Waldkitas: the sustainable way of kindergarten experiences

 

 

Introduction

Preschool is probably one of the most important services provided throughout the world. It’s clear that what happens during preschool has a very important impact in the development of children in many different areas, such as communication and literacy, but also in defining a person’s personality, principles and behaviours. Parents and governments spend very significant resources every year in order to provide the best preschool experience to their kids. A lot of research and debate has occurred in the past, but it’s mostly focussed in discussing the right balance between play-based and academic-based philosophies. During the last years kindergartens tended to become more academic and even go beyond basic introductions to actually prepare kids for the test and grade based system. However, an innovative (and somehow conflicting) philosophy is becoming increasingly popular and seems to have a lot of potential to outperform the traditional models from various perspectives.

 

Waldkitas and main differences compared to traditional education systems

A Waldkitas or Forest Kindergarten is a type of preschool for children between three and six years old. It has the same basic objectives as other preschools, particularly to take care, stimulate and educate young children, but most of the time is spent outdoors, typically in a forest or a park (regardless of the weather); children are encouraged to play, explore and learn with objects that can be found in nature, rather than with commercial toys; and the adult supervision is meant to assist rather than to lead.

The first of such schools was created in Denmark almost 70 years ago. The idea formed gradually, but started with one woman deciding to spend more time with her own and neighbours’ children in a nearby forest. The concept is growing in different countries, but it’s particularly popular in Germany. In 1993, Forest Kindergarten (Waldkita) was officially recognized as a form of day-care, as of 2005 there were around 450 Forest Kindergarten in the country and by now there are more than 1,500. This recent success seems easy to understand, in response to the significant increase in urbanization and reduction of contact with nature and outdoors environment in general. The research and creation of the idea of “Nature-deficit disorder” by Richard Louv seems to have had an important impact as well.

 

Research indicates that children that attend a Forest Kindergarten show significant benefits compared to kids that attend a traditional preschool.

Spending more time outside in a forest without commercial toys with a predefined purpose and without the traditional leader has been shown to have very positive effects on children. For instance, it seems to enhance the development of communication and social skills, to improve physical coordination, to increase creativity and confidence, to strengthen the immunity system, etc. There are even some indications that natural play spaces can reduce bullying, child obesity and stress. Moreover, despite not being able to play with commercial toys or technology throughout the day, there is no sign of kids becoming bored whatsoever. The effects seem to be even more significant for kids that are under stress or pressure due to reasons beyond their control.

 

It seems clear that this innovative business model has a lot of potential to outperform existing ones from a social point of view. And financially?

It’s difficult to access the financial implications of this model, as most of the existing Waldkitas are basically private, independent initiatives, which share base principles, but differ in the operating model: for instance, some don’t even have any fixed physical space, while others do, (either for administrative purposes or to actually spend some time with the children inside); in some cases, parents just leave the kids with the tutors at an entrance of a park, in other cases, public transportation is used to take kids and tutors to a nearby forest. Still, there seems to be an opportunity for private institutions or governments (depending on the country) to create and explore a consolidated “business” that can outperform existing ones from a financial perspective. While this innovative model might incur in an additional cost compared to a traditional school (resulting from an increase in the number of tutors per children), there are also some potential savings in toys, playgrounds, rents, utilities and general economies of scale and synergies. Moreover, it seems that many parents (or governments) would be willing to pay an extra fee for having kids benefiting from the Waldkitas initiative.

 

 

Alignment with the UN Sustainable Development Goals

There is no more powerful transformative force than education. We must raise children who respect and value human rights and dignity, who strive to remove poverty and are conscious about sustainability. We must make efforts to build a better future for the new generations, a future that is built on equal rights and social justice, cultural diversity, and international solidary as well as shared responsibility.  By teaching these values in form of novel types of education, we teach them the most fundamental elements of humanity, promising a better, safer and cleaner tomorrow.

The UN Development goals impacted and influenced thanks to the “Waldkita” concept are listed below, with an introduction focused on quality education as well as well-being.

Goal #4 cites “quality education”, elaborating the importance of inclusive, holistic and quality education, that is one of the most powerful vehicles of change and sustainable development. The goal #4 promises that all girls and boys receive free primary and secondary school education by 2030, and our case in question, of “waldkitas”, is striving towards that. An equally important ambition of this goal to eliminate any sort of gender and wealth inequality, with an aim to provide a universal access to quality education at all levels.

The “waldkita” curriculum evolves from an ever-changing environment, where harvesting of fruits and nuts allow for education, besides changing weather and blooming plants. According to a study done at the University of Fribourg, the forest environment teaches students a wide range of motor skills, by rolling, climbing, building fires, and making tools, such as stone and stick hammers. Including more of the five senses in the process allows for children to learn more actively and deeply.

Goal #3 mentions “good health and well-being”. The children at the “waldkitas” regularly spent time in the open air (in appropriate outfits during rain or snow) and are proven to grow up being more immune and healthier than the children kept indoors, despite winter temperatures that average around freezing.

Other UN Sustainable Development Goals impacted

Despite Goal 3 and 4, The “waldkitas” education system is also aligned in raising children that respect the following goals:

• Goal 7 “Affordable and clean energy”: Setting up stage to bring up children in an inclusive, energy-efficient, and environmentally concerned community will allow them to grow up into more responsible human beings thus actively engaged in finding solutions for issues such as climate change.
• Goal 11 “Sustainable cities and communities”: The waldkitas or “forest kindergartens,” are usually located in the local municipal parks of the cities, with a very basic structure that provides as a home-base. Mostly they rely on public transportation and use shuttles to take children into forests where they spend most of their days, thus contributing to building sustainable communities with the least man-made resources.
• Goal 12 “Responsible consumption and production”: In the German waldkitas, children don’t typically play with plastic toys, but rather with imaginative use of sticks, twigs, wood from the forests, leaves and rocks. A research from Peter Häfner at Heidelberg University highlights that graduates of German forest kindergartens had a “clear advantage” over the graduates of regular kindergartens, performing better in cognitive and physical ability, as well as in creativity and social development.
• Goal 15 “Life on land”: Forests are 30% of the world’s total land and are home to more than 80 per cent of all terrestrial species of animals, plants and insects. Children at the waldkitas/ forest kindergartens are consciously taught to appreciate and maximise their learning in nature and in the green, thus sensitizing them to life on land, to respect the importance of forests and their importance for human survival.

 

Challenges and issues of depending on forest kindergarten model

 The “waldkitas” system, although being very attractive in terms of being a basis to raise healthy, productive and sustainability conscious (socially and environmentally) citizens, comes with some challenges in terms of its implementation worldwide. In Germany, this model is popular and several factors have enabled the success faced there so far.

When it comes to scaling up the idea to other countries and regions, a first challenge that comes up is defining whose responsibility would it be in each country and designing a transition strategy considering the specifications of each market. For instance, a wide adoption of forest kindergartens, in a country where education funding is mostly public will have different enablers than in places where private systems play a more important role. The way you communicate value to the payer (government or out-of-pocket) will differ. The role of education authorities will also have to be adapted for each setting.

Other two factors that are essential for the successful adoption of the model and that vary across multiple urban realities around the globe are the presence of enough true green spaces (e.g., parks, forests) within cities boundaries, which may present a barrier on locations where nature was almost completely banned to very far countryside zones.

The existing culture and values around how to raise children is also an element that can works as an enabler or as a barrier. In other words, the overall understanding and support from parents when it comes to education and its role on their kids’ life and development. The lack of parental education, in big part driven by low levels of scholarity, and of clarity on key concepts of the “waldkita pedagogy” (or any non-traditional pedagogical method) prevent parents to complement the learning at home and to participate correctly, and actively, on school activities.

Finally, educating children is definitely critical for the future of the planet and for shaping society; however, it is as much important to change how adults behave now since as time passes by, some damages become irreversible. Human beings have the tendency to rely possibility on future amendments to justify current mistakes done and not being corrected. This behavior is observed, for instance, when society puts hope on technology to help cleaning up the environmental mess the current generation is doing in world.

Therefore, the whole “waldkitas” can (and should) be seen in an opposite way, much more as an opportunity. An opportunity not only to raise future adults with potential to act more responsibly, but to have a model that work as an example for everyone to re-think the way of life, connection with nature and ultimately to change consumption & production behaviors.

 

Authors: Basile S. Mello Mauro, Silva Manuel, Vij Himanshi, Villamaux Franklin