Thanks to the six months of funding from Herefordshire Council earlier this year, Herefordshire Wildlife Trust launched, WildPlay Thinks Differently, a programme supporting children with special educational needs. Due to the success of the programme the Trust has now been awarded £17,815 from the National Lottery Community Fund.
This award will allow them to grow and develop the programme for another year, helping them reach up to 30 children through delivering activities at Queenwood Country Park and Arboretum. The children will have the opportunity to make friends, have fun in nature, learn new skills, try new things, and building confidence.
We had fantastic feedback from the children who attended the original programme, including:
“I loved making fires, eating new food and playing outdoors.”
“I liked building dens, climbing trees and making things.”
“I’ve made new friends and liked making things to bring home and show the family.”
And parents told us:
“It's really lovely for the children to have a group filled with other children that are perhaps similar to them. Obviously, there are plenty of extracurricular activities in Hereford, but these can be difficult for SEN children and parents to navigate. I feel sometimes that staff/children/parents of these groups don't fully understand that some children are a little different and can behave or come across in a different way.”
“Nature club has been really enjoyable for my child. Being a small group has helped him a lot as he struggles with other children. The Rangers have been really encouraging and understanding of his needs.”
Julia Morton, Youth and Wellbeing Officer at Herefordshire Wildlife Trust says:
“We are delighted to have been awarded £17,815from the National Lottery Community Fund. It means we will be able to continue and grow our work with children with additional needs. Spending time in nature is proven to reduce stress and help regulate emotions and our WildPlay team are experts in setting up child led nature-based play experiences.”
WildPlay has been delivering free, nature-based play in communities across Herefordshire for twenty-five years and its mission has always been to connect children to nature through playful experiences.
Further information and how to join the programme can be found at: https://www.herefordshirewt.org/wildplay-thinks-differently
