June 2010
International Media Studies
Environmental Education at Youth Hostels
inWEnt/DW-Akademie - Print 1
Environmental Youth Hostel: Through Personal Experience To Ecological Thinking By Maryna Grytsai
Environmental youth hostels gain more and more popularity in the world and in Germany. It has become a trend: 60 000 young people visit 18 environmental hostels over the country every year. Here in an entertaining and informal way young people explore the environment: make experiments, go CO2-low trips, play games. “Through personal experience children become more sensitive to ecological issues”, says an environmental teacher Christian Bruns from a youth hostel in Mönchengladbach who has been working here for almost 20 years. This principle of education the teacher applies in all his programmes developed for children – and I visited one of them.
To experience nature
to understand nature better but also changes their attitude to environment. “Many children lack direct contact
seen as trivial for years. That is what remains in mind”. For instance, they play a game: make acquainted with
The 8-9 year old pupils staying for a week at an environmental youth hostel in MÖNCHENGLADBACH will become today real researchers: they will explore the life at water. Wearing rubber shoes they are going to a small forest swamp (“grown” by co-workers of the hostel but looking very natural) in the surroundings of the hostel. The young researchers are well-equipped. Colanders, plastic bottles from yoghurt, cans with a magnifier, spoons and tassels: with these tools they will catch and observe insects in the swamp. Together with a teacher they will discover what indicates deep and shallow places in the swamp, what do swamp insect look like etc. This is a program called “Das Leben am Wasser” or “The life at water”. The youth hostel in M������������������������������� önchengladbach ���������������� offers many other programmes for young visitors which may last from one hour to one week. Most of them take place The way of young explorers: with closed eyes children go along the path with different in the forest – the hostel is situated in surfaces: wood, sand, stones, soil. On the left - environmental teacher Christian Bruns a natural park Schwalm-Nette. The program correlates to curriculum - the With closed eyes they touch Eco-Thinking In Practice ait, tree. hostel is a partner of schools. But the try to remember it’s shape, width, way children learn here is different: even smell. Then they have to find the Some of environmentally friendly they discover the nature themselves. tree with open eyes. In a playful way measures taken at the hostel: So, together with a teacher they learn children learn about wood, as well as • use of recyclable paper to orient in the forest, make weather paper production and environmental • heat generated by refrigerators forecasts, recognize the traces of wild issues. These children feel more reused for heating the building animals, explore drops of water unsponsible against the wood, the envi• use of recyclable drink packder a microscope, and cook ecologironement. And it comes not only from ages (e.g. glass instead of plastic cal and tasty food. “Children perceive understanding, but also from very perbottles) the environment first as a vast space sonal, emotional memories. “If they • 1/3 of foodstuffs – from regional for game where they can play and exlearn to love and appreciate (the enviproducers plore”, says an environmental teacher ronment) - they learn to protect”, says • no use of laundry detergent the pedagogue. CHRISTIAN BRUNS, a designer of programmes for young visitors. The task of a teacher is to support and to with nature, animals. Living in cities, Being green: in general and spending most of the time in front of direct curiosity of small explorers. particular TV or computers, they know about We protect what we nature more from media rather than A varied program of activities with an from real life”, says the teacher. Here ecological focus is the most important understand their life is full of real discoveries. criteria of an environmental youth hosChristian Bruns insists that new expe- “They have exceptional experience tel. Albeit - not the only one. The ecorience of children not only helps them here – even about things which were hostels have to be green “till the end“.
Environmental youth hostel in Mönchengladbach
They have to meet strict requirements in managing household and nutrition: to save energy, provide healthy eating and conservation of resources etc, in a word, apply environmentally friendly principles in every possible sphere. So, the materials used in the house should not contain chemicals - to prevent allergies and environmental pollution. Most of the furniture in the hostel in Mönchengladbach is made of raw wood which comes from the surrounding forest. “For cleaning the house we use special detergent which contains neither chlorine nor phosphate. Moreover, we prefer to use mechanical cleaning where possible”, Mr. Bruns says. As to the meals, half of ingredients are from ecological cultivations, the third part - from regional producers.
Costly but worthy Mr Bruns admits, environmental status of the hostel requires additional investments. Thus the prices here are above average: 3 days programme costs up to 70 Euros, 5 days - more than 120 Euros. Overnight stay in a multi-bed room with 6 to 16 beds (without a programme) - from 18 Euros. Nevertheless guests are coming here all the year round: classes, parents, families. The teacher URSULA NEHREN visits the hostel for the forth time with a class. She says, children not only learn to communicate in a group but combine leisure with learning. “I also have good experience with service. They serve healthy food, children say it tastes delicious. Programme offer is also very fine, although expensive” the teacher admits. 9-years old Zara says she and her friends really enjoy their time here: “We have fun with our friends, we can play outside, enjoy nice weather. The teachers are nice. We play games and go trips. I think I would stay here for a year”. www.moenchengladbach.jugendherberge.de