Belonging to Nature: the Heart of Wellbeing

Background We decided to apply for this project because we wanted youth workers to become able to foster the wellbeing of youth through nature connection practices and knowledge, in order to empower them to cope with the current social and ecological crises. Humans are an integral part of Earth’s ecosystem. Despite the individualistic view in Western society today, we’re interlinked with everything around us. Feeling this sense of deep connection and belonging to the greater whole is essential for our own well-being. That is why with this project we wanted to support youth workers in helping young people reconnect with nature and create a thriving future for themselves and planet Earth. Regarding the needs, we realised that the wellbeing of youth is being challenged due to increasing global, social and personal stressors. Parallel to this, natural environments have experienced an unprecedented level of destruction which is bringing nature to the edge of collapse while many species are in a process of mass extinction. On top of this, the recent global pandemic forced human societies to change really fast, increasing the level of separation, distress and acceleration of whole communities. We are in need of regeneration of our relationships with the worlds of nature. Objectives Our journey started during COVID-19. The pandemic made us all question our lives and how we live them. For some people, it meant a welcome time of rest, while others suffered from mental issues and the impact on their social lives, including many young people. As trainers in non-formal education, we wanted to help youngsters with their struggles. It came very strongly to our attention that young people who had the chance to keep a good contact with natural environments during the first wave of COVID-19, where the entire World was under the lockdown, had much better mental health and better wellbeing than the ones who lived in a urban areas, which had no access to the nature at all. This was a huge indicator of the importance of nature that helps us nurture wellbeing. We are also facing new trends that emphasise the importance of digitising our world; however, we wish to balance this tendency by bringing youth work (back) to nature. This project intended to raise the capacity building of youth workers to implement activities on the wellbeing and nature connection for young people and their communities. We wish to share our passion for nature and life as the great teachers of how to be human on this marvelous Earth. Implementation First we realised a seminar in Catalunya in October 2021 in order to set the foundational basis for the training courses and further development of the Intellectual Outputs. Then we realised two training courses for 30 participants from the field of youth work. The first training was realised in Slovenia in May 2022 and the second training was realised in Iceland in September 2022. In these trainings we had the opportunity to implement and tests multiple practices for nature connection and wellbeing and to receive feedback from the participants. Additionally we realise a full mentorship support for the participants during the summer of 2022, for them to implement some of the practices learned in Slovenia. Thereafter, the project activities were structured around three Intellectual Outputs: IO1 - Theoretical framework, which explored theories and methodologies that connect nature with wellbeing; this implicated a lot of research and discussions among the partners, writing together, giving and receiving feedback and deciding the the theoretical framework that would support the whole project. IO2 - The manual saw the development of a practical framework to put into practice the theories from IO1 with a focus on youth work; for the manual we tested several practices in the two TC (Slovenia and Iceland) and we created new ones with the understanding that we had developed. IO3 - Program creation, a training program curriculum that is possible to replicate in a variety of settings. Likewise, we tried many things, designed different models and had a lot of discussions to decide what to make and how to present it. Achievements From the two training courses in Slovenia and Iceland we had the opportunity to produce a lasting impact on the participants who became very motivated to implement what they had learned with us in their communities and in their youth work. But the main concrete outcomes were the three Intellectual outputs that were developed and tested during the implementation of the project and that are now available to any person interested. We created a webpage: belongingtonature.com with all useful material ready for download: a full manual for nature connection and wellbeing with innovative practices and a comprehensive theoretical framework, plus a full training program with guidelines and tips for youth workers. A summary of outputs is the following: - Implementation of nature connection practices in a formal setting in a Waldorf school in Iceland directly influencing 100 youngsters between 6-16 years old. - Cooperation in different projects connected with the topics through networking and international training of youth workers. - 6 Multiplier Events with at least 15 local and 5 international participants in each partner country. that are motivated to continue sharing the outcomes.