Share your ideas for getting kids interested in nature - win a copy of BORN TO BE WILD plus a pair of Barbour wellies!

[TinaMumsnet]

Looking for ways to get the children away from the screen and into the green?

Packed with great photos of real families in the outdoors, Born to be Wild contains easy-to-follow instructions for activities that require nothing more sophisticated than a small person's imagination and access to a little outdoor space. And the best bit? Everything you need to engage in the activities can be found in your kitchen cupboard. No expensive art supplies or outward-bound kit required – just ordinary household essentials like recycled food containers, scraps of paper, string, glue and an empty jar or two.

With spring and Easter holidays on the horizon, it's a perfect time to get inspired. Create a Jam-Jar garden, build a nest, make a treasure map or do some pond dipping! Born to be Wild will show you how.

To enter the draw to win a copy of Born to be Wild plus a pair of adult Barbour wellies (got to get you outside too!), just share your ideas for getting kids to love nature.

This discussion is sponsored by Bloomsbury and will close on 11 April.

We have a national trust membership which we wouldn't do without! And we try really hard to focus on small things we see in nature and encourage them to think about what they are seeing.

We also try to visit somewhere new every Saturday. And both of them are encouraged to do sporting activities out of school.

The main thing we did though, was move out of London. A heart wrenching decision but allows the children much more wild activity!

Getting a dog has forced us all (me included) outside on days when I would usually have stayed in. I have a book called Scavenger Hunt with a list of things to find - eg 6 different blue things and the children much prefer a dog walk when it is a treasure hunt of sorts.

DS is 10 months old, I put him in a warm rain suit and he plays in his travel cot out in the garden. I've been giving our hedge a big prune and he finds me walking past with a big branch hilarious. He bangs plant pots together while I pot plants, and shouts at the birds using the bird feeder (who don't seem to mind).

DSD on the other hand cannot be prised away from YouTube, that's who I'd like the book for!

We go on nature walks with a picture sheet of things to spot that we've drawn out before hand.

We have made birdfeeders for the garden and can spot the different types of birds coming to the feeder.

We have taken our son on walks into a local woodland since he was tiny. We found him seeing us interested in nature and enjoying the woodland and river made him engage in it.
We try to go every day if we can, and he absolutely loves it. He can spend ages just watching the river, loves touching trees, watching birds.
We have found that If we show genuine interest in things, he follows.

We also have family membership for the national trust , and this encourages us to explore new places with him.

Give them a patch of earth (or a tough or pot if no Garden), buy some seeds and get planting. We've done tomatoes for a few years, butterfly attracting plants are always good. Daffodil bulbs can be planted lower in the garden/pots so that they will grow in spring. We've just got an allotment and dd has massive plans (just got to get rid of the triffids that are in situ first ). Also just let them dig, make mud pies, all the messy fun stuff

Don't be afraid of grime, and don't make a fuss about the dc getting grimy.

Take them out and let them go at their own pace, don't make going out into nature all about the 'big walk' our children are often happy pottering on walks. We can spend hours in the first 100 steps of our local woods, they explore logs and rocks, balance on tree stumps, paddle in the stream and once they are bored with that section we walk on or back and find more interesting things to investigate. We try and not spend too much time saying no or yuck that's muddy and rather encourage them to investigate for themselves.

Get kids outdoors as young as possible, show them different environments.
We take ours to the local college/working farm to see the animals next to that is a country park with a lake and ducks.
But if you just get out in your own garden you can see lots of wildlife, you can attract birds, bees and other insects to your garden. You can build birdhouses or bird tables.
Getting outside and in the middle of it is the best way and you dont have to know everything about everything most of us have mobile phones with internet access so can google whilst out and about.

My son had a wormery for his birthday - he lived digging for them and the n watching them move through the layers. Creating pictures made of twigs and petals is good too . Our local council runs sessions in the school holidays for geocaching and den building - only a couple of pounds a session

I think it is to do with actually interacting with your child in a fun and meaningful way. Too often children are stuck in front of screens because the parent is unavailable to give them their full attention.

I use my time out in the woods, over the fields, in the nature reserves etc to fully engage with my daughter. She has my full, undivided attention, away from the usual distractions . We discover new things and places together and always have fun. I feel a bit like a kid again, and I think let loose in ways I don't in other environments. It's a great opportunity to see things from her viewpoint too. All of these things make it something she really enjoys, whatever the weather. I think it gives her so much more than a screen ever could and brings us closer.

Dd is only 14 months and not walking yet, but we love being outdoors. We're in the park almost every day if it's not actually raining, showsuits are great for catching a gap between downpours. We've been for a few walks in the lakes with her in a sling or back carrier, hoping to do more of that this summer now she's bigger.

We went glamping last summer (dh would have happily gone proper camping with a 5 month old. I refused!) It was lovely. We put her outside on a mat with her toys and she loved being in the sunshine. She'd just started to get more sounds, so every day started with the dawn chorus, the sheep, and dd replying! There's something quite surreal about an on going baa-aaah conversation!

I let her play with leaves, touch branches etc so she's already starting to enjoy exploring nature, and really looking forward to being out and about with her more as the weather improves and she gets older.

We have a national trust membership and the kids love it.
Also we made a tote bag at home and a list of seasonal things to look out for (acorns/brown leaves/butterflies) plus things like 'blue door' and go on a walk and keep going until we have found everything. We collect different leaves, acorns etc in the bag then make something with them when we get home

DD's completely obsessed with birds, so she doesn't need any persuading!

My dd loves pointing at all the things she sees and we tell her what they are. She's only 2 but just loves to learn new words. She loves just running around a field or anywhere with water and ducks. She saw her first peacock the other day and was fascinated!

To promote playing outside and exploring nature we have bought kites, been geocaching, gone on nature walks with carrier bags to bring home treasures. Also make regular use of family membership to the local zoo and wildlife park. We also feed the birds in our garden and name the varieties we see. As we walk to school we talk about what plants/trees/animals we see. It's making the outside a regular part of life really.

My dad bought our DS a bird feeder, seed, bird box and binoculars and although it's a bit of a slow burner of a present I often catch him watching the birds he especially likes it when the little ones get one over on the larger birds. He also loves how close the robins will come up to him.
We also plant a lot of food and flowers in our garden and DS although reluctant at first now loves it especially if you add an element of competition (biggest sunflower, first tomatoes) we also made a concerted effort to do the Beavers gardening badge giving him his own flowerbed to tend to.

Relax, let them get muddy and mucky. Teach them to wash their hands well afterwards. Look out for free farm open days or English Heritage National Trust Days. Make massive collections of interesting things and treasure them. Use what outdoor space you have to make little homes for insects and to feed wildlife. Show your enthusiasm, be amazed at the snail!

DS and I take empty (+ clean) jam jars on a spider safari...down the wild end of the garden to the dark, dank shed DH said he would remove 3 years ago! It helps to like spiders.

We go walking to a local area called Cannock Chase. It is beautiful.....sometimes the DCs will take their bikes but we usually just wander around the forest. It is an AONB and there are deer and rare birds to see.

There are visitor centres and war memorials so always something to do. You do need good bots or wellies and lots of enthusiasm.

Ha ha. Good BOOTS not bots
although good bots will be fine too!

We are lucky enough to live within close proximity to 3 National trust parks. We have two children under 2 and getting hen to appreciate and respect nature is very close to my heart (I'm a tree loving hippy pagan). We regularly make trips to North Wales as well, hoping to go more often this year as it's been a while and my youngest hasn't seen the sea yet- due to him being a June baby and me not being able to drive for a while because I had a c section. We go out every day in the morning whether that's walking to the library, to the park or go further afield and visit a petting farm. Being outdoors to me is one of the most important things I feel that any child should experience. It gives life skills, develops their love and respect for nature and allows them to explore.

Puddle walk is a good way of getting out when it's wet out. Dress appropriately, jump in as many puddles as possible then home to dry out and hot chocolate and duvets with books or a film

Collecting leaves, stick, shells, pinecones etc and using them in craft activities

Muddy dog walks. The muddier the better. We are caravaners too and love staying on small rural campsites during the holidays where we wake up with the light from the sun roof, and DD goes straight out on her bike. Who needs WIFI?

We like to welly and waterproof up in the winter or crocs on in the summer. When we walk the dog we collect sticks for throwing in the stream or pick brambles if they are in season. We spot the local birds on the way to school and splash in the stream when we're bored. We are very lucky that this is on our doorstep. However in the summer outdoor play is a big thing and the garden or allotment beats the tv any day. There's loads to see and do if you have the inclination!