Co-financed by:
Organised by:
Project Erasmus+ KA1 Mobility of Youth Workers
Nature Within You - 2020-3-IT03-KA105-020392
Authors :
Sara Marzo - VulcanicaMente APS, Italy
Sandra Horea, Actions for Change, Romania
Carlos Buj, Viaje a la Sostenibilidad, Spain
Contributors :
Diana Tsastikova, Elisabeth Luisk, Allan Rist, Gabriel Wolter, Maximilian Dietz, Tomek lubotzki, Eleni Mavrogianni, Ermioni Vlachidou, Maria Misdaniti, Amanda Judit Gyarmati, Dóra Krisztina Vigh, Matyas Toth, Tommaso Passaro, Jacopo Miceli, Giulia Catania, Ricardo Casado, Helena Blankenstein, Adrián Blanco Lorenzo, Natalie Hamann, Dimitrios Anastasiadis, Per Renstrom, Michelle Shuman, Davide Mentuccia, Cristhian Scorrano
Design of the Booklet : Mathilde Dutrillaux
© 2022 VulcanicaMente APS
This project has been funded with support from the European Commission.
This publication reflects the views only of the authors, and the European Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.
The present booklet is a tool that can be used to enhance the impact of Non-Formal Learning (NFL) in preparing young people for their personal, social and professional development towards inclusive communities. “Nature Within You: ‘Mindfulness and naturebased education for Social Inclusion'" is a result of the project “Nature within You”, a KA 1 mobility of youth workers co-financed by the European Commission
The booklet collects some good practices and tools proposed by our trainers and by our participants during the training course.
In hope this will serve your work, “
Erasmus+ is the EU Programme in the fields of education, training, youth and sport for the period 2021-2027 Education, training, youth and sport are key areas that support citizens in their personal and professional development. High quality, inclusive education and training, as well as informal and non-formal learning, ultimately equip young people and participants of all ages with the qualifications and skills needed for their meaningful participation in democratic society, intercultural understanding and successful transition in the labour market. Building on the success of the programme in the period 2014-2020, Erasmus+ strengthens its efforts to increase the opportunities offered to more participants and to a wider range of organisations, focusing on its qualitative impact and contributing to more inclusive and cohesive, greener and digitally fit societies
European citizens need to be better equipped with the knowledge, skills and competences needed in a dynamically changing society that is increasingly mobile, multicultural and digital Spending time in another country to study, to learn and to work should become the standard, and the opportunity to learn two other languages in addition to one ' s mother tongue should be offered to everyone. The Programme is a key component supporting the objectives of the European Education Area, the Digital Education Action Plan 2021- 2027, the European Union Youth Strategy and the European Union Work Plan for Sport (2021-24).
Source: Erasmus+ Programme Guide 2021: https://erasmus-plus.ec.europa.eu/programmeguide/part-a
Youthpass is a European recognition instrument for identifying and documenting learning outcomes that are acquired in projects under the Erasmus+ and the European Solidarity Corps programmes.
Youthpass promotes individual reflection and awareness about learning and helps to make learning outcomes visible for the learners themselves as well as for others.
It aims to reinforce reflective practices in youth work and solidarity activities, thereby enhancing their quality and recognition
It also supports the continued pathways of young people and youth workers, and raises visibility of the value of European engagement.
More about Youthpass: https://www youthpass eu/en/about-youthpass/about/
From one generation to the other, young people keep changing, therefore youth workers need to stretch and adjust according to the new needs that are arising in the youth field. New waves of immigrants, migrants and refugees arrive in Europe, for different reasons (related to important life transitions, such as finding and starting work, obtaining higher education or starting a family), and the need for including them in the society, as well as engaging them in fundamental values emerges inevitably NEETs and youth with disadvantaged backgrounds are more and more at risk of social exclusion. There is a need for life-long learning and continuous professional growth of youth workers. There is also a need for a constant innovation and adaptation in youth work in order to enrich its arsenal and have a purposeful impact.
Youth work can play a significant role in changing the status quo in the field of social inclusion of youth with disadvantaged backgrounds such as NEETs, refugees/migrants
The Youth Work Report 2014 identified that youth work can result in a range of positive effects for youth which enable them to enhance competences, reinforce their network and social capital, improve particular behaviours and develop positive relationships, elements fundamental for social inclusion.
The project “Nature Within You” aimed at enhancing the capacities of youth workers to create transformational and meaningful learning spaces for social inclusion of hard to reach youth (including NEEETs, migrants and immigrants) by using mindfulness through nature-based interventions
The project took place from 10th to 16th of December 2022 in Italy, in Villa Diana, Merine 6 km from Lecce and it gathered 24 youth workers from 8 countries: Italy, Hungary, Romania, Spain, Sweden, Greece, Poland and Estonia. Sixteen participants were with fewer opportunities facing social, economic and geographic obstacles
VulcanicaMente APS - Italy
Asociatia Actions for Change -Romania
ASOCIACION VIAJE A LA SOSTENIBILIDAD- Spain
MITTETULU NDUSUHING NOORED UHISKONNA HEAKS- Estonia
POSITIVE YOUTH - Sweden
KINONIKI SINETAIRISTIKI EPICHERISIELLINIKI SYMMETOCHI NEON- Greece
Stowarzyszenie Wspierania Inicjatyw Mlodziezowych FENIKS - Poland
Sabai Tréning Egyesület - Hungary
The project objectives for our youth workers were:
By the end of the training, to increase by 75% the knowledge of the 24 youth workers related to mindfulness through nature-based approach and their benefits for hard to reach youth
By the end of the project, to improve by 75% the skills of the 24 youth workers in using mindfulness through nature-based approach with hard to reach youth.
By the end of the project, to increase by 75% the motivation and inspiration of the 24 youth workers to work more frequently and effectively with the hard to reach youth.
By the end of the project, to implement 24 follow-up action plans with hard to reach youth in the countries involved.
The training invited the participants to dive into a wide variety of educational elements (methodology and conceptualization) It was built using representative elements which derive from the principles of non-formal education such as :
Get to know activities, ice breaking games and group building activities, presentation of the project and Erasmus+ program
Sharing expectations, youthpass, competence-based guidance, daily reflection, debriefing based on daily activities
Bloom taxonomy and final evaluation activities
Apart from those, the training course contained the following content related elements:
understanding what mindfulness is skills on nature-based methodology skills on how mindfulness through nature can be incorporated into youth work and non-formal learning knowledge on a diverse range and innovative non-formal methods derived from mindfulness when working with youth, especially the ones hard to reach skills in using holistic education in order to achieve more impactful transformations in the lives of youth for reaching their full potential development of sustainable follow-up action plans that will enhance the impact on hard to reach youth’s lives both on local and EU level
The project had a variety of tangible and intangible results.
Intangible results refer to the knowledge, skills, experience gained and competences developed by the 24 youth workers involved, the increased capacities of the partner organisations and the empowerment and support towards inclusion of the target group, hard to reach youth (including NEETs, migrants and immigrants)
The tangible results refer to:
- a 7 days training course on enhancing the capacities of youth workers to create transformational and meaningful learning spaces for social inclusion of hard to reach youth (including NEETs, migrants and immigrants) by using mindfulness through naturebased interventions;
- this booklet 'Nature within you: Mindfulness through naturebased education for social inclusion';
- a video of the training course 'Nature within you ' ;
Other tangible results of the project:
- 24 youth workers organised and facilitate 24 workshops in Italy, Sweden, Spain, Romania, Hungary, Greece, Estonia, Poland;
- 8 Knowledge Transfer Meetings facilitated by the participants within each partner organisation reaching a minimum number of 90 youth workers;
The training course had a meaningful impact on the participants by developing their competences to create transformational and meaningful learning spaces for social inclusion of hard to reach youth (including NEETs, migrants and immigrants) by using mindfulness through nature-based interventions.
After the project, youth workers gained a wider understanding on how mindfulness through nature based methodology activities can have a significant impact on youth and increased capacity to apply it in order to trigger positive changes in the lives of the hard to reach youth, their organisations and the society as a whole. The quality of their work became meaningfully better, and they increased ability to address the needs of the disadvantaged and hard to reach youth. They also added greater motivation in their daily work All these result in making the participants better youth workers who support a life-long learning approach and transformation, continuously evolve and better address the needs of the youth. This had a domino effect on their professional and as well as on their personal development as youth workers in their daily work with young people and also in the everyday interactions with their families and social groups.
We believe that these results and impact of the project brought a new page in youth work, introducing mindfulness through nature-based methodology in youth work had a positive impact on the participating organisations, on the hard to reach youth as well as youth work on European level On a long run the project helped the youth from disadvantaged and migrant/refugee backgrounds to develop and to be socially included.
Sara is a trainer and facilitator from Italy guiding individuals and groups to become more conscious human beings and to connect authentically to themselves, to others and to nature, in order to engage in meaningful actions in their lives and to better impact our planet Earth. She has more than 10 years of experience in international projects management and youth work. In her work she brings expertise in mindfulness, eco-somatic practices, ecopsychology and nature- based methods She is attending the Nature Coaching Academy in Italy to become Naure Ambassador.She is co-author of the book: “Mindfulness and Nature: a toolkit for youthwork” realised during the project KA2 “Mind your Mind: Synergies between mindfulness and nature-based methods”.
Sandra is a human development guide and mentor who creatively and heart-fully invites people to be in intimate and meaningful conversations with their Soul She calls humans to fall in love with nature, metaphor, symbol, feeling and therefore with themselves and live their bigger lives delivering their gift to the hungry world. As a guide, she creates purposeful spaces of self-discovery incorporating in her work her experience regarding depth psychology and soul-based practices, ecocentric development, embodiment, storytelling, poetry and deep imagination. She has a wide experience of 10 years in working with youth and adults in facilitating spaces of personal and community transformation. At the moment she is studying within Animas Valley Institute from the USA and graduated from the Wild Mind Program.
Carlos Buj holds a degree in BA and a master's degree in sustainable tourism. Carlos has worked as project coordinator, educator and facilitator for the last years. He has been an active member of Extinction Rebellion for the last 3 years and just completed a walk across the UK for the COP26 (marcha-a-glasgow.net/en/). He maintains a blog at Ecotopias.net where he writes about the emotional dimension of the climate crisis and about new ecosocial narratives.
This activity is an individual drawing exercise. Participants are first invited to do a short meditation, imagining their life path like a river. Then participants can draw their personal river and share it with others It can be important moments in their life, their passions, the places they have visited or the people they have met.
The objective of this activity is to become aware of the important moments which have structured our life and which make us who we are today, and who we will be tomorrow Meditation allows you to reconnect with yourself, to observe your physical sensations and your emotions with kindness
The drawing of the river thus allows us to reconnect with our deep needs, the things that drive us and to get to know the true self
Material
paper, colour pencils
Duration
30-40 (10 minutes sharing time)
Ideal Venue
Quiet place, where there are enough tables, but the floor can be also used
The participants can share their thoughts, show the drawing to others It can be done in one big group or in smaller groups (3-4 people).
The activity begins with a meditation guided by the facilitator The meditation lasts about 5 minutes. The facilitator prepares the participants for a state of well-being, helps them to regulate their breathing, to concentrate on their physical sensations. Then, the facilitator encourages the participants to imagine a river, to imagine its shape, its color, the speed of the flow Participants can try to hear, smell or even touch the water Finally, the facilitator explains that the river corresponds to the participant's life path, and that he can imagine what he wants: the people, the places, the moments that mattered to him, positively or negatively.
Then, the participants are asked to draw their inner river They can draw or write whatever they want freely with the markers at their disposal. It is possible to add background music.
After around 15-20 minutes, we invite them to gather together in one big group or in smaller groups of 3-4 people and they can share their thoughts, how they felt during the exercise, did they find it useful, etc. They can even comment on the others' drawings. Also, if someone doesn’t want to share, it’s also OK. They can develop their river also after the task, anytime if they feel like it
The aim of this exercise is to collect elements in nature that look like us. Participants will wander around the nature and will select various elements (leaves, fruits, pebbles ) for which they feel a connection
The goal of this exercice is to pay attention to the small elements that we find in nature, to take our time to feel and explore an environment that we could have simply passed through without any attention usually. Participants will have the opportunity to present themselves to others through the prism of natural elements.
Material
A bag/basket to collect materials
Duration
From 30 minutes to 120 minutes. Depending on the venue and other exercises.
Ideal Venue
Outdoors for the collect time, then indoors to present the creations
The facilitator explains to the participants that they will have to walk in nature and find objects/elements that are meaningful to them. It can be anything, leaves, flowers, fruits, branches etc. Elements with which they feel a connection. The research is done individually, the participants are free to wander wherever they want
Once everyone has found their elements, the team comes back inside and sit in the circle. The facilitator invites the participants to introduce themselves, say their name and present the chosen natural objects and the reason why they chose it.
They are also encouraged to share something personal and connect it with nature. For example, one person may take a shell, share their passion for the sea and narrate a story from their childhood or talk about the sound of the waves.
The activity is about self discovery and expression
To allow the person to discover things about themselves, they didn't know prior
Material
Pens and papers
Duration
Up to 50 minutes
Ideal Venue
Indoor, quiet place
The facilitator asks the participants to write their own eulogy The eulogy could have many forms. It could be straight forward or it could be more abstract, like a poem. After 10 or 15 minutes pass, the facilitator asks the participants to divide into groups and talk about their experience and what they wrote After 15 minutes, they call everyone back to a circle to discuss it briefly as a group.
“Crafting" ourselves only by symbolising our thoughts and feelings, using our imagination
Create, spend time with ourselves for ourselves, feel free, explore about us
Material
Paper and colour markers
Duration 20-30 minutes
Ideal Venue Indoor or outdoor
1 Pick your favourite colours and take a paper for you and fold it few cm above (picture)
2. Then pick the top of the paper and fold it again, few cm under (picture)
3. Without unfolding the paper, draw your very personal creature on it It can be in any shape, in any size It just has to be yours.
4 When finishing, unfold the paper and take a look at your creature. How does it seem now? It might seem cut, empty, scary etc. (These were some words that came out of the participants).
But in fact, it now can be bigger, longer, better!
5. Complete your creature by connecting the lines in the way you want.
As soon as you complete your creature, take a look at this and what's now inside it. Pick the person who is across you (if there is a circle) or near you and share whatever you want to share about your lovely hidden!
You are now requested to:
1. Draw your favourite habits. It can be whatever makes you feel happy, comfortable when doing that.
2. Draw your fears. The fears that live inside you
3. Last but not least, now draw your dreams.
Thoughts, ideas, ambitions, longings of yours!
The aim of this exercise is to let go by feeling to the inner flows that pass through us. Participants are invited not to judge themselves, to be spontaneous in their movements
The goal of this exercise is to free yourself from the gaze of others and to take a more benevolent look at yourself and increase your self-confidence. Participants will likely feel embarrassed at first, then let themselves be carried away by the melody to let their true nature express itself
Material
A speaker and at least 3 different musics without lyrics
Duration 20-30 minutes
Ideal Venue Indoor with a big space
Participants are asked to close their eyes. The facilitator put a music, and participants start moving/dancing without seeing each of us Each music lasts at least 5mn Then, participants get into pairs and take turns explaining what they felt for each melody.
The activity is about become aware of your inner resources
To allow the person to discover things about themselves, to appreciate one ' s inner qualities
Material Pens, papers and Several pictures of famous and less famous personalities
Duration 20-30mn
Ideal Venue Indoor, quiet place
The facilitator asks the participants to write 5 qualities they are proud of and 5 qualities they want to have Then they present their reflection by pair
The facilitator spreads the photos of different personalities on the floor, and asks the participants to choose one. Then, still by pair, participants must explain why they chose this photo and how they would like to look like it
Finally, participants are invited to imitate the chosen personality, as much in his/her aura, posture or expression
Our participant’s words describe the impact of this project in their personal and professional growth.
Observing outside
To explore what's hiding inside.
Reconnecting to the truth
Going forward, living to the full.
Krystallia
Thank you for a super course! I learned a lot about myself It was a very well structured program, I am grateful to have been able to participate!
Anita
I came to the project retreat in need of re-calibrating myself, my energy & vibrations after the most chaotic rollercoaster of a year in my whole life, and I found just that. And more. Also realised shadow sides within me in need of being addressed. I could see patterns in my behaviour where I usually slip wrong. And I got to know this beautiful soul there that helped me see life with new eyes, sparking the engine of love within me to full steam once again!
Robin
"Nature within you " amazing experience, exploring myself and nature.
Nature within encompassed a variety of experiences from embodying, writing, meditating, learning and growing together to just being.
E.KFor me, attending the „Nature Within You” course was a journey of rediscovery and reconnection: with my body, my mind, my emotions, my inner nature and outer nature I understood that nature completes me just as I complete it, that nature can save me just as I can save it.
Iulia
The experience was one of a kind, full of impact and gaining a new perspective over my journey in life Our wonderful trainers Sara, Sandra and Carlos gave us the tools to become more mindful, to grow and appreciate ourselves and our environment I am more than grateful to them and the Erasmus Plus Program for this opportunity and I highly recommend it to everyone.
The training course in a few words by the participants....
“Whatyouarelookingforisalreadyinyou… Youalreadyareeverythingyouareseeking.”
Thich Nhat Hanh, You Are Here: Discovering the Magic of the Present Moment
VulcanicaMente APS
Italy, San Cesario di Lecce
Project coordinator and trainer: Sara Marzo - vulcanicamente info@gmail com
Website: www vulcanicamente it
Facebook: VulcanicaMente
Instragram: vulcanicamente lecce
2020-3-IT03-KA105-020392
