
Yui Mok – WPA Pool/Getty Images
Yui Mok – WPA Pool/Getty Images(LONDON) — Kate, the Duchess of Cambridge, unveiled the “Back to Nature” garden she helped design at the RHS Chelsea Flower show this weekend.
The duchess’ garden was created with a particular purpose — to encourage children to play outside — tying into the focus of her work on how important the early years of life are in childhood development and in setting the stage for a child’s future.
“I believe that spending time outdoors when we are young can play a role in laying the foundations for children to become happy, healthy adults,” she said, speaking ahead of the garden unveiling.
The garden, designed by the duchess and award-winning landscape architects, is “a woodland setting for families and communities to come together and connect with nature,” according to Kensington Palace. It includes a swing seat and a high platform tree house, inspired by a bird or animal nest and made from chestnut, with hazel, stag horn oak and larch nest cladding.
Kate, 37, has made early childhood development the focus of her work, advocating for the benefits of the outdoors on improving mental health, particularly for kids.
“Understanding that our brain develops to 90% of its adult size within these first five years helps crystallise how our experiences in these earliest years are so impactful, and influences who we become as individuals. What happens in our early years is vital to our being able to engage positively in school, and in work and society, and ultimately, to how we bring up our own children,” she said in a press release.
On Sunday, Kate, along with her husband Prince William, brought her own children around the garden and shared photos from the special family outing.