Advisory report
RLG 08/8a: Growing up green
Advisory report on greater consistency in green youth policy
Executive summary
Introduction
Growing up in a green environment at an early age benefits children’s health, creativity and social interactions. Frequent contact with green surroundings also changes people’s appreciation of the natural world, the landscape and healthy food. In our urbanized society, however, growing up green is becoming increasingly difficult. As a result, children are gradually becoming less involved with the natural world and with food. In his advisory report entitled ‘Growing up green’, the Council for the Rural Area advocates a coherent green youth policy.
In 2006, in the Lower House of the Dutch parliament, the then Minister of Agriculture was questioned about the perceived sharp decline in young people’s involvement with the natural world. The Council responded to this signal, and submitted this unsolicited advisory report to Gerda Verburg, the Minister of Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality, in June 2008. The advisory report focuses on ministers whose portfolios relate to young people, on the alderman of ‘urbanized’ municipalities, on the education system, and on social organizations involved in the natural world, landscape and food.
Act green
Green youth policy is characterized by a multitude of initiatives scattered throughout the country. Despite all the good intentions, a green youth policy is not an important topic for government bodies (both at national and local level). According to the Council, municipalities in particular should invest in green child-friendly environments. This involves green links, the construction of new conventional and extended schools in green surroundings, in safe neighbourhoods and in districts from which through-traffic is excluded. These environments positively counteract deprivation and segregation, while making the city an attractive location for businesses or wealthy individuals.
Green play areas
The Council calls for criteria for green play areas to be incorporated into school building standards (a so-called green standard). The Council also advises the government to take a critical look at restrictive legislation affecting play areas, involving the collective redemption of liability, for example. Furthermore, the Council believes that school play areas could be made quite a bit greener. It is worrying that many new extended schools are currently being built without any allowance being made for the creation of attractive, green surroundings. In addition, the Council notes that green organizations have little or no involvement in after-school care. This would ease the burden borne by schools.
Eating better
The importance of a good and healthy diet is widely recognized. Yet there is still an enormous distance between children and the sources of their food. A study commissioned by the Council and conducted by Young Works, shows that children mainly associate food with supermarkets, rather than seeing a direct link to the natural world. Children who are active in school gardens see things differently. Accordingly, the Council is advocating the introduction of school gardens throughout the country. These gardens give children an active knowledge of food production and consumption, from sowing, weeding, growing and harvesting, through to cooking. To avoid overburdening schools, the ideal solution would be to join forces with other social organizations, such as allotment holders. However, this would require local authorities to take citizens’ initiatives seriously and not to channel them through standard procedures, as in the case of complaints, for example. The film that accompanies the advisory report illustrates a wide range of citizens’ initiatives. It shows that citizens have to be very tenacious indeed if they want to get local authorities to support their initiatives.
Green links
While many urban districts have areas of greenery, these are not tailored to make them suitable or accessible for children. By effectively connecting the areas of greenery in such districts with one another, you can draw the natural world into the city. Priority areas for urban regeneration, in particular, offer plenty of opportunities in this regard. Here, schools, parents, and community centres, as well as nature conservationists and environmental organizations, should play key roles in restructuring their district. The Council is also calling for the establishment of a national knowledge and coordination centre for young people and green areas. Here, people could exchange information concerning a wide range of experiences in this area. It could also provide an arena in which separate initiatives could reinforce one another.