Waldcoaching inklusive - Analyse des Sachstandes zum Thema 'Waldpraxis" in der Schule und Stärkung des schulischen Waldbezuges für Schüler:innen im urbanen Raum

Abstract

In the “Forest-coaching inclusive” project, primary school teachers, particularly at schools in urban locations with characteristics of educational disadvantage, were supported in providing their pupils with intensive forest education experiences and introducing them to the forest ecosystem with its ecological, social and economic functions in a playful approach, in order to sensitize them to nature and environmental issues. For this purpose, individual educational concepts and coaching offers, adapted to the respective framework conditions of the participating classes, were developed and implemented. The educational concepts and coaching offers emerged from the experiences of the Hamburg pilot phase, in which meaningful forest excursions were developed with eight teachers and their school classes as examples, and from the results of a nationwide survey of primary school teachers. In addition to the study, the collection and evaluation of relevant educational materials for the primary level were also part of the project and provided a good overview of recommended teaching materials. During the project period, it was mainly elementary school from large cities in the Ruhr region and the Cologne-Bonn area in western Germany that took part. Partial results of the project were presented at conferences and teachers were given the opportunity to network with each other and with extracurricular actors from forest environmental education. In the long term, forest coaching is intended to make a contribution to education for sustainable development on as broad a scale as possible throughout Germany by motivating participants to act sustainably. In order for forest-related environmental education to become established at schools in urban locations, many framework conditions need to be improved in the long term, especially at schools in urban locations.