Most people spend some time of their week outdoors, some spend more than others, some feel more connected to the nature around them than others, whether it’s gardening or going for a walk. Yet it’s becoming more obvious that the age demographic from 12-18 don’t feel this same connection to nature. You could shift the blame on one factor or cause, but are young people really disconnected with nature or is that just the perception?
Can we reconnect young people with nature?
15 year-old Emma shares her thoughts on how she and her peers connect with nature, and what could be done to encourage more connection.
Young Emma and her dad at Trumpington Meadows
 I am fifteen years old, my dad is a conservation manager at The Wildlife Trust, I spent many hours as a child going on walks and to wildlife events, and I am currently spending a week at work experience here at The Wildlife Trust. I believe I have an appreciation and a love for the natural world but I can also understand why so many my age do not. 
As a teenager or young adult, your priorities usually are focused on education, whether it’s GSCEs or university, on extracurricular activities, on family, on friends, if you were to write down my priorities as a list, nature would not be number one and I am sure this is the same for many young people. This isn’t because we do not care but during this time of our life so many other things feel so much more important. 
Another factor I believe plays a role is exposure to nature, if you live in a busy town or city you’re unlikely to see the beauty of nature on your front doorstep, schools have less and less green space and your view becomes a hard concrete playground instead of a field. How are you supposed to connect with something you haven’t seen, how are you supposed to care about something you haven’t connected with?
Finally, many people may argue that social media is the main factor, whilst I agree it plays a role I don’t think this is an issue affecting just young people, the addictive nature of social media can make it more appealing than bird watching to an adolescent and an adult mind. I believe all these factors play a role to explain why young people are disconnected from nature, but can you really blame these reasons directly on individuals?
I would argue, to state young people are entirely disconnected from nature is untrue. Even if it’s playing football in the park after school or sitting on a bench under a tree for lunch, you are still in the presence of nature and are part of the ecosystem around you. During the summer me and my friends prefer to sit outside under a tree than sit in the dining hall, when it’s warm young people tend to go outside into green spaces or swim in the local river, there is still an awe when spotting a glimpse of a deer on the way to school. Our generation does not have a dislike for nature, simply a naivety to its importance.
So what can we do to reconnect young people with nature, if there is not one underlying factor? My belief is that a love of nature cannot be inspired in an emotional, stressed, adolescent mind but in a child’s mind. That nostalgia of remembering something you once loved as a child brings yourself back to it as you get older. The Wildlife Trust already holds events, publishes the Wildlife Watch magazine and has accessible education centres that appeal to families and to a younger audience, which could ignite a spark that carries on into young adulthood. There is no simple solution that can happen overnight, but to reconnect the next generation with nature is vital for a brighter future and in my belief is still very much possible.