The rationale of this project was based on our long experience with non-formal education through various projects (e.g., European Solidarity Corps, Training Courses, Seminars, Youth Exchanges, and International Volunteering Workcamps), and the flaws that we had identified. After our personal experiences in Europe, Africa, South & North America, we had recognized the pressing needs of modern youth, who were experiencing a series of psychological challenges, with heightened stress, anxiety, and emotional distress becoming increasingly prevalent. Therefore, we decided to implement this project in order to support young people and help them explore the symbiotic relationship between nature and mental health. Youth, members of international organizations, volunteers of partner organizations, and other young people aged 18 to 30, who were either actively involved in their communities or interested in learning new soft skills, were all encouraged to participate in the initiative. Key Action 1’s main objectives are to provide young people with the opportunity to improve their skills, enhance their psychological well-being, raise their employability, and gain cultural awareness. We aimed to achieve these goals through our Youth Exchange by offering soft skills workshops, which were designed to improve the participants' well-being. At the same time, youth workers would also enhance their soft and hard skills while becoming more aware of the needs of young people. More specifically, the objectives of this Youth Exchange were to: - Enhance youth well-being and active citizenship through a nature-centric approach. - Develop soft skills, such as effective approaches towards well-being, active citizenship, problem-solving, self-motivation, time management, communication, non-verbal abilities, and multicultural education to promote well-being through a nature-centric approach. - Increase the number of young people who are actively engaged in their local communities. - Develop national and international cooperation and innovative initiatives to promote the Erasmus+ program’s potential. - Improve foreign language communication: language skills, communication skills. - Create a brochure for those who sought to further explore and enhance their well-being skills. - Raise awareness regarding the circular economy theory. - Enhance the local community financially, socially, and environmentally through the activities that were implemented. - Promote non-formal education practices and approaches related to the topic. - Promote a sustainable lifestyle and practices through appropriate workshops and presentations of related actions. - Involve participants in real sustainable actions throughout the project. - Promote the European Voluntary Service program (both co-founders of GYM had participated in ESC in Mexico and Paraguay, respectively). We believe that by achieving all the aforementioned goals, we were able to equip young people with the skills and competencies they need to become more active and engaged citizens. As a result of the project’s execution, we believe that young people became more confident in taking initiatives and more knowledgeable about the importance of well-being and the role of nature as a mediator, which improved their critical thinking and other soft skills. Therefore, this project significantly contributed to the social, environmental, and financial development of the local area!