The Wild Network is a movement of people and organizations working together “to champion and support connections with nature and wildness in children and young people” (TWN, n.d.). Its vision is for children to live nature rich lives through regular outdoor activities so they can develop a healthy mind and body. The advocacy focuses on children but targets mainly parents, schools and communities. The movement was inspired by a film “Project Wild Thing”, a documentary by filmmaker David Bond, a father who is worried about his children turning into “glassy-eyed zombies” as they are constantly fixed on their screens, spending most of their day indoors. The film documents his quest to bring his children back to nature, the same way he enjoyed his childhood. He decided that all children should be reintroduced to the outdoors so he embarked on a journey to sell the outdoors to parents and the society through modern marketing.
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| Photo credit/Reprinted from: http://www.stuk.be/en/program/docville-14-project-wild-thing |
The movement sends the message that we need to bring the children back to nature and away from human-made technologies if we want to raise a generation of happy and healthy children. Wild Network cited that studies proved that spending more time and learning out in the fresh benefits the health and well-being of the children. The children’s fixation to gadgets, screens is a result of the multiple decisions made by adults who consent, encourage or ignore the children’s current inclination to staying indoors. The crusade calls that parents, adults in schools and communities should take the responsibility to reconnect the children to nature and wildness on a day-to-day level.
Wild Network is composed of local and multinational organizations, nature NGOs, schools, nurseries and community groups. The movement has organized different campaigns such as 50 Things to do before you’re 11 ¾; A is for Acorn, not for Attachment; Wild Time for Schools and others. The first campaign mentioned above lists 50 adventures that can inspire children to go outdoors and get closer to nature. A is for Acorn, not for Attachment is a petition to bring back words 50 nature words such as acorn, blackberry, ivy, etc. Back in the dictionary. Wild Time for Schools is about providing schools and the community with tools to help the teachers take learning outside. The project designed an easy-to-use web-based product that teachers can use to facilitate learning activities outside. Wild Network has piloted the project to over 200 schools and continues to ask for suggestions from various schools and organizations to improve the product. In all these, Wild Network uses campaign advertisements which are modern, appealing and readily accessible and easy to share via the internet.
The Wild Network’s advocacy and approach is quite ironic - employing social marketing approach and heavily utilizing new media to sell the idea of re-wilding childhood. Wild Network is built around knowledge and ideas and products and tools designed to reach target adopters - parents, schools and communities in general. These adopters are being persuaded to reject current practice of letting children stay indoors and stuck with different devices. It sways the society into adopting the new old concept and practice of enjoying the outdoors. The learn-feel-do model is utilized effectively. Target audiences are presented with a social idea through powerful campaign materials while the film is designed to elicit further interest while the website and the network itself provides access to tools and support groups that will help parents and the schools make children come and enjoy outdoors. The advocacy operates and employs the four common strategies - media, instructional, participatory and marketing. The film which is considered a key part of the movement is made possible through collaboration of more than 100 organizations who are also concerned about the emerging nature deficit disorder in kids. Some major organizations also funded the film making and worked out in developing Bond’s nature marketing program. By the time the film has been completed, it already had a good number of supporters. Supports, contributions and donations from individuals and multiple organizations continued to help raise funds, develop tools, implement campaigns and mainstream the movement.
The Wild Network movement is a fresh and bold undertaking to challenge the current norm of childhood to revert back to its old ways. The film “Project Wild Thing is in itself considered eye-opening and life-changing based on several reviews. The social idea that the movement is promoting is relevant, timely and necessary. It does not out rightly advocates specific environmental concerns such as deforestation, pollution, etc. but it addresses an important social issue on the lack of human-nature connection and environmental consciousness among the children of today’s generation. Developing a sense of social awareness and experience among the children is an important social component if we are aiming for continued environmental protection and conservation. As these children are the future leaders and key players, it is critical that they have a personal appreciation on the connection and interdependence of human and the environment. Sustainable development is also a matter of collective personal convictions, hence we should again start with more intensity, inculcating the value of nature and environment. The Wild Network‘s movement of re-wilding childhood, creating joyful and memorable adventures with nature, does not just improve the kid’s health and wellbeing but also promotes environmental consciousness.
References:
The Wild Network. (2013). Retrieved from http://www.thewildnetwork.com/
Stewart,
N. (2015, October 24). Are we heading
for an Environmental Values Deficit? [Blog post]. Retrieved from http://www.nickpstewart.com/2013/10/are-we-heading-for-environmental-values.html
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