We visited Tartu Nature House (Tartu Loodusmaja), an environmental education center in Tartu, Estonia. This facility provides environmental education and activities, called Hobby School, for children between the ages of 7 and 18. This school opens to more than 500 children each year with a variety of indoor and outdoor learning opportunities that are age-appropriate and related to nature and the environment. Children can deepen their understanding of nature and the environment through physical experiences to broaden their interests, and develop new knowledge, discoveries, and skills as well as creativity and analytical skills.
Classes
Woodworking
In this classroom, classes are held where children are free to create their own works of art using wood. The classroom is stocked with wood of various shapes and sizes collected from families. Since this is a class where children can immerse themselves in creating their own ideas, the teacher only supports the children's work and does not give them guidance. The classroom is simple, with many shelves for tools and materials surrounding the workspace. The use of roller-skate tires for drawers suggests that the space is an embodiment of reusing things and making things easy to use for everyone.
I was impressed by the teacher's comment, "It is natural for things to be messy, and we don't display everyone's work as neatly as in a normal school," which made me realize that the Hobby School classes are not focused on the attitude toward creating work, or on the final product. It is up to the individual to decide what they want to learn and what they want to get out of it, and I think I saw how the school focuses on providing a space where anyone can learn in any way they want.
Interacting with Plants and Animals
Hobby School has facilities for environmental education where students can interact with plants and animals.
First, there is the botanical garden. The botanical garden provides opportunities for direct contact with a wide variety of plants and animals, from those used primarily for food, such as avocado trees, to those used for spices, construction, and medicine, as well as turtles. Also, the "water" used for the turtle tanks and the "heat" used to maintain the greenhouse are recycled from rainwater and heat emitted from computers, respectively, and the "light" essential for the growth of plants and animals is provided by installing large windows instead of electricity to let in natural light, visualizing a recycling-oriented society. The recycling society was visualized.
In addition, some trees were tagged with the Ukrainian flag. The staff explained that the reason for this was so that children who were forced to evacuate due to the war with Russia would feel that Estonia was their ''home''.
In the animal petting room, which is very popular among the children, there were many kinds of animals such as rabbits, turtles, chinchillas, hamsters, and even birds. In Estonian schools, animals are not usually kept because of the time and effort required to care for them during vacations. However, through the experience of seeing and freely interacting with animals, children learn more about the natural environment than they could ever learn just by reading or writing about them. Teachers take turns caring for the animals, but children can also take care of the animals at home during vacations. This is because parents can watch their children take care of the animals themselves and see how they grow. This is an important aspect of the education provided by Hobby School, as it not only allows children to learn through their five senses, but also allows their parents to watch children's growth closely.
Free Crafting
We were also able to observe a classroom in action. In this classroom, children were freely creating with a variety of materials, including paper, pen, and tape. The rules of the classroom are posted on the wall, but the teacher does not teach the children anything, but simply watches them as they create. When we visited the classroom, we were impressed by how the children seemed to be enjoying themselves and concentrating on their work. The teacher also mentioned that the children loved their time here so much that they said, "I want to stay here forever”. In Hobby School, there is an environment where everyone can enjoy spending time freely. This is because everyone shares the same rules, but these rules do not restrict individual behavior.
In addition, tablets were placed on the desks along with materials used for creative work, and we were able to find that ICT was being used as a tool for learning in areas other than writing and reading.
A Sustainable Place to Learn
The Nature house was constructed in an environmentally friendly manner, taking into account the impact of future demolition. Recycled materials are used for the floors and ceilings, and energy is circulated through the facility in a sustainable manner. I realized that learning in such a place itself will naturally increase children's understanding and awareness of the environment. The Nature House also has a diagram that visualizes the energy cycle, a map that shows where in the world the materials for one's clothing come from, and artwork made from paper packets of Juice. All of them are trying to help children to understand what kind of actions are actually environmentally friendly.
6 Types of Trash Cans
At Nature House, six types of trash cans have been installed to facilitate the reuse of resources. From left to right: paper and cardboard, packaging, bottles and cans, biodegradable waste, batteries, and other waste. Underneath the bins are clear descriptions of which products can be disposed of and which cannot. I could feel firsthand that such detailed efforts will change people's awareness of "sorting," which has an image of being complicated and troublesome, and that this awareness will be passed on to children, thereby helping to protect our beautiful earth.
Difficulties in Environmental Education
By looking at the actual methods of environmental education, we have learned that there are various approaches that can be used in regular schools. However, it can also be said that environmental education is only possible at the Hobby School because of its ability to develop this kind of free learning. The teacher who showed us around the Hobby School said that children are more motivated and willing to learn when they are free to do so. The Hobby School provides group education with a clear curriculum, but also involves the children's surroundings and allows each child to have free time to learn. Therefore, it was also an opportunity for me to realize how difficult it is to foster environmental understanding and awareness in regular schools and other educational settings.
Tartu Nature House: https://www.tartuloodusmaja.ee/