2009 Lyss, Switzerland
4th European forestpedagogics convention
Thomas Baschny Leader of „Forestpedagogics.eu" Closure speech
"Results and prospects"
Dear forestpedagogues!
Dear Sir or Madam!
Dear friends!
We have spend together two event- and fruitful days.
So first of all I would like to thank sincerely all those who have contributed to the success and to the good atmosphere of our 4th Forestpedagogics convention.
The first thank-you of course goes out to our hosts for the exelent basic conditions: Dear Marcel Fierz, congratulations to you and your team of the Silviva Foundation to this success and good luck for your future projects. I am convinced your are on the right track!
Next I would like to thank all the referents and speakers, those who have participated actively with posters or show box materials, but also those who were "just there" contributing to the good atmosphere. I hope you all take the feeleing along with you:
We are a growing European forestpedagogics family!
Five years ago, when we started our forestpedagogics network, we came up with the instrument of an annual expert conference to be held each year at a different places in Europe in order to promote an exchange of experience and information. But we also intended to have an annual revue of our achiements as basis to look forward towards the up-comming.
I am sure we made it happen again this time.
Our results are positive: Forestpedagogics is needed – it is establishing itself and it is being considered by townsmen as indispensable, but more and more also by decision makers and opinion leaders.
Pleas allow me now -upon this solid base – to have an optimistic kook at our future. What do we have to expect within the forestpedagogical field throughout the next months, what might the future hold for us? Which important tasks do we have to solve together?
Some emphases for stimulation:
We should consolidate on purpose and definition of Forestpedagogics.
Our European forestpedagogics network is now ready to be permanent discussion forum. Let me try to elaborate here and now for what we want to stand for. What are our core massages?
It is obvious: it no longer can only be all about, to generate a "positive attitude towards the, to explain forest and forestry...Because: Not the forest is the aim, but it is a mean to serve the people!
In fact it is about to let the people take part in our "understanding of sustainability", thus to "teach sustainability" at the example of the forest!
Therefore I propose to focus a new ambitious aim for forestpedagogics: The sustainable acting person. That is a quite good basis to enable the people to take on responsibility for themselves, for the fellow man and for the nature.
Logically consistent forestpedagogics then would have to be defined as "forest-related education for sustainability" which conveys the long-term, holistic and public welfare oriented aspects of sustainability at a local, regional and global level.
Forestpedagogics has to be elaborated.
We should not only think about the aim and concept, but also consider together all that what we have called so far "system of forestpedagogics".
I would like to present that to you -quasi appropriate to the forest – as a slim spruce:
The rootage beneath the earth allow it and us to exist,
these strong roots represent our solid basics,
the well-established offer categories build the bole,
and the various forestpedagogical methods it's bark,
the branches full of green needle-shaped leafs our forestpedagogical main topics,
and finally the crown full of cones the people of forestpedagogics: activists partners and target groups.
Maybe you want to read about the already made proposals on our internet page www.forestpedagogics.eu in "Data and Facts", in order to then discuss them with us!
The forest has to "make more school"
Let us enforce our role as "junior partner" of the national education system, because terms like "alianation from nature", "sensory overload", "pauperisation of social competences", "loss of values", "lack of prospects", "violence"... characterize the contemporary discussion about the situation even at our schools.
To counteract that society is in demand – we forestpadagogues can contribute to that too.
Almost every offered category is adressed to pupil – rightly as I might add. This work is not restricted to a certain knowledge transfer. Because: At the "green classroom" rises the fun that can go along with learning. Here a networked interdisciplinary learning becomes concrete and you can really take things up. Prompt the forest offers different ways to deal with accumulated aggressions or hidden fears.
People involved can feel it: the school teaches "2-D", forestpedagogics "3-D".
We should make our mark and learn from each other
European forestpedagogues should learn from each other as often as possible.
One single conference is not enough to accomplish that. Meating the neighbour to exchange experiences in information, collective further educations ...are to be done!
Thereby already well-established institutions or activist should serve as role model for others, who just began.
Help to thicken and tighten our network by introducing activist from your neighbour state who you know to our network.
The goal has to be the inclusion of all 47 European states with the respective national representatives and as many forestpedagogical activists as possible.
Cultivate also bilateral partnerships by projects and campaigns you do together.
Our internet page as well as the newsletter should be strengthened
Contribute to the expansion of our internet page www.forestpedagogics.eu by sending us information and criticism.
Soon there shall be "state letters" which collects information on forest, forestry, and forestpadagogics of all the European states. You will find the example "Luxembourg" on our page – please copy!
Also a forestpedagogical series called "ForestLearning" is planed, which then will be providing coherent information concerning each branch of the "construct of ideas forestpedagogics".
Hand on your new information on forestpedagogics to the editorial staff of the internet page regularly, as well as to our seasonally published newsletter "forestpedagogics live"!
Forestpedagogics has to become a subject of the EU-policy
Based upon the forest action plan and especially it's key action 10 "Encourage environmental education and information" we should do everything to make forestpedagogics a subject of EU-policy. The planed meatings on forestpedagogics of the FCN-Subgroup Forest related environmental education will serve for this purpose.
Also within the the Union of European forester we want to emphasise this position of forestpedagogics as part of the EU-policy.
Further forestpedagogical activists have to be won over as well as encouraged
We have to accoplish, that forestpedagogics becomes a service task in all European forest administrations as well as a concern of the growing number of forest owners and other forest-professionals.
At the end it them who stand on the solid forest ground, they have to "think in generations" and therefore not just have to have understood the stategies of sustainability but to embody it every day. They should be encouraged and enabled to pass on this understanding of sustainability to other people.
Let us now enjoy the exiting excursion to the "Bildungswerkstatt Bergwald".
I wish all of you a pleasant way home later 2010 on the next European forestpedagogics convention in Finnland.
Photo impressions of the convention:
