Prince’s half-term tasks for children
Prince Charles has urged children to discover the natural world during halfterm by planting seeds or looking out for birds.
The Prince of Wales has set six tasks for youngsters to encourage them to connect with nature while they are on a break from school or online learning.
In a video message to launch the project, he admitted he was “frustrated” about not being unable to get outside as much as he would like during the pandemic, and how it had been
“an incredibly hard year for everyone”.
But he added: “So, here’s a challenge for you. While you have a little time off from all your online learning, can you encourage your family to go out with you to take a really close look at the wonderful things nature is now doing, and how the same patterns occur over and over again?
“See for instance, how many birds you can spot; plant the seeds left from cooking vegetables and see how long it takes them to sprout; decorate pebbles, stones or shells.”
The project will run from Monday to Saturday and the daily tasks – designed to be accessible for all children – will be set via Charles’ Clarence House Instagram page.
Participants will be able to share their creative efforts online.
Historic abuse survivors are threatening a judicial review to challenge a controversial government-backed waiver which removes their right to justice.
Survivors who want government compensation are being asked to sign the waiver, which would stop them taking legal action against their abusers.
Holyrood’s Education and Skills Committee last week voted to keep the waiver in the proposed redress scheme. Within hours, around 500 survivors and campaigners signed a petition seeking a judicial review.
David Whelan, 62, who was abused while being looked after as a child at Quarriers Children’s Village in Renfrewshire, said: “Survivors across Scotland are outraged that, after engaging for years with the Scottish Government, at the last minute, after expecting them to keep their word on the important commitments they made to us, we have instead been betrayed and hung out to dry.”
The Scottish Government said: “The redress scheme is designed to offer survivors a faster, more supportive, trauma-informed form of justice than civil court. The inclusion of waiver is an important part of the scheme to encourage organisations to make fair and meaningful financial contributions.”