Enthusing children and young people

The much-loved Creature Comforts™ characters, created by the Academy award-winning animation company Aardman Animations, used in the Countryside Code animation and throughout the materials, bring the issues alive with humour and style; motivating and enthusing children and young people to discover more. There’s the sheepdog recounting the distress caused to wildlife by owners not keeping dogs on leads; the horse encouraging us to ‘be prepared’ and the seagulls reminding us to treat the countryside as you would your home.

This approach not only serves to engage children and young people in their work, it also reinforces the key message of responsibility. By acknowledging those things that matter most to the young - getting out and about for fun and adventure - they are, quite simply, more likely to actively care about what happens to the countryside. In fact, research into the ‘significant life experiences’ that determine our connection to the natural environment, and our attitudes and values, reveals that positive direct contact or ‘first-hand experience’ has the greatest impact (NFER, 2004).

Enthusing children and young people

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