From birds and bees to woodlice and worms - what creatures sparked a love of nature in your childhood?

From birds and bees to woodlice and worms - what creatures sparked a love of nature in your childhood?

Heal Rewilding asks for public’s help with its survey, ‘The Spark’

Which creatures sparked a connection with nature in your childhood? Was it tadpoles, birds, worms or woodlice, or some other wriggly creature, or was nature not your thing?

The national nature charity Heal is asking for the public’s help to find out. Its new survey, ‘The Spark’, asks people to think back to their childhood and share which British creatures fascinated them, if they had a favourite and to recount personal stories and memories. Anyone can take part, from aged 10 to 110. The survey link is at http://bit.ly/3TPr9qI.

The survey, which only takes a few minutes to complete, explores whether family and friends were an influence and if their school or home school setting had an area for nature.

It also asks for people’s age group, to see if the types of favourite creatures have changed over time as nature has declined.

Heal’s co-founder Jan Stannard said: “Tadpoles and woodlice absolutely fascinated me when I was small and I know that my love of nature harks back to my early childhood. Nature has a quiet but powerful way of entering our hearts, sometimes through a single, unforgettable moment in childhood. We want to find out what experiences people of all ages and walks of life have had.

“The Spark is not a scientific study but a way for us to gather people’s recollections and help us with our storytelling around the wonder of nature and how it can give people a lifelong love of the natural world. We hope the results will shine a light on the importance of early-life experiences with nature, many of which are captivating and full of wonder.”

The Spark is now live on Heal Rewilding’s website, with responses accepted until 31 August 2025. The survey can be completed anonymously.

The findings, along with selected stories, will be featured on Heal’s website and in an upcoming edition of the charity’s monthly newsletter Heal Highs.

To take part in ‘The Spark’ and share your stories, visit http://bit.ly/3TPr9qI.

Ends

About Heal Rewilding

Heal Rewilding is a registered charity working to raise money, buy land in England and rewild it, to help nature recovery, climate action and wellbeing. Through the rebuilding of wildlife populations, community involvement and storytelling, Heal aims to reconnect people with nature and help tackle the climate and ecological crises. It bought its first rewilding site, Heal Somerset, in December 2022, which is open for free access to the public 50 weeks a year.

For further information: Jan Stannard, jan@healrewilding.org.uk, 07710 171704.

Images to accompany the story are here: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1vPruFcFF21mKF-ntexpN8o_srn6bRtl9?usp=sharing

Heal’s website is at www.healrewilding.org.uk.