Photo: Kensington Palace
One in three children is outdoors daily: Catherine’s new project
The Princess of Wales was in Cornwall on Thursday to see how nature can be used in work with the youngest children, and launched a new project at the same time. New polling shows 84 per cent of parents believe nature is good for their child, while only 33 per cent say their child is outdoors every day.
The Princess of Wales was in Cornwall on Thursday 15 October. She had come to see how nature can be used in work with the very youngest children, and at the same time she launched a new project.
The project will look at what it means for small children to grow up with nature close by.
Many believe it, few manage it
New polling carried out for the project shows a clear gap between what parents think and what daily life actually looks like.
84 per cent of parents say they believe time in nature is good for their child's development and wellbeing. Only 33 per cent say their child spends time in nature every day.
Most also say they would like more nurseries and services that make active use of the outdoors.
What the project will do
The work has been commissioned by The Royal Foundation Centre for Early Childhood, the centre Catherine set up in 2021 to work on the first five years of life.
The project will bring together academics, early years practitioners, charities and environmental organisations. The question they are to answer is how nature around a child, alongside secure adults, helps babies and young children build social and emotional skills.
Those are the skills that later shape how a person gets on with themselves and with others through life.
"The bedrock of a society"
The Princess described the thinking behind it: "Human connection and relationships form the bedrock of a healthy, thriving society."
Christian Guy, who heads the centre, said the project would bring together evidence, expertise and practical experience "to better understand how nature-rich environments can help nurture confident, curious, creative and emotionally healthy children".
The Duchy of Cornwall joins in
The Duchy of Cornwall is taking part as a founding partner. It is a large estate of land and property that has followed the heir to the throne since the Middle Ages, and that Prince William holds today as Duke of Cornwall.
It is the first time the Duchy has come in as a founding partner in Catherine's work on early childhood.
Three new portraits
On Friday 16 October Kensington Palace released three new portraits of the Princess, taken in connection with the visit.