Education – and especially children’s education – is an important part of our programme at Ewhurst Park, where we are turning a former 925-acre shooting estate back to nature.
Indeed, it was when I became a mother that I started on my journey at Ewhurst. Having grown up alongside nature in rural Malaysia, I’ve always been interested in the environment, how it feeds us, and how we can best take care of it. Having my own children then accelerated my concern about the quality of the food we consume and the health of the land in which we grow our food.

So, a key part of our work at Ewhurst is to educate children. Our children are going to be leading us and shaping our future, so it’s important that they are knowledgeable about nature and concerned about conservation so they can make good decisions. Indeed, it is arguably because we haven’t properly understood nature that we find ourselves in the current climate crisis.
With education in mind, we recently welcomed children from five schools in Hampshire, along with some local home schooling groups. They came to Ewhurst Park for the day and we put on a host of talks, demonstrations and activities.
Our young visitors were incredibly excited. It’s important to realise that many children today seldom get the opportunity to access green spaces and nature. Some live in urban areas and rarely, if ever, get into the countryside. Other children are kept indoors by the lure of screen time. So, it was great to have the opportunity to show these children something new.

During the day, our guest speaker Keith Betton, from Hampshire Ornithological Society, gave a talk on migratory birds that tapped into the school curriculum by looking at spring and new life. There is a surge in bird migration to the UK in the spring, and the children learned about migration routes and methods of navigation. Our Ewhurst rangers also got in on the act. We presented the children with bird boxes made by hand from wood found around the estate and the children painted them. And the children were also taught how to make simple bird feeders.

Our rangers also talked about pond life, with a particular focus on amphibians. It’s been very wet and we have seen a lot of new ponds around the estate, which means a flourishing of pond life, including a lot of frogs, toads and newts. The children were also taken on a tour of our beaver enclosure where they could see and touch sticks chewed by the beavers and admire a tree stump that remained from where the beavers felled a tree.
Entertainingly, one of the highlights of the day was inviting the children to take part in an ingenious initiative of The Country Trust to teach children about soil health: Plant Your Pants. According to the trust: ‘Burying pants is a technique that’s been used by scientists the world over to engage people in the science of soil health. The healthier the soil, the more disintegrated the cotton pants will be once they are dug up. It’s a way that children can discover life, both visible and invisible.’
We conducted the experiment in our market garden. I explained to the children how life on earth depends on the health of our soils; we need to preserve the microcosm beneath our feet which contains an unimaginable array of bacteria, fungi, protozoa, nematodes and higher animals like worms – all of which make it possible for plants to grow in the soil. The health of these underground webs is essential for efficient photosynthesis and plant growth, while the mycelia network is linked to the roots of plants and trees and signals when plants are in need of water and nutrients.
I buried the pants, explaining that I would dig them out in eight weeks’ time to see how decomposed they were: the more life in the soil, the less pants will survive. The children found this very engaging, which was exactly the point.
I think it’s vital that children learn about nature and the importance of looking after the ecosystem. Aside from the health benefits of being outdoors, it’s crucial that children learn about birds and ponds and the soil. They have a natural fascination about these things and can develop a real love of nature.
Some of the children took their shoes off and had the experience of feeling their bare feet on the ground. The sun was shining and the children were laughing – they were playing and mingling with children from other schools. It was a form of community centred around a shared goal of enjoying nature. It was beautiful.
I was impressed by the children’s enthusiasm and willingness to learn. Their young minds are soaking up information, so it’s important that we teach them how to respect nature. It was a privilege and very humbling for me to have the opportunity to play my part.
Sadly, the feedback I am getting from teachers is that children currently have little access to green spaces and outdoor learning. This is partly a funding issue, with schools struggling with their balance sheets. Certainly, it cost a lot to put on our education day given we needed a full team of people, portaloos, a tent, food and insurance. Clearly, there is a need for more strategic investment when it comes to educating our children about the environment. There’s only so much you can do in the classroom – nature comes alive for children when they experience it first-hand.
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About the Author
Mandy Lieu is an exclusive columnist for Sublime Magazine, food systems entrepreneur and philanthropist. Having enjoyed success across Asia as a model, film and TV actress, she moved to the UK in 2015 to start a family and join the revolution in local, sustainable food. Now Mandy is transforming her lifelong passion for nutrition and food systems into a business – she owns The Good Plot, a new farm-to-table restaurant and Ewhurst Park a regenerative farm. Visit Mandy’s Blog