Children and adults failing to identify nature

Schoolchildren are failing to identify simple aspects of the natural word correctly.

In a survey of 1,000 children between the ages of six and twelve, 21 per cent could not tell the difference between a wasp or bee and 25 per cent didn’t know what a mouse looked like.

But a poll of 2,000 adults who also took part in Arla Food’s study, shockingly found that one in twenty adults thought the trees that did not lose their leaves in winter were called carnivores.

One in five adults could not identify a magpie and four in ten didn’t know which tree conkers came from.

A lack of interest in the outdoors was the reason that one in ten adults explained away their lack of knowledge.

But whilst 39 per cent worried that their children lacked knowledge about wildlife, 52 per cent admitted their children simply watched too much television instead.

The average child in the research watched more than two hours of television or played on computer games each day, spending less than one hour outdoors.

An Arla spokesperson said: “Our study revealed a quarter of children said they wished they spent more time outdoors, while one in five parents limit their kids to indoor activities because it’s more convenient and less time-consuming.

“Many adults have forgotten the joy of nature – two thirds say their children spend less time playing outside then they did as a child. It doesn’t have to be expensive or time consuming, just going for a walk in the park or growing cress on the window sill are great ways to get kids closer to nature.”