For some tech-free fun, a day out with your kids in the forest is always a great idea. Away from screens, they’ll find the forest full of adventure. And there are plenty of games for kids that you can play too, no matter what they’re into.
In this article, we’ll go through why our forests are so important, how to protect them and five games to bring your woods walks to life.
Fun facts about forests
- 40% of the land in Europe is a forest
- 10% of all CO2 emissions in Europe are held in local forests
- 75% of all trees in European forests are the same age
Why are forests important?
Forests are an incredibly important ecosystem for all life on our planet. Not only are they home to many species of wildlife and plants, they also protect our environment, our climate and our natural resources.
Firstly, they clean the air that we breathe. They take CO2 out of the atmosphere and give us clean oxygen in return. Forests also help to protect us from natural disasters like flooding by keeping soil stable. This is thanks to a complex system of roots which also helps to filter our drinking water.
We need our forests to help us with the climate. Trees that are fully grown can store around 20kg of CO2 emissions every year. So, when trees get cut down lots of things happen:
- CO2 emissions that the trees stored are release back into the air
- There are fewer trees to absorb the CO2 emissions
- Our air becomes more polluted
Are our forests in danger?
Like a lot of ecosystems across the planet, human activity is causing a lot of problems for our forests.
In certain parts of the world, forests are being lost due to farming. Diverse forest habitats are being cut down to plant crops that will grow food for animals or food for humans. A lot of biodiversity can be lost when this happens as well as the powerful benefits that trees have for helping climate change.
This is why, wherever you live, it is important to protect your forests.
What can we do to protect our forests?
You are never too little to protect the forest. As a parent, caregiver or guardian, talking to your children about the forest and showing them its beauty will help to make them appreciate it as an ecosystem in the future.
Some other ideas include:
- Eating local, grass-fed organic meat to reduce deforestation for farming
- Trying to use fewer products with palm oil, beef and soy
- Use products from companies that protect trees
- Choose reusable, alternative or recycled paper products
- Take your litter and stick to the path when you go into the forest
Games to play in the forest
No matter how young or old your children are, or what they are interested in, these forest games for kids will help them explore their natural world and also appreciate the forest.
‘Hotter, colder’
‘Hotter, colder’ is a simple game that will help your child’s ability to follow instructions as well as explore.
- Ask your child to close their eyes
- Take a simple object and hide it somewhere in the forest
- Your child will move in a direction and you will call ‘hotter’ if they get closer to the object and ‘colder’ if they move further away
- The game continues until they have found the object
Forest bingo
Forest bingo is a good way to help your children see what’s in woods to help them appreciate their surroundings. It can also help them with their recognition skills.
All they need to do is see what they can spot in the forest. Download our forest bingo card here to play.
‘What’s in my hand?’
This game uses sensory play to identify objects.
- Choose an object from the forest, like a leaf, moss or pinecone
- Have your child close their eyes
- Allow them to feel and smell the object until they guess what it is
Bug hunt
Get a little dirty with messy play in the mud. See how many bugs you can find. The person who finds the most is the winner.
Den discovery
Build a den with your kids, big enough for a human or small enough for an insect. Find loose twigs and leafs on the forest floor, stack them up against a tree trunk or make a freestanding structure. For an extra level of difficulty, you could add a time limit.
Have fun with these forest games and if you have more, share them with us on the Not Bored Box instagram @notboredbox. You can send us a message with your photos and ideas.