Outdoor Education: Transforming Learning through nature

How can educators reimagine their teaching and make their lessons more interesting? One strategy is to step beyond the traditional classroom and try Outdoor Education. Blending hands-on experiences with solid theoretical grounding, this week´s course equipped teachers with practical tools to inspire learning in both natural landscapes and urban spaces. By the end of this week, participants walked away with fresh insights and effective strategies for bringing the outdoors into everyday learning.

​The new edition of the course “Outdoor education: a new way of teaching and learning” took place in Palermo from 01/06/2025 to 07/06/2025. The participants came from all across Europe, with Laura Quiros Lopez from School Street and Thomas Court Bawn Family Resources Centre CLG in Ireland, Maria Cristina Mato Fernández from IES Escultor Juan de Villanueva in Spain, Julia Bednarz from Grundschule Rohrerhof Koblenz in Germany, Paula Álvarez Luces from IES Politécnico de Vigo in Spain, Paula Cristina Leitão Nicolau and Constança Guilhermina Azevedo from CENFORES in Portugal, Rocío Peco Navío, Víctor Gutiérrez Lomas and Laura Llorens Ruiz from IES Pedro Soto de Rojas in Spain and Jeffrey Ertel from Kőrösi Csoma Sándor Két Tanítási Nyelvű Baptista Gimnázium in Hungary. 

​The course kicked off with an icebreaker, encouraging participants to connect and share their hopes for the week ahead. After that the participants started a brainstorming session, where they explored the meaning of Outdoor Education—its purpose, possibilities, and its growing role in today’s pedagogical landscape. Later, the participants shared how much outdoor education they are already using in their classes and presented their schools. This rich exchange of perspectives offered an insight into how Outdoor Education is being practiced across Europe.

​During the week we discovered different Outdoor spaces to practice new methods and activities. Two of those spaces were Foro Italico and Villa Giulia, scenic parks in Palermo close to the sea side. This practical experience showed them how outdoor experiences can allow learning and provided inspiration for implementing nature-based activities into their own classes.

​The next day was spent in another park, Villa Trabia. Here the participants discovered the outdoor space with all of their senses. Through different challenges, they explored the 10 principles of Kurt Hahn and learned how to use outdoor education in their own subjects to practically engage and motivate their students.

​Moreover, the course also focused on Non-Formal Education (NFE), an innovative pedagogoical approach that can be combined well with Outdoor Education. In order to practice this new method, the participants took part in an Urban Outdoor activity, exploring the city center of Palermo with an Educational Treasure Hunt. This experience demonstrated how also urban spaces can be transformed into engaging and interactive outdoor learning environments.

​On the final day, participants concentrated on managing and preventing risks in the planning and implementation of outdoor activities. They learned how to identify potential risks, develop appropriate plans, and maintain safety throughout outdoor education experiences. Various tools and strategies were presented to support teachers in effectively ensuring safety in outdoor settings.

​In order to practice what they learned about risk management, the participants took part in a group-based activity to observe and map a location for an outdoor activity. For this exercise we first went to Parco della Favorita and discovered the area, after that the participants created a map, marking areas with risks and other places of interest for different educational activities.

​To conclude the course, the participants reflected about their experiences, ideas and learnings of the week. Before concluding the course with a certificate ceremony to recognize the participant´s efforts, they discussed how they can integrate Outdoor Education in their curriculum. Now they are equipped with a lot of new ideas and skills to bring their students to the outdoors.

Discover more about this course  here.
​