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"Sometimes people think nature is a package, that you go somewhere and it's organised and you pay for it," says Simpson. "The Wild Network is about doing something outside your own front door, it's not about travelling two hours in a car to experience nature. "We seem to have lost the habit of it, which is a shame because it's so much fun, with no price tag."
The Wild Network campaign is being launched in conjunction with a new documentary film, Project Wild Thing, which is currently being shown at more than 50 cinemas across the UK.
The film was made by father David Bond who, in a bid to get his young daughter and son off the sofa and outdoors, appointed himself 'Marketing Director for Nature'.
To make his 'brand' - which is of course, nature - stand out from the crowds of other brands competing for his children's attention, Bond worked with branding and outdoor experts to develop a campaign to sell nature - the ultimate, free, wonder-product. "I wanted to understand why my children's childhood is so different from mine, whether this matters and if it does, what I can do about it," explains Bond.
He says the reasons children, whether they live in cities or the countryside, have become disconnected from nature and the outdoors are complex. "Project Wild Thing isn't some misty-eyed nostalgia for the past - we need to make more space for wild time in children's daily routine, freeing this generation of kids to have the sort of experiences that many of us took for granted. "It's all about finding wildness on your doorstep and discovering the sights, sounds and smells of nature, whether in a back garden, local park or green space at the end of the road." n For more information about the Wild Network, Project Wild Thing and the Wild Time app, visit wildtime.projectwildthing.com