outdoor play

Play is the most important work of our children - here are some ideas for having fun in nature

71 posts from outdoor play

Seren Hawley-Plows sitting in the sunshine in front of a fallen, moss-covered tree trunk

October 23, 2026 by thegreenparent in nature education

Raising Wild Children

Raised on foraged berries and fairy stories in North Wales, the Hedgerow Healing founder explains why children need their wild edges back. A taste of our autumn issue.

Pale mushrooms growing in the grass beside an old weathered gravestone

October 20, 2026 by thegreenparent in Halloween

Wood You Dare? Six Halloween Horrors Hiding in the Trees

Skip the haunted house this half-term. The spookiest sights are in your local wood, and the scariest of them are quietly keeping it alive.

Pine cones, autumn leaves and bark collected on a nature walk

October 6, 2026 by thegreenparent in crafts

Nature Treasure Hunt

Turn a family walk into a treasure hunt, then make a nature mobile from your finds. Shelly Carlson shows you how.

October 1, 2026 by thegreenparent in school

Room to Bloom: How Schools Can Bring Nature into the Smallest Playgrounds

A garden designer shares simple ways to bring wildlife, planting and outdoor lessons into school grounds, however little space there is.

Grandmother and granddaughter on a sofa holding conkers on strings

September 26, 2026 by thegreenparent in outdoor play

As autumn arrives and horse chestnut trees shed their glossy brown treasures, the humble conker returns to the British landscape, bringing with it one of the country's most enduring autumn traditions.