Nature in the Wild

There are many ways to encourage your children to engage with nature – and if you plan ahead you can even have a rest on the picnic blanket while the young ones wear themselves out!

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Crabbing

There’s something tremendously exciting about tempting some of the area’s fine-looking crabs with a tasty snack. You can buy a crabbing line for a couple of pounds (pick one with a bag for bait rather than a hook, it avoids hurting the crabs or stabbing little fingers!) or use a good length of string tied around your bait. Ideally a small net and a bucket will help you land and examine your catch, but you can improvise with a colander and a bucket or plastic bowl full of water. Crabs are especially fond of bacon (a pack of cheap supermarket cooking bacon will keep you going for several visits) but they also like a big meat bone, bits of ham or pretty much anything meaty or fishy. Remember, crabs have feelings too – so treat them kindly and gently, don’t overcrowd your bucket and put them safely back where they came from shortly afterwards. They can give you a nasty nip, so if you need to pick one up, use your thumb and forefinger to hold their shell from the rear, avoiding the pincers. Great places for crabbing are at Maldon Promenade Park (in the boating lake or along the quay near the Brent), off Burnham Beach or at Creeksea.

Blackberry picking

Have fun out in nature and take home something you can eat afterwards – nature activities don’t come much better than blackberrying! If you’re not sure what they look like, the Canal & River Trust has a handy guide to these delicious late summer fruit here as well as a delicious crumble recipe. There are a few dos and don’ts of course –

• Don’t pick from people’s gardens, only in wild places, and leave some for the wildlife.
• Don’t pick very close to the ground as dogs might have watered them!
• Don’t pick along busy roads (not only is the traffic dangerous, but the berries might have a layer of traffic dust.
• Do pick the completely black, juicy ones (they are getting ripe throughout July and August).
• Do wear gloves as blackberry bushes have prickles, and old clothes as the juice stains.
• Do take solid containers with lids and wet wipes/damp flannel for juicy fingers
• Do give them a wash and check for creepy-crawlies before eating.

You might also find cherry plums or damsons while you are out and about – but only pick if you are sure you have identified them correctly!

Scavenger hunt

There are all kinds of options and it will keep them busy for hours. The hunt can be competitive if you have several children with you or can keep a single child amused too. At its simplest you could just ask the children to find a single item at a time and bring it back to you, with a points tally for the winning child if you’re being competitive. Things like a “stone with a hole in” on the beach or “a four-leaved clover” in the park can take a good long time to find! Better still, come prepared with a pre-printed list and some pens so they tick off what they find (or for older children with phones, take a picture of each item to avoid cheating!). You can make your own list, or print one from online – there’s a good selection at Cool of the Wild 

Matchbox game

For this you will need a small box the same size for each child, matchboxes are ideal. The idea is they have to fill the box with as many tiny, different items as possible – things like leaves, stones, seeds, snail shells, acorns and so on. The winner is the child with the most different items at the end of the agreed time.

Mini-beast safari

Who needs lions and giraffes when you have woodlice and butterflies! You can go on a mini-beast safari (or a bug hunt if you prefer) in any wild area, although woods can be particularly good, especially if you look around or under rotting logs. The idea is simple – find and identify the creepy crawlies you find along the way. You can reuse a plastic drinks bottle to store bugs temporarily, but make sure your children know to be kind and gentle with them and release them back in the same place afterwards. Check the RSPB’s website for how to make bug catchers and identify the creatures you find.

Flower pressing

This is a great summer holiday activity as once you have pressed the flowers on a sunny day, you can create cards or artwork with them on a rainy day later in the holiday.  You can do this anywhere in the countryside or in your garden, but don’t pick them from flowerbeds in parks or from neighbours' gardens! Remind your children that they only need small flowers and they shouldn’t pick too many in one spot. You can buy (or make) a flower press, or use a heavy book, and kitchen roll works well if you don’t have blotting paper. Just pick, flatten, layer between two sheets of paper and squish for two weeks. You can discover traditional and quick methods of pressing flowers, how to make a press, and some ideas to use the flowers in this YouTube video.

Active games

Outdoor spaces are great for active games, just make sure that smaller children know not to wander too far, and decide at the beginning a suitable easy-to-find meeting point if anyone gets lost. Try hide and seek, or Grandmother’s Footsteps (“Grandma” faces a tree or wall and everyone else starts a fair distance away, then tries to creep up and tap grandma on the shoulder. However, she can turn around at any point and if she sees anyone moving they are sent back to the start.) Catch, frisbee, piggy in the middle, beach cricket etc can all be good fun, and outdoor games can be borrowed on your library ticket from the Essex Library of Things

What to take with you for a nature day:

• Picnic blanket
• Sun cream and insect repellent if you’re prone to bites
• Water and a picnic or snacks, plus a bag to take your rubbish home
• Magnifying glass (or use the accessibility settings on a smart phone)
• Clear jar for holding bugs temporarily
• Engaging with nature could mean a scraped knee or an insect bite, so a small first aid kit with plasters, antiseptic wipes and antihistamine cream could be useful