A farm in Worcestershire is encouraging local families and children to reconnect with nature by upgrading their facilities, thanks to funding from Tesco.

Worcestershire Wildlife Trust’s ‘Explorers on the Farm’ project was awarded £2,000 through the supermarket’s Bags of Help scheme, which was used to buy new picnic benches (made from recycled plastic bottles) in its courtyard area.

Every year more than 7,000 people visit Lower Smite Farm, which is home to Worcestershire Wildlife Trust’s operational base and education centre.

The group welcomes families and schools from across the country, as well as hosting a monthly children's club.

Becky Bradshaw-King, funding development officer at Worcestershire Wildlife Trust, said: “As a society, we’re becoming increasingly aware of the advantages for children playing and learning in a natural outdoor setting.

“Improved health and fitness, development of natural science skills, environmental awareness, better performance at school and social cohesion are all proven benefits of spending time in the great outdoors.”

The benches are regularly used by school groups who visit Lower Smite Farm to learn about wildlife, food and habitats through practical hands-on activities.

Junior members are also making use of the upgraded benches for arts and crafts activities during their Wildlife Watch sessions.

Becky added: “We’re so grateful to Tesco for helping us encourage more kids than ever to get outside and experience nature for themselves.”

Chris Collins at Tesco said: “It’s wonderful to see this project come to life as it is a fantastic example of the positive impact that spending time outdoors can have on children, both for their mental and physical well-being.

“So far Bags of Help has awarded £71 million to more than 23,000 community projects across Britain and we look forward to seeing that number grow.”

Tesco works in partnership with Groundwork to offer its Bags of Help funding scheme, where the money raised from the sale of carrier bags is being used to fund thousands of local projects in communities right across the UK, all voted on by customers in store.