World Down Syndrome Day meets International Day of Forest – Policy recommendations for employing urban forests as enabling learning environments

by Rik De Vreese | Mar 21, 2019 | Articles

there is a place
where children who have never walked, find freedom
where children who have never talked, find words
and more often than not, where every child finds a smile

In this blogpost, we celebrate the 21st of March, which is not only International Day of Forest 2019 but also World Down Syndrome Day. We look how three EFUF partners implemented forest education for children with special needs, including children with Down Syndrome.

Playing and learning in forest and nature stimulates the imagination, creativity and entrepreneurship. Besides, nature is a great place to gain experience for the development of social and motor skills. The positive impact of a green learning environment is even more significant when working with children with cognitive disabilities, learning disorders, attention disabilities (such as ADHD) and autism spectrum disorders. In an informal natural environment, these children learn better than in a classroom. A green learning environment therefore increases their chances in society meaningfully. From this determination, EFUF partners BOS+ (Belgium), GOZDIS (Slovenian Forestry Institute) and Merseyforest (UK), together with schools and partners from Slovenia and England, has been executing the Green Learning Environments project, with co-funding from the ERASMUS+ programme from the European Commission and EPOS-Vlaanderen.

Based on the experiences and expertise gathered during the three year project, the project has published a Policy Brief. With this document they aim to raise awareness on the concept of Green Learning Environments and the positive impacts of green environments on learning outcomes for children with mental disabilities. The brief starts with sketching the background and some scientific evidence on the topic, describes obstacles for implementing green learning with children with mental issues, sketches the project findings, and ends with recommendations for practice and policy.

The policy recommendations are particularly interesting, as they sketch how joint efforts by the education and urban greening sectors can ameliorate the lives of children with special educational needs. These recommendations include:

• Non-formal learning activities in green learning environments should become part of the educational system for all children in Europe.
• The education systems across Europe should look to provide support for more green learning, including increasing awareness regarding the benefits of learning in natural environment, the creation of sites for teaching in the natural environment and signposting to organisation that can provide support (Jelen, 2018).
• Learning and spending time in green learning environments can make an important contribution to the increased social inclusion of children with special needs. Green learning environments promote the skills and competences that are important for lifelong learning and the social inclusion of all children.
• Accessible green should be provided close to schools. Where possible it should be provided within school grounds to allow as many children as possible to enjoy a green learning environment.

Next to the policy brief, the project also also published a searchable database with good examples, a  toolbox for teachers and educators, and a comprehensive pedagogical approach that includes interesting background information about the advantages of green learning environments.

Together for forests in sustainable cities

by Rik De Vreese | Nov 30, 2018 | Articles

EFI and EFUF combining strengths to facilitate urban forest-based solutions employment in Europe

Building on their mutual strengths, the European Forest Institute (EFI) and the European Forum on Urban Forestry (EFUF) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) regarding strategic collaboration on research and policy in the field of urban forestry on Friday, 30th November 2018. This collaboration will further the understanding of the potential of urban forests, forestry, nature-, and bio-based solutions in supporting the development of sustainable cities. Both organisations will jointly develop a strategic approach to facilitate the employment of urban forest-based solutions in European cities, through coordinated communication, research and development efforts. Throughout the collaboration, EFI’s forest-based scientific experience and its European-wide science-policy network and EFUF’s multidisciplinary network with local authorities, practitioners and researchers will be complementary in developing a stronger discourse on urban forest-based solutions.

A first common initiative developed within the MoU framework, is the launch of the Call for Abstract for the 22nd session of the European Forum on Urban Forestry in Cologne (Germany). The EFUF2019 conference has been branded “Urban Forests: Full of Energy” and will focus on the role of urban forests as providers of energy, both through woody biomass and through physical activity, art, learning and collaborative working. EFUF is organised at the “Waldlabor” (Forestlab) in Cologne, which is a magnificent place for exchanging knowledge based on participatory science and experiments.

The European Forest Institute (EFI) is an independent international science organisation, which generates, connects and shares knowledge at the interface between science, policy and society. EFI has 29 member countries who have ratified the Convention, and c. 115 member organisations in 39 countries, working in diverse research fields. https://efi.int/

The European Forum on Urban Forestry (EFUF) is a network for forest and greenspace managers, planners, architects, researchers, public authorities and policy makers to share interdisciplinary experience and good practices within the field of urban greening, urban forests and urban forestry. This science-policy-practice network provides a unique meeting place to discuss advancements and exchange knowledge regarding strengthening the role of trees, woodlands and forests as green infrastructure when working towards resilient cities. www.efuf.org

EFUF2019 – “Urban Forests: Full of Energy” – is financially supported by the Ministry of Environment, Agriculture, Nature Protection and Consumer Protection of the State Nordrhein-Westfalia and organised by EFUF and EFI Bonn Office in cooperation with the German Sport University Cologne, the City of Cologne and the RWTH Aachen University. The conference will take place on 22–24 May 2019 in Cologne (Germany). http://2019.efuf.org

Contacts

• Marc Palahi, Director European Forest Institute, marc.palahi@efi.int
• Clive Davies, Chair of the International Steering Committee of the European Forum on Urban Forestry, clive.davies@efuf.org
• Rik De Vreese, Contracted Expert for Urban Forestry at the European Forest Institute, rik.devreese@efi.int