Its probably fair to say that given the choice a frightening number of our children would rather be glued to their games console than playing out in the fresh air.

If you’re passionate about gardening or being outdoors yourself then the chances are that you already encourage your children to put down the games controller and switch off the TV in favour of playing outside but if you need some ideas on how to spark their interest then we hope to help you here.

A Space Of Their Own
If you have enough space in your garden give your child their own small plot to look after. This means they can dig and weed to their hearts content with out accidentally damaging your favourite plants.

No Garden?
If you don’t have a garden you can still involve the kids by giving them a large planter or window box of their own. Another great idea is to grow herbs in the kitchen and then involve them in cooking with the results of their hard work.

Grow Veg
Combine outdoor fun with healthy eating by growing a vegetable. Why not do a taste test with a shop bought and home grown carrot to see which tastes the best.

Grow A Sunflower
Grow a sunflower from seed … plant one each and see who’s grows the tallest.

See Your Child’s Name In Lights … Or Flowers At Least
Plant seeds in the shape of your child’s initial and watch them grow.

Have A Rotten Time!
Why not buy a small compost bin and get the children involved with saving food scraps to fill it. When the compost is ready they’ll be able to use it on their patch of the garden.

Creepy Crawlies
Go on a bug hunt … look under rocks and closely at plants to see what wildlife you can find.

Keep A Record
Buy a cheap notebook so your child can record information and draw pictures of the different birds and bugs that they see in the garden. It would be fun for your child to cut out pictures from magazines to cover the notebook.

The Rain In Spain
Make a rain gauge - cut the spout off an empty plastic pop bottle (you will need to do this for young children). Partially bury the bottle in the ground so it doesn’t fall over. Decide whether you will check the gauge once or twice a day and make a chart showing the days of the week. All you need to do now is take a plastic ruler out to the gauge each day and measure how much rain has fallen.

Feed The Birds
Put a hole in the centre of the bottom of a plastic cup (you will need to do this for young children). Tie a knot in a piece of string and thread it through the hole so that the knot anchors it on the inside. Cut some lard in to cubes and use your fingers to squidge it together with wild bird seed and raisins … you need enough lard to make the mix sticky so that when you press it in to the cup it sticks (the amount you need will depend on the type of seeds you are using). Set the feeder in the fridge over night and then hang it on a tree or fence post in your garden and watch to see which birds come to enjoy the feast.

Here are some web sites which will help to inspire you …

BBC - Gardening with children - click here
A great resource with projects to try and suggestions for the kind of plants that will be easy for your kids to grow

Paint plant pots - click here
Get out the paints and let your child design their own pot then plant a seed in it and watch it grow … a great idea from Garden World

Make an ice mobile - click here
This project is for older kids who understand they mustn’t eat the berries … another fun idea from Garden World

Environmentally friendly fun and games from the Environment Agency
click here

The Sunflower Challenge - click here
Step by step instructions on how to grow a sunflower from seed

Wildlife gardening - click here
Wildlife fun in the garden with your children

Create a butterfly garden - click here
An explanation of which flowers to plant to have your own butterfly garden

Kew Gardens - Climbers & Creepers Activities - click here
This web site is part of the official Royal Botanic Gardens web site and offers fun things for kids to do including games, colouring and short stories to read

Gardeners Club - Kids Corner - click here
Tips for gardening projects to try with your children

RSPB - Make and do activities - click here
Bird related fun for children from the RSPB