Anthony Rawlins, founder of Wildling

I’m passionate about helping people discover and appreciate the natural world. In this blog I’ll explain how my new free app, Wildling, can support teaching and learning by helping students connect with the natural world in meaningful, accessible ways. 

Wildling officially launches nationwide on 9 July, backed by some of the UK’s leading conservation organisations and individuals, including the RSPB, the Marine Conservation Society, Forestry England, and advisors such as Deborah Meaden, Ben Goldsmith, and Sir Tim Smit. 

It’s a free app designed to make finding and enjoying nature simpler for everyone. Whether you’re in a city, suburb, or rural area, Wildling helps users discover local nature, explore ideas for getting outdoors, and find calming, inspiring content that can develop confidence and connection with the natural world. 

It’s suitable for families, first-timers, educators, and anyone looking to reconnect with nature, and feel better for doing so.

You can download the Wildling app for free from our website.  

How can Wildling support teaching and learning of OCR qualifications?

Wildling has been designed to make it easier for people to engage with the natural world, and that has clear value across many areas of education. 

By helping students explore nature where they live, the app can support learning across a wide range of subjects. It’s not about replacing lessons, but enhancing them with real-world experience. 

Here are just a few examples of how the app can support OCR qualifications: 

• Natural History. We’re all excited about this proposed qualification! At the heart of the new GCSE is the act of noticing and Wildling encourages exactly that. It helps students connect with wildlife, seasons, habitats, and environmental change. 
• Geography. Use Wildling to explore rivers, coastal erosion, and changes in landscape. This can give students the chance to see geographical processes up close. 
• Science. From evolution and ecosystems in biology, to acoustics in physics and environmental impact in chemistry, Wildling helps students relate scientific ideas to the world around them. 
• History. Many locations featured in Wildling contain layers of human history, from ancient settlements to wartime landscapes, bringing the past into sharper focus. 
• English and the arts. Poet Laureate Simon Armitage’s recent collection Dwell, written at The Lost Gardens of Heligan, explores habitats through poetry. Wildling can inspire writing, art, and creative thinking rooted in place. 
• Music. Wildling’s soundscapes help students explore the emotional and sensory power of the natural world – an entry point into composition, reflection, or mindfulness. 

Used flexibly, Wildling can help students move beyond abstract concepts, encouraging learning that’s active, place-based, and rooted in real experiences.

Why now?

The Natural History GCSE is a brilliant and timely development, but the value of nature in education goes far beyond one subject. 

Students today are spending more time on screens than ever before. At the same time, study after study shows that time in nature boosts creativity, concentration, emotional wellbeing, and even long-term academic outcomes. 

I’m also involved in a wider programme exploring how nature can be woven into more areas of the curriculum. The evidence is clear: connection with nature helps young people become more balanced, imaginative, and resilient. These are traits we want to nurture in every student, regardless of subject. 

If we can support that connection now, we’re not just teaching facts, we’re helping shape happier, healthier futures. 

Keep up to date with the latest news on OCR’s GCSE in Natural History by signing up for email updates.

What’s next for Wildling?

We’re launching Wildling into the world this July, and like any good adventure, we don’t have all the answers mapped out. 

We’re already in conversation with partners across education, healthcare, conservation, and tourism. Wildling is designed to serve wherever nature plays a part in improving lives, and, as we’re discovering, that’s just about everywhere. 

But it starts with something simple: encouraging people to take that first step outside. Because once someone spends more time in nature, they begin to value it – and when they value it, they’re far more likely to protect it.

We’d love your ideas

As Wildling evolves, we’re inviting educators to help shape it. If you’ve got ideas for what students could look out for, whether it’s natural phenomena, seasonal cues, landscape features, or historical markers, we’d love to hear them. 

Our goal is to make Wildling genuinely useful in a school context by adding prompts and points of interest that support learning. If you’d like to explore how Wildling could support your teaching, share your ideas, or help shape what comes next, we’d love to hear from you. 

Share your thoughts, and we’ll look to build them in.

Stay connected

If you have any questions about our qualifications, you can email us at support@ocr.org.uk, call us on 01223 553998 or message us on X @ocrexams. You can also sign up to subject updates to keep up-to-date with the latest news, updates and resources.

If you are considering teaching any of our qualifications, use our online form to let us know, so that we can help you with more information.

About the author

Anthony Rawlins is the founder of Wildling and CEO of Navigate, a consultancy that supports 5% of all visits to paid attractions across the UK. With over 20 years’ experience in tourism, education, and conservation, he is passionate about helping people reconnect with the natural world.