Chris Packham says children are put off embracing the natural world, with many seeing the outdoors as a “dark and dangerous place”.
The TV naturalist believes allowing people too much access to the internet exposes them to far greater hazards.
And he insisted there were too many restrictions in place which prevent children from spending time outside.
Chris, 62, said: “We need to withdraw back from the idea that the natural world is, in some ways, a dark and dangerous place, that it isn’t a place that is filled with wonder.
“I go and I see young people in the natural environment and they’re wearing hi-vis jackets. I wear a hi-vis jacket if I’m in a dangerous place.
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“What are we saying to those young people if they’re wearing hi-vis jackets, and every time they touch a newt we squirt them with hand gel? As far as I’m aware, no child ever died of newt in the UK.
“Let’s just back off and relax and let them engage with those sorts of things. We have to allow those young people to encounter it, it’s got to be on the end of their finger. They’ve got to get slimed, stung, bitten and scratched by it to really feel it.
“I would argue that allowing people too much access to the internet is exposing us to
something far more dark and dangerous than the natural world in their gardens.”
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Chris said there could be mandatory policies in schools, depending on circumstances, to take children out of the classroom and into nature.
The star yesterday spoke to the MPs on the Science, innovation and technology select committee about insect decline and UK food security.
He also claimed conservationists were not on a level playing field with the National Farmers Union and its vested interests.
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