WA kids told to get barefoot, wet and dirty to make them better adults

By Courtney Trenwith

Climbing a tree. Catching a tadpole. Making a mudpie. These childhood memories are fast fading in a world infiltrated by mind-goggling computer games and addictive television programs.

But Western Australia is leading a new charge to get kids barefoot, wet and dirty, all in the aim of making them smarter, wiser and more able to handle the challenges of the modern world.

More than 40,000 “passports” are being distributed to West Australian primary school students with a list of the 15 things they must do before they turn 12.

It includes activities such as playing in a creek and sleeping under the stars which may get their parents taking a happy trip down memory lane.

But Griffin Longley, chief executive officer of Nature Play WA, which created the passports in conjunction with the Department of Sport and Recreation, said over-protective parents and the alluring world of technology meant the majority of WA kids were missing out on the essential benefits of getting close to nature.

Read the full story at WA Today

We Acknowledge
Nature Play WA acknowledges the Whadjuk people of the Noongar Nation, as the custodians of the land where our team lives and works. We also acknowledge the traditional custodians throughout Western Australia and recognise the continuing connection of Indigenous people to their land, waters, sky, culture and community. We pay our respect to all Indigenous people of this land; ancestors, elders and young ones.