IT is something many of us perhaps take for granted but we do live in a most beautiful part of the world.
I am reminded of the fact fairly regularly when talking to other MPs about their “patches”. They find it hard to believe that the Richmond constituency touches not just one of our great national parks but two - the Yorkshire Dales and the North York Moors.
Sadly, I can’t claim unique Parliamentary constituency bragging rights because the seats of two colleagues, Rory Stewart (Penrith and the Border) and Tim Farron (Westmorland and Lonsdale), stretch to include both the Lake District National Park and the Yorkshire Dales.
But it does underline how we have three world-renowned landscapes either on our doorstep or very close by.
Along with my family, and when time allows, I try to get out and about in our national parks and other open spaces as much as possible. I think it is particularly important that my two young daughters learn to appreciate the great outdoors and understand how nature and the countryside works.
As I know only too well, for a whole host of reasons it’s not always easy to find that family time to do this.
So I’ve been really pleased in recent weeks to have spent time at three local schools and nurseries where nature and the environment have been placed at the very centre of what young children encounter.
Earlier this month I was at High Bank Farm Nursery at Stapleton, near Darlington, (in the constituency – just!) to open its new forest school which is designed to encourage and inspire children through positive outdoor experiences and activities.
The nationwide forest school movement is an innovative approach to outdoor play and learning, giving children the opportunity to learn about the countryside, how to handle risks and most importantly to use their own initiative to solve problems and co-operate with others.
The new forest school area at High Bank provides hands-on learning experiences in a natural environment. The children do everything from learning how to build dens, through to studying insects and wildlife and even how to treat a nettle sting with a dock leaf.
And because the nursery is on a working farm, there are lots of opportunities for the children to encounter and learn about farm animals – from chickens to pigs and cattle.
A similar approach is being adopted at Busy Bees Pre-School at Brompton on Swale, where before Christmas I had the honour of opening their new woodland garden, and at Mowbray School in Bedale where they have a long-established nature and conservation area as well as a small working farm where pupils are actively engaged in looking after livestock and growing vegetables.
It was great to speak with many parents and teachers at the various events to hear what was on their minds generally and also learn how they felt these outdoor spaces were contributing to their children’s development.
Because I have seen the confidence my daughters have developed through their own experiences of the outdoors and animals when very young, I think these developments are hugely positive and I wholeheartedly applaud the effort and initiative that has gone into them, especially where parents and the local community have helped to make them happen.