Why Access to the Outdoors Matters by Yarrow Townsend
All children should have access to a good libraries and green spaces. They’re both essential for feeding the imagination.
Have you ever walked down a path and wondered what you’ll find at the end? Followed a stream to see where it begins? Or perhaps squeezed through an overgrown passageway between houses to peek into a hidden park?
The stories we hear as children ignite a certain kind of curiosity in our brains that make us see the outside world with a little more imagination. For me, every puddle was a portal to Narnia; every forest home to hungry trolls and giant spiders. I was particularly lucky, because my story-telling Dad would often tell us tales on the go: squidging through the bog with a story about will-o’-the-wisps or tromping through the snow chanting ‘The More it Snows’ from Winnie–the–Pooh. In my mind, places and stories are forever intertwined.
Since humans have existed, we’ve walked, explored, migrated and told each other stories about the things we’ve seen. In fact, I think that human brains are wired in a way to dream up ideas and imagine things about the world around us. Imagination is, after all, a survival technique. If we imagine what might be hiding in the forest, we might be more cautious about exploring—or prepare ourselves accordingly. And if we tell stories, we find ways to navigate our landscape, mentally as well as physically.
The more I explore and the more I read, the more I realise just how closely related these two activities are. From a very young age, we learn that telling stories and having adventures go hand in hand. There’s a very good reason that books like We’re Going on a Bear Hunt and The Gruffalo resonate (and have both appeared in the form of real-life story trails in outdoor places). They take us on very real adventures.
When I came to write my own stories, one of my biggest hopes was that my books would fill children with a sense of adventure. In The Map of Leaves, three children set off into the wilderness to find the cure for a mysterious sickness. And along the way, they do some of those things I liked to do when I was small: clambering through overgrown places, following maps and wading through raging streams. I love the idea that reading stories inspires a real desire to get out and explore – or even pretend to explore (which is perhaps the same thing).
But after working as a teacher, and later running outdoor workshops with conservation groups, I became keenly aware just how disparate access to nature really is. And it’s no coincidence that children who have limited access to green spaces usually also have limited access to books. As a result, children have fewer opportunities to explore independently, use imaginative play, or create their own stories outside.
While nature writing for children has experienced a renaissance in recent years, stories can’t fully replace the feeling of getting your feet muddy, smelling a real flower, or seeing an insect going about its day. We need to urgently improve access to outdoor spaces so that children have the chance to daydream and explore independently.
So what can we do? Campaign low-traffic neighbourhoods and green spaces alongside housing developments. Support schools to be more adventurous and conservation organisations to be more inclusive. Encourage guerrilla gardening and neighbourhood libraries. Value our overgrown places and spaces to wander. Publish a diverse range of books that show adventures in all kinds of places.
One of the books I’ve enjoyed most in the past few years is Strange Birds by Celia C. Pérez. It’s the story of four girls campaigning for animal rights in their neighbourhood and it illustrates exactly how reading about local nature and heritage can inspire social change. It’s also a powerful tale of children finding joy in a realistic, modern-day outdoor setting. The more stories we have like this, the better.
The Map of Leaves by Yarrow Townsend is published by Chicken House Books and is available now.