Environmental education course 11th-13th of April 2025

Our first environmental education course!

A course in partnership with the forest school Pequena Ilha Verde and the Iberian environmental association ADENEX.

In this course, our three associations will share their best strategies and workshops to inspire children and young people to reconnect with nature. We believe that the best way to learn is by doing, so the days will be filled with activities and games! We will offer our best activities and share our methodologies and strategies, tested and proven across various programs over the years. You will therefore have the opportunity to learn what each of these associations has to offer at its best in the field of environmental education.

Target Audience

This course is designed for teachers, early childhood educators, facilitators, and even parents who want to lead inspiring nature-based activities for their children (particularly useful for parents who are homeschooling). Children are welcome! Although the course is aimed at adults, thanks to its strong hands-on component with games and activities making up more than 80% of the program, it will be a lot of fun for your children to join in. During the more theoretical moments, children can head to the beach for some free play.

Main topics and activities

• • Introduction to forest school
  • How to explain complex ecology concepts through games and activities
  • Learning about the fascinating world of bees through theatre
  • Deep nature-connection exercises
  • How to build an insect hotel
  • How to capture children’s interest in the forest
  • Orienteering and survival games rally
  • Critical thinking activities on the state of the world

These activities are designed for a broad age range, from 3 to 18 years old (with many of the activities also working very well for adult courses).

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Language 

We want this course to be inclusive, so we will make it bilingual (Portuguese and English). We will hire a bilingual translator and provide live interpretation. Since this course is mostly hands-on, it’s easier to make it bilingual.

Programme 

Day 1 – ADENEX

ADENEX has over 40 years of experience, and environmental education has always been a major pillar of the association.

• Introduction to environmental education: ADENEX’s experience throughout its 40-year history
• Orienteering and survival games rally: a favorite among older kids (though younger children love it too!). Learning basic orienteering and survival techniques is a fundamental skill to have.
• Building workshop – Insect hotel: we will learn how to build simple structures using easily sourced materials. These shelters provide a home for our insect friends.
• Aromatic plants workshop: we will learn to identify various species of aromatic plants and their many medicinal and culinary uses.

Day 2 – EcoAtivo

The environmental association EcoAtivo will teach a variety of activities that make it possible to teach content about ecology and ecosystems in a playful way. Main activities and games:

• Beehive theatre: through theatre, we will learn about the fascinating world of bees!
• Become an ecologist for a day: we’ve developed a treasure-hunt style activity to find the different elements of an ecosystem in nature.
• Web of life: a simple game that connects all participants in a web of thread, allowing us to draw different conclusions about ecosystems through critical thinking.
• Bird migration hopscotch: a new take on hopscotch that lets participants learn about the region’s different bird species and the threats they face.

Day 3 – Pequena Ilha Verde

The association Pequena Ilha Verde will bring its best activities drawn from forest school methodology. Its exercises are especially appealing to younger children, aged 3 to 6.

• Route of the senses: blindfolded, we’ll follow a route designed to stimulate our different senses!
• Sensory games: nature is full of colors, textures, sounds, and smells! We’ll explore every dimension of nature through a variety of games.
• Painting activities: we’ll become artists using what nature has to offer.
• And much more!

At the end of the course, participants will receive a digital folder with all the activities offered during the course!

In addition to the educational program, participants in this course will have the opportunity to take part in yoga classes and collective meditation sessions organized by the spiritual community of Ananda Kalyani, the host space for this course.

Sample daily schedule:

7:00 – 8:00: Asana class (optional)
8:00 – 8:45: Breakfast
9:00 – 9:30: Morning circle
9:30 – 11:00: Session 1
11:15 – 11:30: Break
11:30 – 13:00: Session 2
13:00 – 14:00: Lunch
14:00 – 17:30: Session 3
18:30 – 20:00: Collective meditation (optional)
20:00 – 21:00: Dinner

Contribution 

We offer a “sliding scale” payment option to accommodate everyone’s financial situation.

These amounts include all meals during the course, materials used, and access to the campsite. The registration form includes a list of accommodation alternatives available at Ananda Kalyani.

Sustainable: €120 (minimum amount to cover logistics costs, use of facilities, and food)
Regenerative: €150 (this amount also helps pay the facilitation team)

Abundant: €180 (you are making a meaningful contribution to the development of our association)

Sobre as associações 

Pequena Ilha Verde – is a neohumanist education association born from the desire to address the need for a more holistic approach to education, one in which children can express themselves and engage in an interconnected way with the surrounding natural world and with others. Our childcare support services are based on the methodologies of neohumanist education and forest school. These philosophies complement one another and aim at the holistic development of each child’s potential.

EcoAtivo – is an environmental association focused on ecosystem regeneration through a holistic approach. Environmental education is therefore one of the association’s major pillars, having facilitated hundreds of activities within the Erasmus+ programs held at Ananda Kalyani, as well as many courses and workshops organized independently by EcoAtivo. The association’s core motivation is to reconnect young people with nature through immersive experiences grounded in top-level scientific content.

ADENEX – The Association for the Defense of Nature and Resources of Extremadura (ADENEX) was founded in March 1978 and legally established on July 10 of that same year. ADENEX defines itself as a scientific, cultural, independent, and non-partisan organization, with objectives that include:

• Promoting and encouraging the study of the natural riches of the Extremadura region, including its landscapes, flora, fauna, and the biotopes that sustain them.
• Contributing to the conservation and protection of these natural riches and of the historical, artistic, and cultural heritage, understood as a common good and regional patrimony.
• Paying special attention to promoting educational campaigns aimed at raising society’s awareness of the vital need to preserve a high quality environment, and of the role that both individuals and communities play in this mission.