Training course on green and educational spaces
The training course that closed the 2024 cycle. Twenty-five youth workers from eleven countries learned how the places where we work, gardens, kitchens, buildings, shape the learning that happens there, and built some of those places on the farm.
Why
We learn differently outdoors, in a garden or around a fire, than in a classroom. This course looked at how to design and use green and educational spaces, and let youth workers build and test them hands-on, so they could take the ideas back to their own organisations.
What happened
Participants built raised beds on the hillside, made natural soap, laid out square-foot gardens and worked on the design of wellness and learning spaces. Around the practical work, sessions looked at how space supports non-formal learning, inclusion and wellbeing. A seed book, a farm map and other resources came out of the week. The day opened with a morning circle, and the course closed with a Youthpass session and a final evaluation.
Results
- Building and making together was the most valued part of the course.
- Youth workers left with practical methods and resources to shape greener learning spaces at home: raised beds, square-foot gardens, natural soap, a seed book and a farm map.
- The spaces built during the course stayed on the farm and are still used.