Youth Centre Villa Elba

Nature School is one of the departments of the Youth Centre. Nature School programs include outdoor education, special focus in team building activities and Sponsorship Class Action for children. One of the key objectives of the Nature School is to educate children from local schools and nurseries on the importance of protecting the environment and to promote the values of sustainable development on both regional and national scale. The goals are to offer positive experiences in nature, increase interest in environmental care among children and to take responsibility for the environment and other people. Nature School was opened in July 1992 and it is Finland’s oldest nature school. One program included in the Nature School is Sponsorship Class Action, which is a cornerstone of the Nature School. Sponsorship Class Action enables long-term environmental organization for classes. Classes from third to fifth grade can apply for sponsorship and activities are free of charge to schools. Class Sponsor activity is funded by the city of Kokkola Education Center and Environment Department. Sponsorship classes are school classes which have frequent nature school days throughout one academic year. The type of lessons the nature school carry out is determined by the curriculum of each individual class and school. The sponsored class dates are taken from everyday life. As a result of this the students are in an environment where learning and teaching methods differ slightly. At Sponsorship Class Action the days consist of different teams inspired by the changing seasons. The teams are covered during field trips by the students own observations, experiences and through games and plays. The days include also pre-tasks and home works. Since the Sponsorship Class Action is executed in an environment that differs from the children's everyday life and the learning methods differ from the ordinary, the children's learning experiences are also significant.