead. When my children were younger we would roam the back lanes (city lanes that is) looking for blackberries,or the odd apple tree. There is plenty of wildlife out there it's just a question of looking for it in a less obvious way. This isn't play in the normal sense but very enjoyable never the less.
There are organisations out there which still encourage some sort of empathy with the outdoors. My own children have both been in the Scouts since they were little - (they can light fires, chop wood and get out and about on camps) and I have learned to leave them be when they are off charging through the woods having fun. Of course it's supervised but sometimes out of sight, but not out of mind, is better for them - even if it's not for me. Playing fields are all very well - but much more fun if they were planted as woodland - trees to climb - and fall out of, dens to build and imagination to be developed. But then 'bad things might lurk'.
I do wonder not about the loss of green spaces, which of course has happened, but rather that we as adults have lost our own ability to take our children, and their friends, exploring what is still there close at hand. Perhaps we need to take more responsibilty for helping them to find it? Trip to the shopping mall anyone?
colin said:
Many people I know wouldn't dream of letting their kids get dirty. I used to play in a cattle market and on bottle dump - not ideal but great fun...Do you think it's a problem of perceptions, 'stranger danger' etc.?
Simon Knops said:
“Our children are the first generation to be raised without meaningful contact with the natural world."
"What we're doing is instilling in kids a kind of ecophobia, we're overloading them with scenarios of fear and disaster – worry about the 'environment' is crushing kids' relationship with nature."
It sometimes feels like “we” are trying to do this to everybody...
It would be interesting to know if any gardeners here did not play in the sticks when they were young
Naturally there are many other attractions for children nowadays not least the all pervasive games consol. But much as technology has been blamed, it is perhaps busy roads that seem more of danger. Oh and of course the media obsession with strangers. So out of fear, or laziness, we take them everywhere by car. So no wonder the roads are busier!
Much money has been spent in the last year on local playgrounds, and there are some fantastic parks to be found. It does hearten me to see so many of them being used. This is perhaps a way forward - woods with a big sign - parents are banned!
Pleased to say that my children are starting to roam, ( as we loosen the shackles...) but I think this is helped by having a dog to take for walks
A telling comment when I am doing a garden is the adults saying I want to be able to see the kids. Why? they can't get out there's a six foot fence all the way around! Children like to find hidy hole and have their own space for play and imagination. ( never had the courage to say this though).
Sounds like you had a great childhood. My favourite occupation was damming the local stream ( which had an adjoing bog) with magnificent clay faced structures. We then burst the dam! Still mortified that my parents used to make us get undressed outside after hosing us down. Oh the injustice of it all!
Lara Jane Hurley said:
I think the implications for society as a whole are very sad. Connections are not made between our actions and the impacts that they have on the natural world. I think the tide may be turning a bit though - school play areas became very sterile and safe but recently more 'risky' equipment has returned and there are more nature-based activities. Interesting research topic for someone out there - access to wilderness and life choices..
I'm going on a bit now...;-)
Lara
pete said:
Maybe that's it – to many of us, it seems like we're not a real part of nature anymore and it's making us feel uneasy – we thought the idea was that technology would sort itself out and save us before it destroyed us – but it doesn't seem to be happening… or someone's not letting it - so now we're wondering if the natural world might be about to turn and have its impact on us.
Or something like that - I wish I understood better.
I don't want to waste your time Lara but I found this piece about Dr. Weston Price, fake food, our teeth and our well-being – interesting (kids need good food)
Simon.... “magnificent clay faced structures” – like child, like man eh :-) - what about this old chap's reminiscing - he's just been talking about stalking rooks...
Occasionally we varied our hunting by shooting vertically into the sky to see how near us the arrow would fall; an allowance had to be made for the wind. Once my brother Donald was too successful, for as he was gazing up at the falling arrows he called out that he had lost sight of his and the next moment it landed on the inside of his cheek-bone and went under his eye. How the blood gushed out! Fortunately the eye was not damaged, but he bore a scar all his life, as prominent as the one left by a German bullet many years after. Our practice taught us a lot about elevation and alignment, which was useful when we advanced to guns.
I continue to be shocked and disheartend at how divorced from nature, adults and children are. I recently escorted a party of 10 year olds on a trip to a local nature reserve. This reserve is no more than 5 minutes walk from where most of the children lived. Out of thirty children, 25 didn't know it was there and my daughter was the only one who had actually been there.
I think that one of the reasons the school invited me on this walk illustrates why children don't have access to these places. They partly wanted me for my knowlege of the woods but mainly because, at over six foot, fourteen stone and not looking too dissimiler to my logo, they thought I would be the scariest thing in the woods and that made them feel safer!
A delightful quote indeed. And yes you are absolutley right - to use the phrase '' you men are just like little boys'' - like child like man - yup and proud of it! Just took me a few year to realise that being grown up wasn't all it was cracked up to be!
On a more serious note The Somerset Wildlife Trust is running an event in July for School Chidren to be introduced to rural crafts on one of their reserves. I'm attending with the Drystone Walling Assocaiation. We have also been asked to look at a larger event next year - so hopefully reconnecting with crafts and nature is on the agenda
pete said:
In my design work I see both extremes from "no risks please" to "not worried". The later had usually had access to the freedoms we are talking about themselves. Parks & nature reserves have a great opportunity to create links to the natural world but it is only Parents that can give the true freedom to explore. Perceptions of threats need to be put in context to reduce this misleading phsycological chaining of our children.
School & park playgrounds are all surronded by fences to protect them (from what?), often looking like we cage our children . At the same time animal behaviour understanding has lead to zoos & animal parks go to great lenghts to create natural environments that no longer resemble cages to ensure the animals are not stressed & behavious as they should in the wild. Why do we think it is different with children & we continue to cage them both physically & emotionally with percieved risks?
-
1
-
2
of 2 Next