Permaculture is a holistic design system based on an ethical framework of caring for the earth, the people and using only a fair share of resources. Children in Permaculture (CiP) is a unique, highly innovative project based on a genuine needs analysis about how to teach those values to children from an early age. We have carefully selected an enthusiastic and dedicated team to take forward our application, some of whom have worked together in EU projects, and some have never met before, and yet have found over the last few months developing this project, how well they work together. With NGO partners from Romania, UK, Slovenia, Italy and Czech Republic, a UK state school and a kindergarten & after-school centre in Romania - the diversity which we bring will enable the CiP partnership to blossom and bring quality fruits to the education table. The CiP partners will engage a variety of organisations to improve the education of children in formal, non-formal and informal learning through the development of Children in Permaculture Best Practices Resources which will enable school and kindergarten teachers, leaders, parents and other educators to engage in a holistic, sustainable education with the children they are working with. The specific objectives are: 1. To identify, develop and test CiP best practices resources (curricula, lesson plans, activities and other resources) with 17+ educators of children aged 3-12 years in the 5 partner countries. 2. To improve competences and skills in outdoor permaculture education, intercultural awareness and sustainability of up to 150 school and kindergarten teachers/assistants. 3. To engage up to 250 children aged 3-6 years and 250 children 7-12 years in the 5 partners countries in opportunities to learn about the environment, climate change and sustainability. 4. To consolidate and disseminate the CiP best practices to 250 educators in the 5 partner countries and to educators throughout the EU with freely available online resources. 5. To establish a European Children in Permaculture Network with 1000 educators throughout Europe. We will create an online platform which will include a web front page with a user-friendly database to host CiP best practice resources. Then we will research existing resources about teaching permaculture to children aged 3-12 years, our findings will be published in a research paper also freely available online. All the partners will take many photographs and short videos, write up their experience of sharing permaculture with children which will be published in case studies, and we will create a short film to enthuse and motivate others to follow our examples. 17 experienced permaculture educators will be trained to share their knowledge and skills with children and teachers. They will train up to 150 primary and kindergarten teachers to embed permaculture ethics, principles & methods in their learning environments using the CiP Best Practices Resources created. The 17 educators will develop and test CiP curricula, lesson plans, activities, handouts for children in key stages 1 and 2 which will be replicable throughout the EU, and make them available on the online platform. Other educators globally will be able to download and test these resources, give feedback, and suggest improvements, resulting in a long-term culture of learning, sharing, and improving with our online platform. We will directly engage up to 500 children in outdoor permaculture learning, with many more learning from the resources which we share. The European Children in Permaculture Network which we create will connect 1000 people and enable them to share best practice, news, events etc. High quality of resources and a strong international community of educators will support the spreading and evolving of the knowledge and skills after the funding finishes. The impacts of this project will be diverse and long-lasting and may include: *strengthening the education & training paths of educators *providing high quality learning opportunities to educators and children *enhancing the quality of early childhood education and care (ECEC) *increasing fresh air and exercise *healthier eating *deepened understanding of ecology & natural science through direct experience with it *stimulating all of the multiple intelligences *deeper connection to and understanding of nature and nature’s patterns and systems *greater awareness of different people, including their cultures and traditions *improved knowledge and skills to act in ways which promote care for selves and other people, contributing to a cohesive society *better understanding of the environmental consequences of one’s actions, and *improving physical and mental health Through this project we will be moving towards a future in which all humans are living in harmony with each other and nature, and all children can access an education based upon the ethics of earth care, people care and fair share.
The Children in Permaculture project was conceived by a group of experts highly motivated by the vision of creating a future with humans living in harmony with each other and nature, and all children having access to an education based on the ethics of Earth Care, People Care and Fair Share. The project successfully provided the context for a rich exchange of practical experiences, knowledge and skills between the partners from UK, Romania, Slovenia, Italy and Czech Republic. The project team had identified the need for a systematic approach and specific resources in sharing permaculture with children. Permaculture is an ethical and environmentally regenerative design approach and the project built upon the existing know-how of the partners, as well as synthesizing new approaches that combined permaculture knowledge with alternative forms of pedagogy. The seven participating organisations brought in a wide variety of expertise and skills from five participating countries: The Permaculture Association (UK) a charitable organisation. Zakladni clanek hnuti Brontosaurus Forest pobocny spolek (Czech Republic) a non-profit eco-centre. Paradiso Ritrovato (Italy) a non-profit organisation. Asociatia Educatiei Neoumaniste (Romania) a non-profit association working with kindergartens. Asociatia Romania in Tranzitie (Romania) a non-profit organisation. Drustvo za permakulturo Slovenije (Slovenia) a non-profit organisation. Gatehouse of Fleet Primary School (UK). The specific objectives of the project were: 1. To identify, develop and test CiP best practices resources (case studies, curriculum, session plans, activities and other resources) with educators of children aged 3-12 years in the 5 partner countries. 2. To improve competencies and skills in outdoor permaculture education, intercultural awareness and sustainability of school and kindergarten teachers/assistants. school and kindergarten teachers/assistants 3. To engage children aged 3-12 years in the 5 partners countries in opportunities to learn about the environment, climate change and sustainability. 4. To consolidate and disseminate the CiP best practices with freely available online resources. 5. To establish a European Children in Permaculture Network. Main activities undertaken *Creation of CiP best practices resources: -Website www.childreninpermaculture.com and online platform with searchable database of 865 activities. -Research paper in which we surveyed existing resources. -Case studies to present children to permaculture in various settings (formal, non-formal and informal education). -Curriculum to cover all major permaculture topics with children aged 3-5 yrs and 6-12 yrs. -3 films, about the school trip from Scotland to Romania, advertising CiP training courses, and a general short film. -Songs about permaculture ethics, compost and the soil. -Poster about the permaculture ethics of Earth Care, People Care and Fair Share. -Guidelines for leading a CiP training course. -A book entitled ‘Earth Care, People Care and Fair Share in Education: The Children in Permaculture Manual’ *Two training courses for educators and a pupil exchange trip from Scotland to Romania *7 Multiplier events *Numerous transnational projects meetings both online and face to face *Attendance at many conferences, events, courses etc in which we promoted CiP *Media presence: TV, newspapers, magazines, radio etc. *Regular newsletter to subscribers *Social media activities The impact of the project: *strengthening the education & training paths of educators *providing high quality learning opportunities to educators and children *enhancing the quality of early childhood education and care (ECEC) *increasing fresh air and exercise *healthier eating *deepened understanding of ecology & natural science through direct experience with it *stimulating all of the multiple intelligences *deeper connection to and understanding of nature and nature’s patterns and systems *greater awareness of different people, including their cultures and traditions *improved knowledge and skills to act in ways which promote care for selves and other people, contributing to a cohesive society *better understanding of the environmental consequences of one’s actions, and *improving physical and mental health Long term benefits This project has benefitted: *The permaculture community through bringing awareness of the importance of educating children and guidelines on how to do it. *The hundreds of children included in the project as they developed a long-term connection with and understanding of nature. *The CiP team who established connections, organisational systems, resources, knowledge and skills which they will carry forward into the future. *The state school system where we introduced outdoor classrooms and sustainability in a new, more holistic way. *Established an international network including an annual CiP Conference.