The network of Schools in the Forest of Canalescuola since 2015 is the first Italian network of Schools in the Forest that offers continuous training activities for girls and boys in nature.
The project was born precisely in support of families who have the desire to fill their children's free time in a healthy and active way in contact with nature.
We believe and feel that there is an ever-increasing need for many families to review the educational contexts in which to raise their children. School models based on ideas that date back to the needs of the industrial era are, for many, now somewhat outdated but above all do not meet the growth needs of today's children. As pedagogists and educators, we believe that for children the forest, and nature in general, is a particularly stimulating environment to take care of all the needs for physical, emotional, psychological and relational growth that a child has. We are supported by the scientific principles of Waldpädagogik, experiential pedagogy, constructivist pedagogies established in the last century, but above all we want to explore with scientific awareness the educational value of learning by discovery. We also want to promote and support an active school tradition in our country because we believe in change, because we work for children, because we love nature and our planet.
Pedagogical, scientific and administrative coordination Dr. Davide Fattori and Dr. Emil Girardi.
The bat (Baum-Albero-Tree) project of Canalescuola intends to promote a new way of doing environmental education through the creation of a series of workshops aimed at girls and boys, girls and boys in schools of every order and grade. The proposed activities are intended to involve pupils in practical and operational experiences.
The interdisciplinary laboratories interweave different areas of expertise, so, starting from environmental education, aspects of citizenship education, education for critical and conscious consumption, experiences related to science and other curricular subjects are integrated. The educational tools of the bat project, depending on the workshops carried out, are connected to the arts, technologies and the vehicular use of languages (English in particular, in our project), but the importance of "getting your hands on the ground" is certainly not forgotten.
The bat project working group is composed of educators and trainers from Canalescuola and a network of collaborations. With a quarterly course, Veronica and Lisa want to offer children a great opportunity for growth both from a personal point of view and in terms of knowledge of the nature that surrounds us. A path that aims to teach children how to move in a forest, how to build shelters, how to look for water and food, how to light a fire, the safe use of the knife and the preparation of natural remedies.
We will try to transmit to them Trust and Respect for Mother Earth; Tranquility, Beauty and Joy in living in a forest, using what it gives us.
