The National Trust is urging parents to engage their children with nature this summer, with Canal Boat Holidays being the perfect opportunity to expose youngsters to the natural world.

According to research by the conservation group, today's children spend 60 per cent less time outside exploring nature than their parents did at their age.

This is something the National Trust wants to change, so it has produced a Wild Child guide which lists more than 1,000 events to across the country to entertain people on Canal Boat Holidays and engage them with the natural world.

In order to promote the trust's campaign, many celebrities have recalled how they fell in love with nature.

Wildlife filmmaker and Springwatch presenter Simon King said: 'I looked up to see the broad-winged, moon-faced bird glide silently over our heads no more than 10 metres away.

'It was a breathless, timeless epiphany for me, the confluence of my hunger for knowledge.

'In a bid to get couch potatoes off the sofa, the National Trust recently grew outdoor living rooms at twelve different locations across the country.