Ghent (The Brussels Morning Newspaper): Natuurpunt praises Ghent’s green initiatives and proposes regular nature tours for children to strengthen their connection to nature hoping to influence future city policies after the upcoming elections.
The Ghent Nature Association praised the Ghent city council for their work on environmental projects and creating more green areas. They see the progress but say there’s still more to do to make things even better. Natuurpunt says that being in nature is not just good for the environment, it also helps people feel better mentally and physically.He said that the corona crisis showed how important green spaces are for our health. When people were stuck at home being in nature gave them comfort and made them feel better showing how nature helps us connect with others and live happier lives. Natuurpunt wants the city to keep making nature a bigger part of how they plan cities. They believe that having more green spaces can make people healthier help them socialize more and bring communities closer together.
What is Natuurpunt’s proposal for engaging Ghent’s children with nature?
Han Lagring from Natuurpunt says that even though Ghent has nature reserves kids in the city find it hard to connect with nature. The city council does some activities to help kids explore nature but Lagring thinks they could do more often and on a bigger scale to get kids more involved. Han Lagring thinks that having a fun nature tour every month would be a great idea for kids. These tours would help kids regularly discover and learn about nature making them feel more connected to the natural world. This could help them understand and love nature more making them feel better and more aware of the environment.
Han Lagring believes that spending time in nature not only makes us feel good but also helps us learn to take care of the environment. By getting kids to be around nature more often they are more likely to grow up wanting to protect nature as they become adults. Natuurpunt sent a plan to all the political groups in Ghent. They want to start regular nature tours for kids to help them connect with nature. Natuurpunt hopes the political parties will like the idea and include it in their plans after the city elections on 13th October. They want this plan to be an important part of future environmental and education policies in the city.
