PAPPUS - ‘fine feathery hairs surrounding the fruit in plants, e.g. dandelion; aids dispersal of the fruits by the wind’. Like its namesake, the ‘PAPPUS’ project will disperse seeds of change in the lives of young people, using the natural world, botany and horticulture, in a playful context, to engage young people in outdoor activities that develop their skills, competencies and unlock their understanding of potential future career paths. Statistics indicate declining numbers of young people engaging with nature over the past 4 years, yet the benefits cannot be disputed. Contact with nature has been proven to improve concentration and has restorative effects. Even a short break from studies in a green area can have positive stress reduction effects and can promote greater engagement in learning; with the potential to reduce early school leaving, which is a recognised problem across Europe, and significantly impacts a young person’s life chances. Statistics from Eurostat 2017 show one in ten young people in the EU have not completed a lower secondary education. Hence, this project aims at targeting young people with fewer opportunities and those at risk of leaving school early. Key deliverables include: - Understanding country perspectives through National Adaptation Planning - Developing toolkits, a training course, training the trainers, and delivering pilots - Producing articles, workshops and dissemination of findings to policy makers and influencers - The project aims to reach 28 people from partner organisations and their Advisory Committee - Direct contact with 50 people per country; approximately 300 people, across Multiplier Events - Train 30 learners through Training Activities - Number of schools involved through multiplier and other activities: approximately 30; number of children per schools: circa 120; altogether approximately 3,600 pupils. Partners will work with secondary schools and youth and will organise a study visit to the UK to explore the topic of engagement with nature, using plants and play. Time spent undertaking desk research and interviews with stakeholders will provide valuable evidence from a number of angles, which will add to learning gained on the study visit. This will enable each country to discover what engages the attention and interest of young people, and what support teachers and play/ youth workers need to use the natural world as an environment for their activities. Results will be produced in a National Adaptation Plan (NAP). The second stage of the project will produce a stand-alone Toolkit of ideas, and through this development work, partners will test out the playful innovative toolkit, with teachers, youth workers and young people. Advisory Committees will be key in terms of informing the content, as will feedback from the External Evaluator who has expertise in this area. Young people and schools will be approached to feedback on the draft Toolkit. Once finalised, there will be an event in each country to promote and disseminate the Toolkit effectively. This free product will enable many more people outside of the project to benefit from the work. The project will finally undertake the development of an online PAPPUS training curriculum and learning materials, using plants as a focus for playful interactions and potentially the development of entrepreneurial skills. As part of the work, there will be an event to train teachers and youth workers in the use of the tools with young people, through the development of a training course for teachers/ youth workers. Once the training is completed, partners will pilot the course with schools/ youth settings in their own countries before working towards finalising the course and having it accredited. National workshops have been planned towards the end of the project, to include wider promotion to enhance use of nature, plants and play, and to work with young people to tackle social exclusion, and signpost to potential career paths. In addition, as a result of the project, partners will be empowered to work with their local community around this topic, having trained trainers whom they can work with beyond the project. Young people will directly benefit from the project through the piloting work that is undertaken by the partners. The Toolkit and course provide an opportunity for schools or youth settings to better work towards their educational mission and become closer to the local community. In those schools and youth settings where the Toolkit and training is used, young people will have more access to physically active, creative, fulfilling, playful outdoor learning opportunities, and engaging with nature, which fights obesity, stress-related sickness, enhances motivation and peer-relations; and therefore combats failure in education. Through effective dissemination, the aim is to in the longer-term, influence the policy-makers and leave a lasting legacy beyond the project.
A number of objectives were developed which we sought to address through the programme of work set out in the project. Specifically, these included: 1. A Study visit to the UK to explore the topic of engagement with nature using plants, play and growing. 2. To write National Adaptation plans with feedback from stakeholders to find out from young people why horticulture, and specifically botany is sometimes a turn off. Explore what would engage the attention and interests of young people and what support – both systemic and practical -teachers and play or youth workers need to use the natural world for activities. 3. To develop and disseminate a Toolkit of information and trial the materials with teachers and youth workers. 4. To develop an online curriculum for staff training, using plants as a focus for entrepreneurial skills, such as exploring options working within school grounds. 5. To provide a Training of Trainers opportunity, running joint staff training to train teachers and youth workers in the use of the toolkit with young people, and to facilitate an ongoing exchange of findings. 6. To offer a complete and accredited (where appropriate) training course. 7. To provide national workshops to disseminate the work.
By empowering teachers in schools through offering opportunities for engaging with nature through plants and play, the intention was to support effective and innovative pedagogy to engage disadvantaged and vulnerable young people. The work intended to bring an innovative playful approach to developing skills and enthusiasm for the natural world, horticulture and botany. The project would enhance the education of children in knowledge and ownership of their natural environments in the UK and across Europe; providing well-being engendered by outdoor learning; offering myriad of possibilities for thematic, cross-curricular learning. The project would address the need to support the development of the adult through a training curriculum with a curriculum-wide range of robust learning materials, using plants as a focus for playful interactions and potentially the development of entrepreneurial skills and career pathways. Overall, there would be a great opportunity for collaboration with European partners, shared information and research; comparative studies and continuous exchange of information across partners to further understanding of overlaps in natural environments across participating European countries.