MORE than 30 South Lakes children have been given an environmental award after a week in the wild.

The children were awarded the John Muir Award after taking part in Kids Are Off School (KAOS) activity weeks in Ulverston and Kendal organised by North Country Leisure.

Award winner Lilli Wharram, 10, from Kendal, said: "Every day was a different kind of fun."

Spending the week participating in everything from bushcraft, sailing and windsurfing to canoeing, kayaking and ghyll scrambling, the kids met the John Muir Trust's award criteria by discovering a wild place, exploring it, conserving it and sharing their experience with others.

"KAOS is a great initiative to get young people involved in the outdoors," said Graham Watson, manager for the John Muir Award with the Lake District National Park. "To enjoy the opportunities the Lake District offers, but also to learn more about it, develop respect for the outdoors and take their part in looking after it."

Senior instructor at Windermere Outdoor Adventure Centre, Neil Mulhall, has been giving children the opportunity to get out into the great outdoors for around seven years.

"Neil and his team deliver their activities very much in the spirit of John Muir, the founding father of National Parks, so it’s only natural that the young people have achieved their John Muir Awards," added Mr Watson.

To enrol in next year's KAOS course email Windermere Outdoor Adventure Centre at Windermere@northcountryleisure.org.uk