Queen Mary threw her support behind a snail when she joined students in the Ryvangen Nature Park to officially launch Denmark’s Nature Week.

The Danish queen arrived for a day of insect races, animal track hunts, and a bonfire with students from the third grade class at Kildevældsskolen.

“The children love nature and being outside,” said their teacher Kristine Baadsgaard in a press release on the Danish Nature Conservation Association’s website. “Of course, it is first and foremost fun and nice, but we think it is important that the children learn about nature and that they feel like protecting it.”

Among the activities were a hunt for animal tracks through the nature park and a bonfire lit with “old-fashioned matches”, and an insect race, which occurred after Queen Mary and the students trekked through the nature park to find their own insects.

Queen Mary found a snail and joked that it looked fast on its feet, though when it came time to actually race, her snail didn’t manage to cross the finish line before another insect won.

The Danish Nature Conservation Association’s President, Maria Reumert Gjerding, said afterward: “The more we can open children’s eyes to nature and the species we share our country with, the more children will want to take care of nature when they grow up. At the same time, there is no doubt that nature can make a positive difference to children’s well-being, learning and health. And we celebrate all of that today and the rest of the week.”

According to the Association’s website, Nature Week is meant to encourage children and their families to get outside and spend more time in nature.

Last year, more than 143,000 young people participated because of activities organised by their schools or municipalities.