Large numbers of children in Britain are missing out on the natural world, a study from the RSPB suggests.
The three-year project found that only 21% of children aged 8-12 were "connected to nature".
Girls were much more likely than boys to be exposed to the great outdoors, while children in Wales had the lowest score across the UK.
The RSPB says that a perception among some adults that nature is dangerous or dirty could be holding children back.
There has been an increasing amount of research in recent years underlining the lack of contact and experience with nature among modern children.
Some have argued that this is having a negative impact on their health, education and behaviour.
In 2012, the National Trust published a report on the phenomenon of "nature deficit disorder", though it is not recognised as a medical condition.
Gender difference
The RSPB says its new study is the first to quantify the scale of British children's exposure, or lack of it, to the natural world.
They came up with a definition of what "connected to nature" actually means and then developed a questionnaire with 16 statements designed to assess the level of connection among children.
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