It is an issue that has been widely discussed in recent years – young people spending increasingly less time outside, and more time in front of computer screens and other electronic devices.

With a practical how-to guide, three Sussex authors aim to offer easy and accessible ways for parents and teachers to encourage children to learn about nature and have fun outdoors.

Learning With Nature has been written and compiled by Marina Robb, Victoria Mew, and Anna Richardson, friends and colleagues who each have many years of experience in education.

The book is aimed at educators, meaning anyone who is involved in teaching young people, and offers a whole raft of games and activities.

“It’s something that I always wanted to do,” says Marina, who has been working in the field for 25 years and is founder and managing director of Circle of Life Rediscovery, a Community Interest Company, which provides learning with nature experiences for children and adults.

“I do believe there is a gap in terms of the kind of approach we are taking.

“It is encouraging people to use a lot more of their senses.”

Different sections focus on games, seasonal activities, and everything from practical skills such as fire-making, tool safety and foraging, to the more artistic, such as making mobiles using leaves, not to mention the more unusual such as learning to walk very quietly through the woods so that you may be lucky enough to see a fox.

There are step-by-step instructions, and “invisible” learning points.

“The book contains things that we have tried and found worked, and sometimes the ideas have come from the kids themselves,” says Victoria, who has been following her love of nature from a young age.

“It all started when I was 12 and went on a family camping holiday with my mum and brother and sister, and got hooked.”

Victoria is a qualified Forest School practitioner and founded an organisation, Cultivating Curiosity, dedicated to helping people of all ages connect with nature.

Anna is a Forest School facilitator and trainer and an experienced teacher of foraging workshops.

One of the key points is that very few resources are required for the games and activities set out in the book, other than nature of course, which makes them very accessible.

“Nowadays with the culture of staying indoors, people need really basic ideas that they feel comfortable with straight away,” adds Victoria.

It is also possible to adapt much of what is in the book to appeal to different age groups from toddlers to young adults.

“I think schools, and parents struggle with where to start,” says Marina.

“There’s the whole argument about how many hours we are spending in front of computers; it’s a struggle to use our bodies and get out there and reap the rewards.”

Marina, who has three children herself, uses the example of schools providing two hours of physical education a week, which is just not enough, she says.

Learning With Nature has been endorsed by television presenter and naturalist Chris Packham, a familiar face from The Really Wild Show and Springwatch, who has written a foreword.

“This book offers a chance to the youth of today and the nature of tomorrow. It has a wealth of structured, tried and tested projects, ideas and games all designed to allow children to breathe fresh air and engage personally with a real world where their minds and bodies can develop and bloom, burst into life and inspire them to love life."

The authors are pleased with how the book has turned out.

“We are all educators and we have all tried and tested our resources, and spent a lot of time looking at the layout,” says Victoria.

“We have had really great feedback from quite a wide variety of the target audience we were going for.”

Those who have responded positively include parents, teachers, and specialist education practitioners.

A technique that underpins much of the book is the art of questioning, which involves mentoring young people through not giving them the answers, but instead drawing out their creativity.

“There’s an overflow of ideas,” says Marina. “We could probably put two more books together.

“As a teacher I know we come alive in nature. Kids need to be able to play and explore.

“There’s a ton of science that supports positive child development as a result of them spending time running around in nature.

“I know what it can bring in terms of health benefits, building relationships with something that isn’t human and how that can last a lifetime, and in terms of looking after the earth long-term.”

n To find out more about workshops and training offered by Circle of Life Discovery visit www.circleofliferediscovery.com or email: info@circleoflife rediscovery.com. Find out more about Victoria Mew’s work at www.cultivating-curiosity.co.uk.

n Learning With Nature is also available to buy from both websites at £17.99 plus p&p.