As the CEOs of Access Unlimited – a unique coalition of leading not-for-profit youth organisations, school and youth residential outdoor providers and organisations managing protected landscapes – we write with a plea for action to bring the benefits of time spent in nature to more young people.
Your Government has set the laudable mission to break down barriers to opportunity, including by giving every child the best start in life. The evidence is now unequivocal: nature-based residential experiences are not only life-enhancing for young people; they are life-changing. And for those from marginalised and disadvantaged backgrounds, they may be life-defining, but so many are missing out on this opportunity.
The independent evaluation of Generation Green 2, one of the largest environmental youth engagement programmes ever funded by Defra, by the Nature Connectedness Research Group at the University of Derby confirms this.
Nearly 27,000 young people took part in Generation Green 2 over 12 months, with more than 17,000 experiencing a fully funded overnight stay in a National Park or National Landscape. The majority of these young people were from areas of deprivation and for many, it was the first time they had ever left their home area.
• 38% had never been to the countryside before
• 57% had never stayed overnight in a rural or natural setting
• 80% would not have had the opportunity without funded support
• Participants reported sustained increases in confidence, resilience, wellbeing, and environmental awareness
This is not abstract policy – these are real children and real futures. Teachers, youth workers and families have consistently reported transformations in the confidence, social skills, and emotional wellbeing of participants, particularly those facing barriers due to poverty, neurodivergence, or mental health.
These transformations are the result of hands-on, nature-connection activities provided as part of adventures away from home in protected landscapes. And yet, the opportunity to access and spend time in nature – to breathe clean air, build friendships, and experience the natural world – remains out of reach for too many.
With funding for Generation Green 2 now at an end and the National Citizen Service (NCS) disbanded, how do we engage young people in the outdoors and create our future environmental champions?
Consider this:
• Almost 1 in 5 children in the most deprived areas never spend time in any natural space
• Nearly half of England’s most deprived communities are over 15 miles from a National Park or protected landscape
• Transport and cost are persistent and growing barriers
This is not simply a matter of inequality in leisure – it is a matter of environmental and social justice. If we fail to connect the next generation with nature now, we not only jeopardise their health and development, but we also threaten the long-term environmental sustainability of our country.
Young people cannot be expected to care about and protect a natural world they have never seen, touched, or felt.
That is why we are calling for:
1. Funding for programmes which actively provide high-quality, inclusive outdoor residential learning, directly reaching those from marginalised and disadvantaged communities.
2. Policy integration across departments – including outdoor learning as essential elements of education, health, youth, and environment strategies.
3. Curriculum inclusion of outdoor learning and residentials in a protected landscape as vital components of every child’s primary and secondary education.
Nature is not a luxury. It is a necessity – for childhood, for community, and for the climate. We are asking you to protect and extend an opportunity that has already proven itself, in the words of one participant, to be “the best thing I’ve ever done in my life.”
Every young person deserves residential stays in nature, not just the fortunate few.
Yours faithfully,
The CEOs of Access Unlimited:
James Blake, YHA (England & Wales) and Chair of Access Unlimited
Tom Hind, North York Moors National Parks on behalf of National Parks England
Amanda Azeez, Acting CEO, Girlguiding
Martin Davidson, The Outward Bound Trust
Mark Castle OBE, Field Studies Council
Aidan Jones, Scouts
John Watkins, National Landscapes Association
