Some research conducted has indicated that youngsters in Yorkshire will be spending most of their summer holidays cooped up indoors as opposed to enjoying all which the great outdoors have to have. It’s rather concerning that so few youngsters spend time outdoors — 17% of Yorkshire youngsters spend time in the region’s famous countryside, according to Yorkshire Water’s survey of 1,200 people, which is less than a fifth of youngsters favouring the outdoors.
In an attempt to reverse this rather concerning trend, the company, which is the second biggest land-owner in Yorkshire, has created a free outdoor adventure pack which aims to help thousands of parents offer some good outdoor entertainment for their kids and prevent the youngsters from that infamous holiday boredom during the summer holidays.
Some of Yorkshire’s most popular reservoirs to which the adventure pack can be taken include Fewston Swinsty, Winscar, Damflask, Langsett, Scar House and Sccamonden. There’ll also be a daily prize on Yorkshire Water’s Facebook page, offering a chance to win a luxury picnic rucksack to encourage families with young children to spend more of their time outdoors.
Geoff Lomas, Recreation Manager at Yorkshire Water, said: “We are lucky enough to live in a county that has fantastic coastline, historic market towns and cities, and beautiful, wild countryside. However, our research has found that most youngsters prefer to spend most of their time indoors rather than enjoying the delights of ‘God’s Own County’. Our adventure pack has been designed to get more youngsters participating in a range of fun outdoor activities.”
The adventure packs, aimed at kids under fourteen years of age, are freely available for download from the company’s website. They feature a range of fun and educational games to play outdoors including ‘scavanger hunting’, plant spotting, cloud hunting, bird cake recipes and duck feeding.
Most visitors to Yorkshire Water’s land are over the age of 55, but the company is trying to attract more families with young children to its woodland, reservoirs, and moorland.
Yorkshire Water takes care of 72,000 acres of countryside and welcomes around two million visitors to its land every year.
To download a Yorkshire Water adventure pack and make the most of the mini heat wave visit: www.yorkshirewater.com/freetoenjoy.