Nigel Flynn is aware that both young people and adults are becoming increasingly disconnected from nature.

But, says the head of education at the Sussex Wildlife Trust, it is not a new phenomenon.

“It really started with the growth of suburbs,” he says. “Lots of people now live in the city and are not connected with nature. It’s not a new thing. It’s been gradually happening for a hundred years. If you don’t work on the land, you work in the town and you don’t have the same relationship with nature any more. But people are fighting back against it. They are reacting to it.”

Nigel says one of the most popular movements towards de-urbanisation is Forest Schools, a programme allowing schoolchildren to visit nature reserves, sometimes for specific curriculum purposes, other times just for doing woodland things such as making a fire and cooking on it or making pencils from elder trees. “It gives children a connection with nature that makes a real difference to them. When we first started doing it about five years ago, one of the first groups was children who were at risk of exclusion. They had chaotic home lives and didn’t succeed in the classroom. One teacher said when those students are at school or at home their shoulders are right up by their ears. When they come to Forest Schools their shoulders drop.

It’s a different reaction – more relaxed.”

The Sussex Wildlife Trust’s involvement with Forest Schools has been so successful they are now concentrating on training teachers to lead courses, rather than individual school groups.

* Visit www.sussexwt.org.uk and www.forestschools.com for more information about Forest Schools