Lund, Sweden
January 22
Outdoor Education in Lund, Sweden
By Miyu Fukuda
St. Hansgården
We arrived at Lund in the morning, and while we were trying to meet up with Anna Ekblad and Anders Kjellson from Naturskolan (nature school) at the station. They took us to an after-school center called St. Hansgården. Marianne Larson Victor and Viktor Håkansson from S: t Hansgården gave us a history and overview of the facility and then took us on a tour of the facility. It is part of the public-school system and children visit after-school, which is called in Sweden “Fritis.” Children from all schools in Norra Fäladen can go there but not limited to it. It is open weekdays from 14.00 to about 18. 00. Approximately 150 children come every day. S: t Hansgården has been collaborating with Naturskolan for so long. Anna told us that it is the best example of what she tries to offer to other schools and preschools in Lund, and she often asks for some ideas from them. S: t Hansgården was founded in 1992, and they receive children ages (have to make sure). Their core principle is fostering environmental awareness and permaculture. The place is also open to the public. When it was built, children were also part of the project. “Children want it when it’s real work,” said Maryanne. They offer various kinds of activities such as crafts, cooking, taking care of animals, forging, etc. For example, they provide a rabbit of each child, and children raise them in the hut, where other animals such as sheep, goats, and pigs live. They are responsible for feeding their rabbits and cleaning up the cabin on duty. They also own beehives, which children take care of and harvest honey in fall. Besides, they eat the meat of animals that they raised and played with. The staff don’t force children to eat but let them decide what to do. It’s a great opportunity for dietary education for children. More importantly, they take this lesson to their home and share it with their parents. By doing so, the conversation continues, and children develop their ethical awareness toward what they consume every day.
KULPARKSKOLAN
Next, we stopped at KULPARKSKOLAN, which was 5 minutes away from S: t Hansgården. Kulparkskolan is an F-3 school, which has 220 students. We ate a school lunch that is provided to students for free. We ate the Mushroom soup with some bread and cheese. It was so delicious! We were able to express our gratitude to the chef. He said that the free school meal system is excellent but also challenging to make various kinds of the menu with limited budgets. We walked around their playground, that they collaborated with Anna. They built their playground equipment with parents, mostly fathers. The teacher also told us that more and more parents are demanding to eliminate potential danger in the playground. However, they try to negotiate to leave a little bit of “risky” elements such as water and bushes for children’s development and fun. They also have a small panel attached in front of the building, which shows current solar energy production, today’s energy production, and total energy production of the year.
Obstacle course time!
Playing on the newest hand-made play structure
The Kulparkskolan Playground
Group members enjoying the clear winter sky
This preschool was right next to Kulparkskolan. We explored the playground and learned so many unique designs of playground equipment. There were so many that children don’t get bored even though they are outside for many hours. Here, they reflect what children want for their playground. For example, children wanted to have animals in the playground, but it was too difficult to realize. Teachers decided to have a little wooden farm, where they can play with wooden cows and sheep. They had a relatively smaller space compared with other schools that we’ve visited so far, but they utilize limited place efficiently with creative ideas.
Finally, we visited the office of Naturskolan. Anna and Anders showed us a video from ISGA-Conference held in Lund in 2016 explained more about nature school and the power of outdoor education while enjoying afternoon Fika. Naturskolan is a resource team for natural science, math, and language. They are under the education department of the city. They work together with preschools, schools, and after school teachers. Anders told us that the staff at Naturskolan is “critical friends” for teachers. They focus on collaborating with teachers. They said it is because one teacher can bring a big difference for many children, a somewhat limited number of children visiting them once a year. They have long-term collaboration as well if teachers want. They meet teachers once a month for a year and have a little meeting about what kind of curriculums they need help for and also receive feedbacks about the curriculums that they worked together. CAMUA is their concept, and it stands for context, authenticity, meaningfulness, understanding, and activity. The local government subsidizes all the activities and resources. They also set annual courses, which is available on the website.
