Truemors
One of the problems for environmentalists is getting kids at an early age to engage with nature. Many city children know very little about nature or plants as was revealed earlier in the year when a survey of British children showed that many couldn't even identify a magpie and other common wildlife and plants. This story about the dying art of blackberry picking highlights how simple pleasures such as picking wild berries or even just going out with parents on nature walks are no longer for many children passtimes that they undertake or are taken on by busy parents. We are so used to buying our fruit and berries from the supermarket that some children have no real idea of where they come from never mind going out to pick them themselves.
At this time of year young families have traditionally spent long days foraging among the brambles together, in search of juicy blackberries to fill a homemade pie, or turn into jam.
But wildlife experts say blackberry picking is a dying art, even when economic worries make it the perfect time to make use of what's on offer in our hedgerows.
John Verran, a regional bee inspector for Wales, said: "There are far less people around picking blackberries now than there used to be which is a real shame. They seem to have got out of the habit and there are only a few people picking mushrooms.
"There is all this free and nutritious food available in the countryside, like crab apples which are easy to turn into delicious jellies."
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