The first of two planned Forest Pedagogy trainings took place in Kyiv.
The training was attended by teachers from public and private schools, university professors, representatives of NGOs and the National Park.
Some of the participants attended the training for the first time, while others are already specialists in forest pedagogy and are studying with us for the second time, because it is interesting and informative to study with us, as we are constantly updating our knowledge, which we are happy to share.
So what is so special about forest pedagogy and how does it differ from ordinary pedagogy?
Its peculiarity is that it is conducted directly among nature – in the forest, park, garden. Its main goal is to gently and naturally involve children in the issue of environmental protection.
Games, experiments, and communication among nature allow children to see the wonderful world of nature, change their attitude to trees and animals, which from abstract values become something close, understandable, and valuable.
The participants of the training had the opportunity to turn into children for a day and sincerely played outdoor games, watched insect life with a magnifying glass, conducted research expeditions, etc., as there were many practical exercises.
Forest therapy is also a good tool for psychological recovery. Therefore, there were also exercises that allowed us to relieve tension and ground ourselves.
As one of the participants put it, our meeting gave us the opportunity to go beyond the usual circle of friends. Therefore, we agreed to continue communicating in a chat created for the participants in Telegram.
This project has being implemented within the frame of the Environmental Policy and Advocacy Initiative in Ukraine that has been implemented by the International Renaissance Foundation and enabled by the financial support from Sweden.
We thank all the participants for the day full of positive emotions!