On December 15, 2021, in the newly established classroom of the Forest School, located at the Vyhoda Narrow-Gauge Railway Heritage Center, the final planned meeting within the framework of the project “Carpathian Forest Schools” took place. The working group included educators and representatives of the forestry sector of Ivano-Frankivsk region. The project’s educational group was also joined by lecturers and leading researchers from the Department of Biology and Ecology of Vasyl Stefanyk Precarpathian National University and the Department of Environmental Protection of Ivano-Frankivsk National Technical University of Oil and Gas.
During the meeting, the project team presented the lesson plans that had also been intensively developed by members of the educational group: practicing teachers and lecturers in natural sciences from PNU. As a result of this joint effort, 12 lessons were prepared, covering the description of objectives and expected outcomes, demonstrating links with the curricula applied by teachers in Precarpathian schools, as well as with other school subjects. The lessons also include theoretical material for teachers and a practical part: a detailed plan and outline with descriptions of exercises, tasks, required resources, and additional recommendations.
It should be noted that the content of the lesson plans is based on the principles of the Forest School, which the cross-border partners agreed upon at the initial stage of the project. These principles address what children need but what traditional schools often cannot fully provide—both for objective reasons and for reasons that remain unclear.
The lesson topics are grouped into three thematic sections, interpreting nature and its influence on the lives of children and society as a whole, taking into account ten basic principles. They help children better and more deeply understand the interconnections in nature, the complex and often obscure biochemical and adaptive processes of living organisms—including humans—as well as the services produced by forest ecosystems. Specifically, the lessons are grouped into the following sections: “The Forest as a Great Home and Humans as Guests in It,” “The Necessity of Survival: Adaptations in the Wild and the Importance of Discipline for Humans,” and “In Nature, Everyone Produces for Another: How Ecosystems Are Created and Function.” Explanations regarding the choice of these topics, as well as detailed safety instructions, recommendations on clothing, first-aid kits, and equipment, will also be provided in the guidebook.
Teachers from schools in Dolyna and the Vyhoda community reviewed the lesson plans, improved the proposed exercises, and verified factual information about the biodiversity of local forests. Lecturers acted as reviewers of the theoretical material and biological terminology and provided valuable feedback on some teaching methods and the style of the material.
Currently, the lesson plans are being finalized by the project experts, while the teachers—members of the educational group—have already scheduled pilot classes, which will begin in February and are expected to conclude in April next year. Moreover, in the near future, Ukrainian educators who contributed significantly to the preparation of the concept and program of the Carpathian Forest School at the Vyhoda Narrow-Gauge Railway Heritage Center will travel to Maramureș County for a creative workshop with their Romanian colleagues. There, they will review the lesson developments of their cross-border partners, help improve the content, and gain valuable experience and professional contacts.
The project “Carpathian Forest Schools – a Pilot Cooperation for Nature Conservation and Environmental Education” is implemented by the Ivano-Frankivsk Tourism Association with the financial support of the EU under the Hungary–Slovakia–Romania–Ukraine Cross-Border Cooperation Programme 2014–2020. Project partners in Ukraine are the Department of Regional Development and Construction of Dolyna District State Administration and the Vyhoda Village Council of Dolyna District, Ivano-Frankivsk Region, and in Romania – the Administration of the Maramureș Mountains Nature Park. The project runs until March 30, 2022, and covers Ivano-Frankivsk region of Ukraine and Maramureș County in Romania.
This publication has been produced with the assistance of the European Union. The contents of this publication are the sole responsibility of the Tourist Association of Ivano-Frankivsk Region and can in no way be taken to reflect the views of the European Union or of the Joint Operational Programme Romania-Ukraine 2014-2020 management structures (www.ro-ua.net).
The Joint Operational Programme Romania-Ukraine 2014-2020 is financed by the European Union through the European Neighborhood Instrument and co-financed by the participating countries in the Programme.
