Join in Gardening Week - download free family activity pack here

To coincide with National Gardening Week, from Monday April 27 to Sunday May 3, Countryside has created some practical craft worksheets for families to follow as the country is advised to remain at home to prevent the spread of coronavirus. The pack has been designed to enable materials found throughout the home and garden to be used to create a mini allotment, worm farm and a bug hotel, and support the National Gardening Week message to ‘keep gardening’. The pack forms part of a wider campaign by the house builder inviting people to ‘Let the Countryside In’ this spring with a series of nature-themed tips, tools and exercises. The house builder is also working closely with experts and specialists from the fields of landscaping, mindfulness and even fitness to help bring the benefits of the great outdoors to the home as we spend increasing amounts of time indoors. The campaign also comes with a commitment by Countryside to invest further in the green space and ecology of its developments, preserve local wildlife and plant more trees and shrubs. In 2019, the house builder planted 2,000 trees, 70,000 shrubs, installed 69 bird boxes and saved 300 trees from being felled. Christopher Penn, regional operations director, Partnerships Yorkshire, Countryside, said: “As we all spend an increasing amount of time inside and away from friends and family, the risk to our mental health and wellbeing becomes more compromised. It is therefore critical that we do all we can to explore the benefits to our general health and state of mind that can be found by connecting with nature. Our downloadable garden activity pack for National Gardening Week is just one of a series of activities that will help people flex their green fingers in the safety of their home. “Our campaign comes with an earnest message too. We’re continuing to invest in the green space and ecology of our developments with a commitment to plant even more trees and shrubs and install even more bird boxes, going beyond the ambitious numbers we met in 2019. “In these unsettling and challenging times, our campaign aims to provide simple and positive ways that we can all relax and reconnect with nature within the comfort and safety of our homes and gardens.” Download Countryside’s Garden Activity Pack for free here