The Relevance of Outdoor Education: A New Way of Teaching and Learning

Engaging with nature has had a very positive impact on the intellectual, behavioral, and emotional development of humans since the past. Even in contemporary times, it is common to experience feelings of inspiration, amazement, or influence when surrounded by nature or seeing natural and urban landscapes. As an innovative teaching method, outdoor education offers the opportunity to address two critical issues facing our world of today: providing sustainable education, and promoting awareness of the urgent need to protect our planet in the face of the daunting challenge of climate change.

The newest edition of the course “Outdoor education: a new way of teaching and learning” took place in Bologna from 02/07/2023 to 07/07/2023. The participants came from all across Europe, Katalin from UMSZKI school in Hungary, Floris, Remy, Sasha, Niels and Bert from the OPO Hof van Twente school in Netherlands, Mateja and Merita from Osnovna šola Trnovo in Slovenia, Ellen and Nicole from Carmarthenshire County Council in UK and Achillefs from B Technical and Vocational School of Limassol in Cyprus. 

After defining the term "outdoor education", we looked at the different methods we can use to teach students how to engage with nature. It is important to mention that this is not only about spending time in natural environments and forests. A part of the training was dedicated to urban outdoor education in the city. 

The week was shaped by a series of creative activities designed to show the relevance of outdoor education. We had a fascinating treasure hunt around the hotel, followed by a multimedia exploration of the principles of outdoor education. Furthermore, ideas for planning outdoor activities and safety aspects to consider were presented, discussed, debated, and most importantly, worked out by the participants themselves. The group learned how nature serves as a diverse environment for discovery where students can combine theoretical concepts with real-world experiences, creating a deep and lasting understanding.

On Thursday we visited the beautiful natural park Villa Ghigi, where we could now implement the ideas we had collected. Here as well, we worked in groups and deepened the collected knowledge through practice and sharing.

To conclude the course, we went on an urban treasure hunt in the center of Bologna, where we learned more about the city's cultural heritage and connected the collected theoretical knowledge with the urban environment. 
 
The course proved to be an extremely educational experience for all participants, leaving a lasting impression. With their boundless energy, openness and commitment, they now take home a variety of knowledge, a wide range of tools and a host of innovative methods to successfully package Outdoor Education into their teaching methods.
​
Discover more about this course here. ​