The overall project objective was to increase the number of school students taking part in hiking trips that combine physical outdoor activity with an interdisciplinary learning programme. This objective translates into more specific aims: - Offer new learning experiences to teachers and youth workers who can act as facilitators of school hiking trips - Identify trails leading through sites of natural and cultural interest in the surrounding mountain ranges where the participating schools are based - Involve students in hiking together during school trips and sharing the coverage of the excursions through maps, photos and films - Facilitate intercultural encounters of students across the partnership through online and onsite exchange - Select the best trails and learning scenarios connected with the hiking and present them in a publication that can facilitate organisation of mountain excursions by other schools
Hiking in the environments of natural beauty is a valuable form of activity, raising curiosity of the world, offering opportunities for new encounters and contributing to a healthy lifestyle. It is a form of ecotourism that should be promoted among young people who tend to submerge in the virtual reality of digital games and social media interactions at the expense of physical activity in the open air. The project originated from identification of the need to promote hiking as part of a school programme. Such trips can be organised at a lower cost than excursions to distant cities. They let students explore their own ‘small homelands’ often unknown in their riches. Walking in the countryside gives students an enjoyment of physical exercise in the company of school friends. If skillfully combined with an exploratory learning programme, they strengthen positive attitudes to education projects bridging school knowledge with the real environment. Active exploration of nature facilitated by digital media (digital maps, photography, filmmaking) opens opportunities for connecting subjects like Geography, Biology, PE, Art and IT into integral learning experiences, attractive for young people and enjoyable at the same time.