Kate Middleton Opts for an Effortlessly Casual Look During Natural History Museum Outing in London

The Duchess of Cambridge visited the museum close to her Kensington Palace home

Photo: Geoff Pugh/AP/Shutterstock

Kate Middleton dressed down to talk up the value of spending time outside on Tuesday.

The Duchess of Cambridge donned a dusty rose jacket and jeans as she headed to the Natural History Museum, just a short drive from her London home of Kensington Palace, to promote the museum's Urban Nature Project.

Working alongside other museums and wildlife organizations across the U.K., the Project aims to help people reconnect with the natural world and understand the importance of nature in towns and cities as they find practical, everyday ways to protect the planet and support wildlife.

GEOFF PUGH/POOL/AFP via Getty Images

At one point, Kate sat cross-legged on a wooden platform in the museum's garden to join some schoolchildren as they learned about spiders.

Kate Middleton. GEOFF PUGH/POOL/AFP via Getty Images

She also offered the children a home-crafted treat of honey from her Norfolk country home of Anmer Hall. "This came specially from my beehive," she said, according to a report from the event, then asked, "Does it taste like honey from the shops? Does it taste like flowers?"

Kate Middleton. GEOFF PUGH/POOL/AFP via Getty Images

As she left the museum, Kate fixed an acoustic monitoring device to a cherry tree in the Wildlife Garden. It will record ambient sound to help scientists to investigate patterns of bird, mammal and insect activity in the garden, her office said.

GEOFF PUGH/POOL/AFP via Getty Images

The program is set to be launched later this year and not only dovetails with her and husband Prince William's conservation work but also fits in with Kate's own desire to encourage greater appreciation and love for being outdoors. In recent years, she has invested a lot of energy and time into campaigns to promote the benefits of playing outside and being in nature.

She launched her Back to Nature gardens at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show in 2019 the Hampton Court Palace Garden Festival, and they immediately received a priceless endorsement when her three children — Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis — shared a carefree playdate among the trees, flowers and flowing creek.

Alongside the more permanent installation of the Back to Nature play garden at RHS Wisley, Kate has worked to highlight how a child's early development can be enriched in an environment that encourages active exploration and the opportunity to form and strengthen positive relationships.

Samir Hussein/WireImage

Last week was a landmark one for Kate, 39, as she launched the next stage in her ongoing program to support and help parents, caretakers and children navigate kids' first five years of life.

Then she was reunited with parents she has met during her decade-long journey culminating in the launch of the groundbreaking Royal Foundation Centre for Early Childhood. The parents took the opportunity to tell Princess Kate about their experiences, and she told them about the vital role that parents and caretakers will continue to play in shaping her work through the new initiative in the coming years. She also talked about her hopes for what it can do for future generations, her office at the palace said.

Can't get enough of PEOPLE's Royals coverage? Sign up for our free Royals newsletter to get the latest updates on Kate Middleton, Meghan Markle and more!

She spent the weekend with Prince William — who turned 39 on Monday — and their children at Anmer Hall, where William marked Father's Day with a brief outing to countdown the start of a half marathon at nearby Sandringham. Ably supported by Prince George, 7, and Princess Charlotte, 6, the trio sounded the start for three different categories of runners.

"Dozens of runners stopped to take a selfie and try and get them in the background," an onlooker tells PEOPLE. "William was cheering them on to get going."