Nature Play SA celebrates International Mud Day 2020 with new educational resources for parents and teachers
Messy play with magnificent mud works wonders for children’s development – so much that Monday is “International Mud Day”.
SA News
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Glorious gooey and gloopey mud is an “essential ingredient” for a healthy, happy childhood, experts agree.
Nature Play SA is celebrating International Mud Day (Monday June 29) with a new series of educational resources entitled “Magnificent Mud” and “Magic of Mud”.
Chief executive Sarah Sutter says she hopes the resources enable teachers and parents to make their own fun throughout the year, rather than gathering for the one big event, which has been annual since 2014 in SA.
“Mud play has an extremely important role in sensory development, providing a platform for creativity, imagination, resourcefulness and free expression,” she said.
“It’s also known to strengthen the immune system and trigger the release of serotonin, a chemical that helps to regulate mood. Mud can, literally, make kids happy.”
The Magic of Mud includes more than 50 “learning inspired activities to explore and connect with mud” and lists of the benefits of mud play alongside additional resources.
Flinders University ecologist Dr Martin Breed believes multiple human health benefits stem from exposure to natural environments, particularly soil with diverse microorganisms.
“I’d love to see more people – kids in particular – having fun in their local park, not just for the fresh air and exercise, but also to get a healthy dose of biodiverse microbes,” he said. “These microbes help ready our immune system for life’s challenges.
“A great way to get our healthy dose of nature is to volunteer in our local park and help restore its biodiversity; this will not only help protect our nature, but it will help improve our health as well”. He is lead author on the paper “Ecosystem restoration – a public health intervention” published in the journal EcoHealth.
Southern suburbs mum Kate Gill, 33 loves watching her boys Harvey, 5 and Owen, 3 play in the mud.
“They are very outdoorsy kids, they love getting into nature, getting dirty and all that involves, that sense of fun and playing together,” she said.
“Usually we don’t really hold them back because getting dirty is all part of growing up and having fun.
“That sparks creativity and conversations about the environment, like why things grow and what things need to grow, the trees and the birds.”