The Roots of Childhood

Do you remember, as a child, how you learned the names of the flowers and trees around you? Perhaps you played in the fields next to your house, or built sand castles at the beach on holiday.

Learning about our natural environment is crucial for the development of well-rounded individuals. Through diversity and symbiotic relationships, different terrains and climates, your child learns how to be observant, critical, and patient in ways that online videos or manmade toys cannot fulfil.

Our society is rapidly becoming one where we rely on material comfort for everything in life. Despite the incredible and logical benefits of being in nature, a 2018 study shows that children, on average, spend only about 4 hours per week playing outside. On this World Youth Skills Day, let's gently guide our children away from the monitors and into the wondrous world of plants, birds, and all that nature has to offer.

This award-winning photograph was shortlisted in the Solutions Category of the COP28 Photography Competition, a collaboration between The Climate Tribe and the Hamdan bin Mohamed bin Rashid al Maktoum International Photography Award (HIPA). The Climate Tribe has partnered with HIPA to leverage the power of photography to inspire global awareness of sustainability and advance climate action.