Testimonials

We have had countless visits for whole classes and smaller groups, all benefiting hugely. Children have had the opportunity to play, explore and learn outside. Upon return to school, we have always found learners to be calmer and readier to access the curriculum.

The Children’s Wood is an invaluable resource to us as a Victorian school with two concrete and lay grounds and no green space. It offers a wealth of opportunities, in a secure environment, that we couldn’t offer in school. The staff provide fantastic support to our pupils during our Outdoor Learning sessions.

Children and young people need to have good quality play spaces that can be reached on foot or independently depending on their age, interests and ability.

Our Children have been using the meadow for 14 years. It is a rich learning resource for the local community and offers children opportunities to explore and play safely. Recent activities with our children have included planting, insect hunts, treasure trails, picnics and educational events. It would be a huge loss to our nursery if the area could not be used for recreational purposes.

This is such a great inner-city open space, a real ‘secret garden’ which serves as an open-air community centre and a place where kids can climb trees and discover nature.

The availability of a woodland setting immediately accessible to our children and staff, on the doorstep of the school, is a real living experience. This naturally beautiful and exciting environment is alien to many city centre children and which is impossible for schools to replicate in their playground such that has taken decades to evolve naturally – a real wood.

We’re keen to help people of all ages reconnect with nature. North Kelvin Meadow is a precious area of greenspace within Glasgow, a green and peaceful place in a crowded city. We’re fully supportive of the campaign to protect it and helping local people see the benefits of spending time surrounded by nature plays a big part in gaining support for its protection.

Seeing the children’s pleasure as they follow each other through the woods and play games of imagination brings tears to the eyes. Surely the physical and spiritual benefit that saving this pocket of countryside would bring to families in Glasgow is an opportunity for the council to do real good, something worth far more than the money that would go to line the developers pockets.

The Children’s Wood is a wee gem of natural wild space in the heart of the west-end. In it, children can connect to nature in a way that isn’t possible in most manicured areas; digging, den building and so on. As a parent of two young children I can appreciate how important it is for young children to connect to nature. Glasgow should be proud to have such a wilderness for the community to flourish in and should do all they can to save it!

For decades we have restricted children’s freedom to play outdoors and there’s growing evidence that this trend is damaging their physical health and emotional well-being. We now have to take positive steps to ensure that children have easy access to wild spaces like the Children’s Wood in the North Kelvin Meadow. It would be a travesty if this special place for children disappeared under concrete.

Scotland needs not only to protect our open spaces but we need to encourage far greater use of them. Our nation has one of the lowest life expectancies in Europe and whilst lack of exercise is not the only factor few would argue that it’s not a major factor. Exercise also plays a crucial role in the physical, mental and emotional development of young children. Fields in Trust Scotland fully supports those campaigning to save North Kelvin Meadow and urges Glasgow City Council to reject any attempts to develop this important and popular green space. As Glasgow prepares to host the Commonwealth Games the largest and most important sporting and cultural event in the country’s history, we should as part of the games legacy, ensure that we protect places where future sporting heroes start their tentative careers and where local people can enjoy sport, recreation and play in the great outdoors.