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- Energizer - finger catcher and "Happy birthday to Anna-Liisa"
- "Touch a person who..." (impressed you by being Karaoke star, who was great at asking deep questions at Laboratory, who made you smile and is generally very positive, who's facilitation skills you like, who is very connected with Nature, etc.)
- Meeting in Facilitation teams from Laboratory and 100 sec spotlight on each team member saying the things you appreciated from the cooperation
- Diary - reflection on learning
- Family meeting - reflection on Laboratory experience and main outcomes
BREAK

- Introduction to "What's Next?!" in the project
- Planning of "Hikes+" in each country - making the posters
BREAK

- Presenting "Hikes+" ideas in each country
- Going for a silent walk and reflection on some topics about this training on the way back
BREAK

- Energizer - touching different colours with a different body part
- Everyone choosing one object picked up during the silent walk and telling a story, how it is connected with this training
- Ritual - all stand in a cicle and talk in own language, when someone is touched, they stop talking and step by step all stop talking
BREAK

- Youthpass ceremony (families making speaches and giving out certificates)
- "Messages on back"

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Laboratory day (see all descriptions in next column)

"Croatians invite" and Karaoke party

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We do not have info pack, however here are some points about it from Maroš:

We booked the place for the „step forward“ activity of the Hikes+ project.  (2nd-9th July)

Yes it is in the PIENAP/ Pieninsky national park as promised.

It is Pension NOVA, in Spisska Stara Ves.  penzionnova.eu

How to get there?  Exactly the same way as to „Kick off“ training but from Poprad (or potentially form Kezmarok) you will be on search for the bus direction Spisska Stara Ves, or Cerveny Klastor.

Get off at the main bus station in Spisska Stara Ves and walk 100m to Nova – pretty easy huh?

It is approximately 55min ride from Kezmarok and the ride has beautiful scenery around the way, so do not sleep it over  On the other hand, better be on search for early fights, as on Sunday the connections are generally much disperse.

We are sooo much looking forward to see you again and equally we are soo much looking forward to hear form your national team, who are the once coming to Slovakia in person again, or for the first time

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* meeting at backyard;
* energizer and teams forming (each 4 persons);
* blind picking items/bases for activity; brainstorming among the teams - determining the type of activity related to the items/bases;
* activity testing (each team for all);
* in the meantime Spanish & Italian & Portuguese & French coffee break (really tankfull to them);
* introduction to laboratory - laboratory teams creating (each 3 persons);
* in the meantime lunch;
* laboratory teams group working - creating scenarios of activities for Day 6; consultations
* in the meantime coffee break;
* in the evening grill party ( thank you very much Ludvik & co.)
* intercultural EVE (stereotips & prejudices; happiness; adventure in nature; bad manners; taboos & sensitive topic; and other...) - lots of extra interesting, surprising, funny conversations about similarities and differences

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*energizer: fight game in couples
*”speed dating”about hike+ experience among three participants, each of them from different group
*reflection in couples on learning points (personal,group, community and nature)
*riflection in hikes+ group about group dynamics
-coffee break—
*energizer: cooperative chairs
*scale of cooperation: different stages of group dynamics
*dimensions of hike
*hike+: power and challenges of the tools (reflections in family group and general feedback with post it)
—lunch—
Visiting Kezmarok
Traditional dinner

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Press question mark to see available shortcut keys

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*Meeting in meadow near forest (base camp with fire)
* Group ritual (facing outwards) and intro to day
* 2 paralell workshops:
5 SENSES
- 7 min silence with closed eyes - listening
- 15 min observing a bug (living creature)
- Exploring nature by touching it, smelling it and tasting it
Reflection
OVERCOMING OBSTACLES
-general introduction to what an obstacle represent for you (visible and invisible obstacles, are obstacles good or bad?);
-perception of yourself when you find an obstacle on your way (breath, tensions, flow..) with one, two and three obstacles:
-dance with obstacles (in pairs);
Reflection

Lunch break

HIKE
- 3 teams
- Choosing route and navigating
- Doing 2 challenges on the way
- Reflection about feelings, group process, most special moments

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- Updates about practicalities
- Content-related preparations
- Packing list

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2nd info pack HIKES+ - Slovakia, April, 2023.pdf

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Includes also general overview about the project

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E+ project HIKES+ - Slovakia 2023 - 1st info pack_updated

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Website with activity descriptions to explore and develop creativity in nature

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Digital Toolbox for youth workers and camp organisers to borrow ideas for creative activities in nature. This page was created during the Erasmus+ partnership project #Creativity @Outdoors.

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The most impoartant part in every E+ project in the youth field is LEARNING. During the training course mostly we will use NON-FORMAL LEARNING approach, nevertheless also through interaction with each other and all experiences in Georgia, you will for sure gain also some INFORMAL learning outcomes.

At the end of the project you will be expected to sum up your learning outcomes by defining what competences: knowledge and awareness + skills + values / attitudes did you develop during this traininng.

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SALTO Training and Cooperation Resource Centre

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Some theories, ideas, research results...

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Learning in Nature and Outdoors_Overview.pdf

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Find tools - method descriptions, manuals on many different topics...

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Created to help you find and share useful training Tools, the Toolbox for training is an online catalogue you can browse through freely or even contribute to!

Remember that tools alone have no influence. It is your task to adapt them to your objectives, context and target group, but most importantly to YOUR OWN SKILLS to turn them into something powerful...

The Toolbox wants to be a learning community for trainers and youth workers in order to share, debate and increase the quality of educational methods in their daily work.

Please give our help pages a careful read before you start. You will find plenty of tips on how to share your tools for learning.

More about tools for learning

* you need a registered MySALTO account if you want to share tools via the Toolbox. After you click "Manage", you can login to your existing account or create a new one.

All new tools in your inbox

Be the first to know about new tools for learning with our e-mail notifications.

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SALTO-YOUTH - Toolbox - Tool for youth work and projects - or recruit participants

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Created to help you find and share useful training Tools, the Toolbox for training is an online catalogue you can browse through freely or even contribute to!

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Here also other short videos: https://www.youthpass.eu/en/about-youthpass/video/

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SALTO Training and Cooperation Resource Centre

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From SALTO Tool Fairs

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This multilingual educational portal is intended for all youth actors with no language or cultural barrier. It was developed by the SALTO-YOUTH EuroMed and Good Practices Resource Centre in the framework of the European programme "Erasmus + Youth in Action" on behalf of the SALTO network

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Using Youthpass can add value to the youth projects where it is used, in several ways:

Through the Youthpass process, reflection on learning becomes more structured and the educational value of the project is strengthened. It makes the learning of the participants more conscious. Being more aware of their competences, it gets easier for the participants to make use of them in the future. Thus, Youthpass supports the future pathways of the young people.

By putting emphasis on the learning processes and outcomes in youth work, using Youthpass helps to increase the so-called Learning to Learn competence. It raises the participants' awareness of learning in a diversity of contexts and helps them to reflect on their learning wishes and needs.

The description of competences developed by participating in the youth projects also helps to increase the visibility of the value of youth work - of your work!

a process of reflection that helps to define and describe learning outcomes in a youth project, leading to a certificate that documents these learning outcomes

something which gives any rights to the holder

a confirmation of participation by the organisers of a specific activity

a formal accreditation of competences

a description of the activity where the person participated

a replacement for any formal qualifications

an individualised description of the specific activities undertaken and of the learning outcomes

available to demonstrate learning outcomes from activities undertaken in the YOUTH programme (which came to an end in 2006)

a certificate for people participating in the activities supported by the Erasmus+: Youth in Action programmes and the European Solidarity Corps

a tool which puts the Key competences for Lifelong Learning into practice

firmly based on principles of non-formal education and learning

a way of improving visibility of learning in youth and solidarity projects

Why should participants choose to use Youthpass?

They can describe what they have done and learned in a project

They learn to find appropriate words to describe their competences

They become better aware of the competences they have

They become better aware about the different contexts and ways how people learn

They can show and explain their competences better to others, for example in a job interview, at school or for further projects

They can make further plans about what they would still like to learn and how

They will have an official confirmation about their participation in a project

They can show it off to their friends and family!

You can watch the 'My Youthpass Experience' testimonial videos prepared by the Croatian National Agency on YouTube:

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Using Youthpass can add value to the youth projects where it is used, in several ways: Through the Youthpass process, reflection on learning becomes more structured and the educational value of the project is strengthened. It makes the learning of the participants more conscious.

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Outdoor education theories: A review and synthesis

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Reviews environmental, experiential, psycho-social and multi-element outdoor education theories, then proposed a systems framework.

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Done by Council of Europe

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The training kits (T-kits) are methodological publications for trainers and facilitators working with young people, written by teams of field experts. They are easy-to-use thematic educational material designed for training and facilitating learning with groups of young people.

Youth Knowledge Books are edited volumes of empirical, theoretical and practical research on priority topics of the EU-CoE Youth Partnership. They feature contributions from academics and researchers, practitioners, young people and policymakers. They include thematic research publications and two series: History of Youth Work and Perspectives on Youth.

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Publications - Youth Partnership - pjp-eu.coe.int

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To maximise the impact of the EU-CoE youth partnership, the results of its work are disseminated via several publications such as Coyote, T-kits, youth research books and the series "Perspectives on youth"

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More extended publications about Learning and Youthpass 

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More extended publications about Learning and Youthpass 

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Also - many great tools

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Helpful books and booklets for implementing Youthpass and striving towards the recognition of youth work and non-formal learning.

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Have you ever been struck by the beauty of a sunset landscape?

Or caught the glimpse of a rare animal in it's natural state?

These moments are like magic when we take the time to pause & get into our senses. They have a unique timelessness that feeds our most ancient human soul on a deep level.

For some people these moments are quite rare, but tuning into the magic of nature doesn't have to be rare. There are many things you can do to make these events more common in your life.
Nature observation is the practice of using our basic human senses to watch, listen, learn and appreciate our local environment while observing patterns in the life of plants, birds, trees & animals.
It all starts with how you choose to engage with the world around you.

The opportunity is there for you every day to open your eyes, ears and witness the world of nature.

This can bring an endless stream of beauty & joy into your life so today I thought I would share with you 'The Quick & Easy Guide To Nature Observation'

Why Spend Time Observing Nature?

In our busy world with technology & computers you might wonder, 'why should I take time out for nature?'

The fact is... people need connection to nature now more than ever.

There's currently a growing deficit of nature in our world. People are spending more and more time inside concrete walls. We're becoming more and more disconnected from our basic human senses and from the magic of the natural world.

The ability to observe nature is an inherent human skill which, when developed provides a cure for nature-deficit disorder.

Even the simplest of activities like watching ducks play on a pond can provide opportunities to connect with life & let go of your own personal world for a while.

You can think of it like a mini-vacation where every moment holds new excitement, adventure & learning opportunities... when you look for them that is.

Spending time with nature teaches us empathy.

There are life & death stories being played out every moment of every day. Watching life unfold & pass away season after season builds a deep sense of caring & respect for life.

You can watch trees grow from seedling to canopy... baby birds, baby raccoons, baby squirrels & all the crazy sounds they make... It's enough to give anyone the warm fuzzies.

But the reasons aren't all touchy feely.

Building your observation skills in nature will also provide you with enhanced personal power. You'll have to learn how to apply your mind to gather up the components of a story & pull information off the landscape.

There's a lot of research to suggest that quality time with nature increases concentration, happiness & overall well-being.

When people don't get time with nature, stress levels are higher, ADD & other learning challenges arise.

Just imagine yourself as like a nature detective, or investigative reporter.

Your job is to fit together the pieces of the story. Observation is your toolkit.

All in all, this process is very simple & fun for yourself or to nurture the development of any youngsters in your family.

Nature Observation Activities

There are a lot of very simple activities that you can do to build your nature observation skills.

At the core of these activities lies your inherent capacity to use your senses & mind in a natural context.

When you go outside, do you stop to smell the roses?

Or do you plow through at great speed causing the animals to flee from you?

Do you take time to recognize the trees that grow near your home & watch how they change through the months & years?

Do you acknowledge the squirrel & his acrobatics or do you ignore him?

No matter how nature oriented you are as a person, there are always things we can do to further slow down & become present with what's happening all around us.

In many cases the only reason we don't notice things in nature is because we're moving too fast.

One of the best ways to instantly magnify your observational capacity is simply to sit down somewhere & focus your awareness to the world around you.

When you move quickly in your body & mind, then your awareness is diminished... but when we become still on the outside, then we become still on the inside and we can take in the world through our five senses.

Practice Sensory Awareness

You can improve your ability to be aware of nature in a sensory way by focusing intentionally on each of your senses in turn. Start by closing your eyes and tune into your ears.

Imagine what it would be like to be a bat with their massive ultrasonic ears.

How many different sounds can you identify around you? What's the quietest sound you can hear? What birds are calling in the distance?

Then spend a couple minutes tuning into your nose.

Sniff the air and everything around you. See how many scents you can identify in 5 minutes. What can you detect in the temperature and moisture content of the air?

Then sit very still & tune into your body.

Feel which direction the wind is blowing against your face. Feel the earth beneath your seat. Pick things up with your hands & test different substrates with your fingers.

Finally open your eyes & tune into your sense of sight.

Notice all the different colors & shades of green. Use your peripheral vision and tune into broad patterns with your eyes.

As little as three minutes of focus on your senses is enough to light up your brain neurons like a Christmas tree.

If you practice this every time you go outside then pretty soon you'll naturally be paying much closer attention & notice a lot more.

Following The Trails of Natural Mystery

When you go out into nature there are stories everywhere. Nature is like a huge interconnected web.

Now that your senses are fully engaged, you can start to learn how it all fits together.

The natural world is made up of many interacting layers.

In addition to expanding your senses, it's important to practice your observation skills with all the different layers of nature.

All of these observations are relevant to the big picture.

It's important to never ignore any one aspect of nature, especially when it's commonplace. It's usually the most common things that have the most to teach us. Yet, it's also the most common things that are also most likely to be ignored.

When you break that pattern and just practice watching, looking, listening, you're going to amaze yourself by how much you learn. You'll be less apt to walk by and ignore the bird feeding on the lawn.

Sit and watch the squirrel for a little bit longer than you normally would...
Get down on your hands and knees and really tune into the insect world...
Pay attention to water patterns & notice that water moves through the land in an interconnected manner...

Streams flow into lakes which flow into new streams according to elevation...

The animals are drawn to certain water bodies. Can you figure out why?

All of this is happening in your own backyard! Even if you live in the middle of the city, nature is alive and vibrant when you choose to tune into it.

Here's a quick list of activities that will promote your nature observation skills:

Bird Watching

Wildlife Tracking

Ecology Classes

Plant Walks

Beach-combing

Hiking/Camping

Sitting on your front porch

Get Outside & Get Curious

The hardest part of becoming a skilled nature observer is taking the time to do it. Once you get off your butt and start to pay attention there's really no way you can go wrong.

Just follow your curiosity and always remember that there are ways to look deeper.

At the core of curiosity lies a willingness to ask questions even if you don't know the answers.

In reality, it's not about knowing the answers. It's all about how the question gets you to look & pay attention to notice something new.

What's happening right now?

What can I observe?

Why is that happening?

How does this all fit together?

Go Outside And Ask Yourself:
Keeping A Nature Journal

What good is nature observation if you don't remember what you observe?

One of the best ways to build your memory & make better observations is to keep a nature journal.

There are two ways that a nature journal can be used.

First, you can actually sketch and take notes while you're out in the field. Many people find that having a notebook in the field is a great way to improve their level of focus.

By sketching & describing the patterns you observe, it helps you tune into a deeper level of nature than you would normally experience.

The second way that a nature journal can be used is to record your observations by memory after you go inside.

Keeping records of what you noticed forces you to recall and remember what you observe.

You have to build a vivid internal representation of your nature experience, and this will also make you aware of any holes in your awareness.

This can be as simple as a brief jotted description of what you noticed while you were outside. Record your sensory descriptions & observations of whatever was happening with the birds, plants, trees, weather, etc.

Once you have your observations recorded you can even take it a step further by asking yourself, 'What am I curious about beyond what I just observed.'

Jot down any questions you might want to research or gather more information about the next time you go out.

This is a great way to build your nature knowledge by drawing on field guides & modern research.

Over time your burning questions will give you great motivation to get outside again & pay even closer attention.

Who knows, you might even make a unique discovery!

In a few years you'll be able to look back on all your journals and stand in awe of how much you now know about nature, all by using the powers of your own mind.

Nature Observation For Kids

Nature observation isn't just some boring adult learning exercise.

In fact, it's often better if we take a bit of a childlike attitude.

When doing nature observation with kids we have to use a bit of a different approach.

Children are less technical than adults, but their capacity to view the world in a sensory way is as good or better than most adults.

Some kids will find it very easy to sit & watch the birds for hours on end, but others won't.

It's important to not put too much pressure on them.

Even if they're bouncing off the walls with energy, rest assured that they ARE still paying attention.

A midst the chaos & excitement of play, you'll notice moments when they get caught by an insect, or the way a particular old tree looks in the sunlight... Your job is to milk those moments!

All you really have to do is provide opportunities for these natural moments to occur, without trying to force them.

You can engineer scavenger hunts, sneaking games, free play time by the creek or any other fun activity that can be done in nature.

These all provide endless opportunities for kids to flex their nature observation muscles.

It's best to focus primarily on having fun in the context of nature, and allow the observational component to come in through the background.

It's often very easy to engage children in conversations about nature by focusing on long-term cycles. Draw their attention to signs of season, weather, broad ecological patterns, & cycles of the sun, moon/stars.

As they get older you can prompt more with questions, challenges, & missions that encourage inquiry & deeper reflection.

The psychological effects of nature are the same with children as they are with adults, so don't be surprised if your kids start doing better with school, relationships & general happiness.

I'm sure you won't mind though 😉

Let's Take It To The Next Level

So now we've explored nature observation from all different angles.

All you have to do now is pick one thing that you're inspired to do and start taking action.

I'd love to hear from you about your journey with nature observation.

Is most of this new to you or are you a seasoned veteran?

What is your favorite nature observation tip?

What helps you make good observations in nature?

What are you excited to try out?

Leave me your thoughts in the comment box below!

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Have you ever been struck by the beauty of a sunset landscape? Or caught the glimpse of a rare animal in it's natural state? These moments are like magic when we take the time to pause & get into our senses. They have a unique timelessness that feeds our most ancient human soul on a deep level.

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How to develop Non Formal Education activities | Tips and Tricks for trainers

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Manual with theories and tools on Ecocentric development approach

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Manual with theories and tools on Ecocentric development approach

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Pages 62-72 activities in nature

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There is also online learning course materials about Youth Work available: https://pjp-eu.coe.int/en/web/youth-partnership/mooc-on-youth-work

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MOOC on Essentials of Youth Work: promotional video

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"Games for Nature" with ~50 activities/games

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"Games for Nature" with ~50 activities/games

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* Name Tag (name and natural object)
* Ice-breaker "Wind blows to ..."
* Name game "Name, Country and Move"
* Getting to know each other activity "Crossroads (4 options - then talking)
*Introduction to Diary: write down your first impressions
*Families: First Family Tasks and posters
-Coffee Break-

*Energizer: Run/Stop
*Swapping Identity
*Introduction to "Walk & Talk" (simplest form of HIKE+)
* "Walk & Talk" (3 teaser activities + 3 topics)
--1  "Me, Myself and I" then objects and grouping
--2 "People" then The sleeping cats
--3 "Nature"
Diary writing individually
--LUNCH--

*Meeting in the forest
*BALANCE AND FALLING
--balance objects and reflection
-- basic breakfall techniques (backwards, sideway, frontally and rolling) alone and in couples, and some applications
--basic balance in couples
--COFFE BREAK IN THE FOREST

*ROPES*
--1 Cooperative slackine (4 people use ropes to balance the one on the rope)
--2 Ropes in couples (2 persons balancing togheter in various ways, on two parallel ropes)
--3 Slackline Challenge - "Spider Pig"
* Reflection "Free microphone"
*Walking reflections in Families
--DINNER--

*Energizer: danca do quadrado
*FILM GUESSING

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River crossing challenge for a team.
#problemsolving #teambuilding

Group: Wojtek, Greg, Arta

Objective:  Developing cooperation skills and problem solving, overcoming obstacles as a group.

Energizer: walking in pairs when one person is blindfolded and the other is leading. After a while roles are changed.
After the activity pairs can discuss about the experience leading/being lead.

Main activity: building a group strategy and then river-crossing in a marked area using everything you can find around.

Debriefing after the activity.

Before river crossing - How does it make you feel to cross the river in one adjective?

After river crossing -
* How did it make you feel to cross the river in one adjective?
* How challenging was the river crossing as a team?
* What was the post challenging part and which the most exciting (agree on one answer together)?
* How can you apply this river crossing experience to overcoming obstacles in your daily life?
* Would you try this again with youth in your community?

Additional questions that can be asked:
* In the begging - What happened?

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Group: Picasso (Gosia, Paulo, Elen)

Activity: Tomato plant (meaning: one of Picasso's painting is called Tomato plant, but it also has a deeper meaning as a title for this activity - tomato plant looks very basic but grows beautiful, tasty and nutritional fruits - we are trying to do the same in this activity (even from a mud that doesn't look special at all you can create a beautiful and meaningful painting)

Focus: connection with oneself and nature

Learning objectives:
• ability to put feelings and emotions down on a paper
• connect life of individual with nature
• painting using natural materials
• notice variety of colours and their shades in nature

Activity description:
1. Guided meditation (deep breaths, imagine one natural object and concentrate on it's colour)
2. Ice breaking with nature - bring 2 natural objects of different colour/shade, create scale from lightest to darkest in the whole group
3. Take a picture (min. 1, max. 3) of a natural object/scene in nature that you feel connected to, in which you see some similarities with your life lately
4. Choose 1 of the photos -> paint/draw it on a paper using natural materials you find around, experiment with colours and try to really capture your emotions
5. Divide in pairs and discuss what you think the other person tried to express in the painting, guess what materials he/she used, how his/hers painting makes you feel etc.
6. Debriefing - 2 parts - 1. Pie chart - use cones (for how much you enjoyed the activity) and stones (for how difficult it was for you) to assess 3 different parts of our activity - taking pictures, finding materials to paint with and the actual painting - put the cones and stones in the middle of the pie chart if you enjoyed the activity and I was easy for you or more to the edge of the chart if you didn't enjoy/it was difficult -> outcome: it might have been difficult but you still enjoyed it, 2. Debriefing questions: How have you felt while creating the picture? Have you felt connected to yourself? How was it to use natural materials? Have you felt comfortable sharing your emotions with your partner?
7. Closing - group picture with paintings and goodbye

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INTRO ACTIVITY: In this game the participants are assigned a number (from 1 to 3) and are placed behind a rope, when a person says their number, the participants who have that number must go to the place where said person is placed, who has a handkerchief in their hands. Players must try to catch this handkerchief and run to another rope and across it, trying not to let any other player take the handkerchief from them.
MAIN ACTIVITY: (Participants have to install application Actionbound)
Participants have numbers from the previous game. According to these numbers, they are divided into three groups. Then we share a link or QR-code to the Actionbound application and let all groups work independently, according to the tasks we have prepared for them in the application.
DEBREAFING: At the set time, all groups will meet in one place where we will divide into groups so that each group includes members of all three groups. We will give everyone four questions to talk about.
CLOSING: Finally, we make one big circle and one person for each group tells 2-3 of their most interesting observations and experiences.

LINK TO PHOTOS: https://photos.app.goo.gl/EHHmqFTbHM4NUD5s5

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Facilitacion team: Isa, Edyta, David

Title of activity : Forest animals

Focus:

1.       Self : relaxation

2.       Group:  teambuilding

3.       Community:  trash collecting

4.       Nature:  creative work

Learning objectives:

1.       Concrete skills: cooperation, self confidence, build things from nature

2.       Knowledge: how to connect with ourself, how to manipulate with natural materials

3.       Attitudes: respecting the nature, having fun being close to nature, spending quality time in nature

Activity description:

1.       Warm up activity: self connection, relaxation, introducing ourselves.

Let's close our eyes and try to relax and connect with ourselves in a different way. All the movements that you do have to be on the spot, that is to say you have to stay in the circle all the time.

I ask you to imagine that you are anywhere, you are a small being that has no limbs, like an earthworm, we move our body slowly as if we were moving.

Gradually it grows and becomes a snake, the movements are somewhat faster, if you want you can also make its noise.

This snake becomes stronger and stronger and turns into a long snake, we move our arms and legs as if we were climbing up walls...

Now we change to be an elephant, this one walks slowly but stepping on the ground strongly.

We continue to evolve, now we have to feel like a monkey that is jumping and climbing trees to get its food....

After this journey, we breathe hard and expel the air we become human beings eager to begin our activity.

2.       Walking through the forest

Walk – stop activity with miming animals.

We divided participants into two groups and each group got a paper with animal on it. The task of the both groups was to make a plan how to mimic the animal they got. Task for the other group was to guess which animal it is. And we repeated it twice. Also, both group should remember mimic movement of the animals because this was crucial for the next activity called Spring mating.

The activity called spring mating was done by giving each of the participant paper with animal on it. The task for every participant was to make a mimic move (done by previous activity) and to find their couple (the person how made the same move as other participant).

3.       Main activity – Creating picture with nature materials (20 minutes)

We divided participants into two groups. Dividing was done by a picking either a cone or either a stick (for each participant). Each participant should go around the forest and pick 5 cones (if they  were in cone group) or 5 sticks (if they were in sticks group). Each group could pick between three animals that we gave them (not saying which animal it is to the other group). The next task was to draw an animal that they choose and the other team should guess what animal is.

4.       Questions for debriefing

4.1.    How do you feel now? (Arm scale)

4.2.    Which part of our work were you involved in the most?

4.3.    How much did you feel connect to the nature? And what are the reasons?

4.4.    What helped you to be creative and what disturbs you from being creative in nature?

5.       Materials – A4 pink paper (2x), trash bag, cones, sticks

6.       The space where it could be implemented – forest

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https://drive.google.com/file/d/1CWuI7v3kmSmYj621rqJv9HuZIGUHcS4S/view?usp=drivesdk

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Group: Aivi, Raili and Stjepan

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Adding also a picture 😉

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#hiddenmessage #teamwork #senses #climatechange  by Deniss (Latvia), Ivan (Croatia) & Anna-Liisa (Estonia)

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Description of the activity: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1nccz-Y8UF4mT8GdKCy-w6G1dxmKqjq4kCLmoEuMM-dg/edit?usp=sharing

Pictures of the activity: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1oibukzw8ydIZuTqucqrvjqgw2XRPCfDs?usp=sharing

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Guna, Agija, Madara

Activity which provides creativity and determines values. #values #creativity #art
Activity : Get to know one of  Europe’s Youth Goal topics, together with group members write down some comments about topic, linked to personal experience. Create an artwork which provides a message- land art, sculpture, etc. by using only materials which can be found around- leaves, brunches, rocks.

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ISA & JOSE HIKE+: ORIENTEEING RACE FOR BLIND PEOPLE WITH BIDIRECTIONAL BAR.

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ISA & JOSE HIKE+: ORIENTEEING RACE FOR BLIND PEOPLE WITH BIDIRECTIONAL BAR.

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-When? 15th of may 2023.
-Where? Parque Moret, Huelva, Spain.
-How many people? 31 students ages between 21 to 25.
-What activities were carried out? First of all, a game for the participants to get to know each other better and thus form different groups of different colors.
Second, they will work with their teams apart from their peers to gain confidence with the environment before discussing the main activity.
In third place, the main activity, the orientation race for blind people with a bidirectional bar. They will be separated in groups of 3 people and will be in the middle of nature.
Finally, the same groups must collect waste, now without a bidirectional bar.
-How did it go? The activity developed with total fluidity, just as we had imagined. The teammates had a very positive attitude and that helped everything go well. We think that the success was in the chosen natural space, because it helped the companions to be motivated. It is true that we had to repeat a few times during the activity that they were not encouraged to remove the mask, but they made it quite easy. The responsible team feels very comfortable and proud. As aspects to improve, we should have warned our colleagues of the high temperatures so that they came better prepared for their safety. We should also have extended the games before the main activity so that everyone knew the terrain perfectly. For the rest, we think that everything was a success.
-Link instagram account: https://instagram.com/inclusivehike?igshid=MzNlNGNkZWQ4Mg==

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Erasmus+ KA2 project and results

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This curriculum describes an example of a course to train youth workers and educators who want to promote Nature Intelligence in their practice. It focuses on developing the professional competencies of those who already have experience in non-formal education and in facilitating experiential learning.

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A lot about connection with oneself and the others!!!

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In the morning we meet the Kezmarok Scouts youth and we altogether went to the forest. We went across small river and we started our activities with game caled "guess which country you are" where participants from all country's say at loud "good morning Kezmarok scout's" on their native language. Then we continue with icebreaker called "beavers and river's" and than we approach a basic techniques of bonfire. Coffee break was our next step and then we learned basic knowledge of using map's manual and digital. Our next activitie was with mobile gps apps. We had a task to create different objects from easy to hard one's. We had to crate a plan and after that we had to sketch it by memory. When we finished we walked back on lunch and continue in the city hall with theoretical lectures/discussion of basic concepts theories of OEL. Another topic to discuss was about youth work realities and needs. We ended our day with dinner.

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View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Annlizan Noorte Klubi / Annlizan Youth Club (@annlizannoorte)

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Poland

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Hikes +. Szkolny klub górski Górołazy i Fundacja Znajdź Cel. Ślęża 2023.

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https://youtu.be/aDae-T6X5JE

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May 20, 2023 at Pontón de la Oliva, Madrid.

10 human participants and 1 hyperactive dog

The day began early in the morning as we gathered in the parking lot of Pontón de la Oliva, ready to start on our magical journey.

We were a diverse group, mostly IT students from the same school, some of whom were strangers to each other, along with a few friends of some of us. Interestingly, we had two Ukrainian refugees among us, who added a unique dimension to the group's mix. While most of us shared a love of the outdoors, hiking, mountains and nature in general, it was clear that some were not as accustomed to such adventures.

The route we chose was a 20 kilometer hike with 440 meters of vertical gain. It was filled with opportunities for conversation and interaction. To facilitate bonding and prevent anyone from feeling left out, we devised a game called The Killers. Each participant was assigned another member to kill, but only when both the killer and the target were alone or at a certain distance from the group. This ensured that no one wanted to be in groups smaller than three, which encouraged continuous engagement and interaction. We also included various conversational games to help us get to know each other better, as none of us knew more than four people in the group to begin with.

The hike itself was both enjoyable and challenging. The landscape that appeared in front of our eyes was amazing. Along the way, we encountered some language barriers due to the lack of a common language for all the participants. Surprisingly, this minor issue did not significantly impact on our enjoyment or communication, nature served as a bonding force, transcending language barriers. Even those who were not accustomed to such outdoor experiences expressed a desire to repeat the adventure.

At the end of the hike, some of us decided to extend the experience with an overnight stay. We searched a campsite that respected, not intruded upon, the harmony of nature. This choice was consistent with our shared values of preserving the environment and immersing ourselves in its natural wonders.

In retrospect, we concluded that some of the games we played would have been better suited for larger groups. Nevertheless, they achieved their primary goal of encouraging conversation and building connections within the group. We also had the opportunity to explore a cave, which required some climbing. It was during these moments that we truly felt the importance of supporting each other.

(I still have to upload the photos to instagram)

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During the implementation of the project, we organized several activities. These were outings with the youth outside school, where we carried out lessons, e.g. in mathematics, nature, etc. We also managed to go on a trip, where we climbed a small, demanding mountain, Ślęża.
https://www.sleza.sobotka.pl/

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Over 60 students and people cooperating with the Find Purpose Foundation have already participated in our project. Our joint action also mobilized our peers to walk and rest in nature.

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HIKES+ Szkoła w Pęgowie i Fundacja Znajdź Cel.

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Hikes +. Szkolny klub górski Górołazy i Fundacja Znajdź Cel. Ślęża 2023.

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Here are the plans for HIKES+ in each country :)

In this column please feel free to add information on HOW IT WENT:
- When it happened?
- Where?
- How many people came (and who - age, background, etc.)
- What activities you did?
- How did it go - what do you think about it and what participants shared in reflections?
- Link to some social media coverage

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Erasmus+ and ESC (update 2022)

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2021-2027 Map of possibilities Erasmus+: Youth European Solidarity Corps Who are we? Intro Amics.eu NGO established in 2005. NonFormal ed. Inclusion. GAMES as a tool. On ens pots trobar? Quart JOVE email /@QuartesEuropa /QuartJove instagram.com/quart_jove Whatsapp: 673067149 Where?

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Relevant pages:
* 4-10 - general info and priorities
* 139-151 - about Youth Exchanges
* 152-164 - about mobility of youth workers (trainings, seminars...)
* 165-180 - about Youth Participation projects
* 230-237 - about small scale partnerships

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Relevant pages:
* 8-11 - general info and priorities
* 47-52 - about Solidarity projects

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European Solidarity Corps - playlist in youtube

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European Solidarity Corps - playlist in youtube

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Youth participation projects - longer video

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Youth participation projects - longer video

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SALTO Eastern Europe and Caucasus Resource Centre

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New Erasmus+ Youth. YOUTH PARTICIPATION PROJECTS.

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Project Results platform - see what projects have been already implemented 

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Project Results platform - see what projects have been already implemented 

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Projects that inform, transform and inspire

Use this platform to search for Erasmus+ projects in your field, explore projects with exceptional outcomes and stories, and find inspiration for your own projects.

Search and interact

Search for ongoing and completed projects with our detailed search tool. Data is available from 2014 onwards.

Learn how Erasmus+ projects support the ongoing priorities of the European Commission.

Browse a list of questions about the project results, ordered by visitor votes.

Project participants access

If you are a Project Officer or a Project Beneficiary you can manage the details about your project.

Log in to edit your project content

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Projects that inform, transform and inspire Use this platform to search for Erasmus+ projects in your field, explore projects with exceptional outcomes and stories, and find inspiration for your own projects. Search and interact Search for ongoing and completed projects with our detailed search tool. Data is available from 2014 onwards.

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Step by step - how to develop a project idea

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Very good publication!

Lots of more materials of SALTO also here: https://www.salto-youth.net/rc/inclusion/

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The 11 European Youth Goals summarise the issues that affect young people in Europe and the political priorities that are important to them. The Youth Goals show in which areas change still has to happen so that young people in Europe can use their full potential.

The EU Youth Dialogue works on the implementation of the Youth Goals. At European, national and regional level, the EU Youth Dialogue works with the Youth Goals to shape policy in the interests of young people.

Around 50,000 young people took part in a Europe-wide survey in 2018. Based on this survey, the 11 Youth Goals were formulated with concrete sub-goals under scientific supervision. All EU countries were involved in the development of the Youth Goals and support them. The Youth Goals have been included in the EU Youth Strategy.
The Youth Goals have been translated into different language versions. You can find them below.

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Youth Goals The 11 European Youth Goals summarise the issues that affect young people in Europe and the political priorities that are important to them. The Youth Goals show in which areas change still has to happen so that young people in Europe can use their full potential.

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Very nice publication: https://participationpool.eu/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/Youth-Participation-Toolkit.pdf

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Participation Pool | Resources on Youth Participation & Media Literacy

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Our goal is to encourage youth participation and media literacy by being a source of trustworthy information for youth workers and youth leaders. Read more!

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Strategy in different languages available here: https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX%3A42018Y1218%2801%29

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Publication

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Publication on making projects more GREEN: https://www.iynf.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/GTB-final.pdf

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How can European youth projects be made more sustainable?

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Portuguese Hike+: Land arts, Bugs Hotel and Scouts

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Portuguese Hike+: Land arts, Bugs Hotel and Scouts

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Feel free to discover the activities we have done with young people here in Portugal :)

Land arts: 5km - 62 Young people (13-14 yo) + 5 Adults
Bugs hotel: 3km - 15 Young people (16-17 yo) + 3 Adults

Scouts: A lot of Young people (14-18 yo)

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Paulo Casimiro Azinheira Quiterio - Prof

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Download the form and fill it in by tommorow

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You can check our project at as Google Doc :)

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walk the walk and give back more than you take

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Presentation about three fantastics hikes in Latvia organized by Guna Krumina, Agija Gusakova, Madara Skrastina - Step closer to yourself, Step closer to other, Step closer to all of us. Total number of participants 90, age 13-18.

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Organistions: Adventure organasation "Lūzumpunkts" + Support and self-development programme for younf people "Palēciens"

👥️ 8 youngsters + 4 mentors
About young people from "Palēciens" programme - aged 13-17, from familiea facing social risks, difficulties integrating in society.

📍Latvia, Ķemeri National Park and Ložmetējkalna area

🎯Main theme of the hike: overcoming difficulties and learning how to manage challenges

🎲4 main activities proposed (hiking wš through out the day from one activity to another):
1) cooking dinner in the prwvious evening and preparing snacks for the next day,
2) sunrise in the swamp on SUP,
3) bonfire masterclass,
4) rappelling off a tower.

⏰️Programme:
We all met at 18 o'clock in the afternoon to start with the first task. After dinner at 22 o'clock had an introduction of planned programme.
Waking up ar 2 o'clock at night to to the swamp and prepare everything for SUP ride in the swamp, which with all the preperation took ~7 hours. We went to the forest and youngsters had a chance to sleep a little bit in the forest while mentors where preparinf lunch. After lunch we engaged youngsters in dish washing and packing everything for a hike. In a sandy part of the forest we had a bonfire masterclass. Continued hike till the tower from which we where repelling. Before strting the activity we had peraonal goal setting for their next 6 months in the programme "Palēciens". Everyone did overcome their fear and rapelled from the tower.
At the end of our hike and long day, we had a reflection process all together.

🏔Challenges as an oganiser:
* Had to plan this hike according to the needs of programme "Palēciens",
* This groupmof youngsters was demanding a lot of individual work with each of them,
* Had some difficultiea because of their luck of motivation, had to take out some of the planned activities (like overcoming obstacles course),
*Had to change the progrmme several times while on a hike.

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Some of more activities done for disimentation of HIKES+:
- https://www.instagram.com/hikesslovakia123/
- https://www.kreaktiva.hr/zavrseni-projekti/kreaktivci-na-novom-treniningu-hikes/

- https://www.kreaktiva.hr/zavrseni-projekti/provedena-je-i-prva-aktivnost-u-sklopu-projekta-hikes/

- https://www.kreaktiva.hr/zavrseni-projekti/nastavlja-se-diseminacija-projekta-hikes/

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When? 10th-11th June
Where? In the middle of the mountains around Varese, Italy.
How many people? We were 12, sadly due to weather conditions we postponed the event and a lot had to delete.

We hiked through the mountains exploring bunkers and tranches left  from war, we reached out a spot that has a lot of rocks and trees.
We proposed and lead some training sessions based on moving and discovering a new environment.
Then a bushcraft session, where we worked on knots, and we set the campfire for the night.
Actuall  being 12 was beautiful, the atmosphere was familiar and intimate, we were able to share a lot.
The day after,  we went to a lake, where we had an Art du Déplacement proper training, and then the event was basically over, so we spent the evening diving and swimming.

I think in general it was a really good experience, the feedback that we received were all great and, I think, it was a big chance for learning, both for the participants and the coaches.
I will continue for sure to propose this kind of activities with other friends that work in the same field as mine, I want to continue to develop and increase the concept of non formal learning throughout the experience in Nature.

The majority of the feedback that we had was about doing more and more activities like this one, and on a lot of suggestions for other subjects and aspects to work on.

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Although in much smaller number than we first planned, we - 3 scout leaders from our region, met 3.6.2023 in Poprad from where we took train to Vysoké Tatry. Of course we had to alter activities we prepared to fit the number of participants, but it turned out great. Maybe in some aspects it was even better since we could dive deep in ourselves and discuss it in our small circle. We received very positive feedback not only from our participant, but also from many other scouts who heard about Túry+ (we even met scouts from other regions of Slovakia who were jealous that they don't have such events there :D). On our Instagram account (https://instagram.com/tury_plus?igshid=MzMyNGUyNmU2YQ==) we did a little survey and found out many people would like take part in the future events as well as people who would happily help to organise them. Therefore, we are determined to continue this project and we believe it will reach more and more people over time.

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Pages 57-66 about Nature-based learning
Pages 71-116 Ideas for activities