Service learning in nature conservation: When outdoor learning has an impact
Learning doesn't just happen in the classroom. It becomes particularly impactful when knowledge is combined with practical action and students experience that their efforts actually make a difference.
Service learning is a teaching and learning method that combines social engagement, the "service," with the development of subject-specific and interdisciplinary skills, the "learning." Students engage with a real-world task outside of school and connect this experience with their classroom learning.
This approach offers many opportunities for nature conservation. Habitats need maintenance, invasive plants must be controlled, hedges enhanced, and small-scale structures created for animals. The young people work on tasks that are truly necessary and pursue a concrete ecological goal.
Learning outdoors and understanding connections
Why does a hedge need to be maintained? Why is human intervention sometimes necessary to preserve valuable habitats? And how do we humans benefit from an intact environment and high biodiversity?
These questions can be addressed theoretically in the classroom. Outdoors, many connections become directly tangible. A shady spot, damp soil, or insects on a flowering hedge offer concrete starting points for discussing the importance of functioning ecosystems: for cooling on hot days, clean water, pollination, or our own recreational space.
Outdoor learning transforms the environment itself into a learning space. Students observe, discover, and ask questions. Through hands-on nature conservation, they also actively shape their habitat . It's not just about completing a task; it's crucial that they understand why it's necessary and what it aims to achieve.
Learning through a real-world task
Those who have built a brush pile themselves and thereby improved a habitat often perceive their surroundings differently afterward. The young people experience that they can contribute and that their work has meaning beyond the classroom. This fosters skills that extend beyond biological and ecological knowledge. Finding solutions together, taking responsibility, collaborating, and considering different perspectives are all part of the process.
Participation plays a key role. Where the task and safety allow, young people should be able to contribute their own ideas and help shape decisions. For example, they can help select suitable locations for small-scale structures, distribute tasks within the group, or consider how they want to document the changes.
When does this become service learning?
Not every nature conservation project is automatically service learning. The crucial point is that engagement and learning are consciously linked . This includes concrete learning objectives, student participation, and joint reflection on their experiences.
This can be achieved with simple means. A class deals with this before the
The project focuses on a specific habitat or ecological issue. Together with the teacher, the student clarifies what they want to discover and learn. On-site, this preparation is combined with a practical task.
For example, a class could investigate what hiding places and retreats a hedge offers animals. Together with an expert, they would consider where additional piles of branches would be beneficial and then create them. The students would document their work and explain which animals would benefit from the resulting structures. The observations and experiences would then be discussed and contextualized in class.
What have we changed? Which animals or plants can benefit from it? What might only become apparent later? How do we humans also benefit from intact ecosystems? What different interests are at play? And how did we work together as a group?
Recognition of the work done is also part of it. When the class shares its results with others, for example in a photo documentation or a presentation, its contribution and learning experiences become visible.
From a single day of deployment to a week-long camp
Even a single day spent in nature conservation offers an opportunity to learn about a habitat and work together on a specific task. With appropriate preparation and follow-up in the classroom, even a short project can be integrated into a larger learning process.
During a camp or project week, more space is created for engaging with a topic. The class can track the progress of their own work, delve deeper into questions, and increasingly take on responsibility. Practical nature conservation work, environmental education, nature experiences, and joint reflection complement each other in this process.
Nature is good for us too.
Intact nature is not only ecologically valuable. Spending time outdoors can also make a positive contribution to our well-being. Exercise, fresh air, experiences in nature. and shared experiences provide a welcome balance to the often fast-paced and digital everyday life.
Practical work engages the mind and hands in a specific task. There are phases of physical activity, but also moments of rest, concentration, and conscious awareness of the surroundings. Especially during longer deployments and camp weeks, this different form of learning and togetherness can be particularly valuable for a class.
Education for Sustainable Development (ESD), Curriculum 21 and learning outside the classroom
Service learning can be effectively integrated with Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) and Curriculum 21. Young people explore ecological issues, engage with diverse interests, and experiment with their own potential for action. Simultaneously, they practice collaboration, independence, and taking responsibility.
Teaching outdoors also raises organizational questions for teachers: Which activities are suitable for the age of the class? How can the outdoor activities be linked to the learning objectives? What equipment is needed and how is safety ensured?
Clear information regarding procedures, learning objectives, clothing requirements, and safety precautions provides guidance – for teachers as well as for students and their parents. Experienced external partners can support and relieve schools in the planning and implementation process.
Naturnetz as a practical partner for schools
For many years, Naturnetz has combined practical nature conservation work with environmental education. Our experts bring both ecological knowledge and pedagogical experience working with school classes. They are familiar with the work sites, assess risks, select suitable tasks, and create an environment in which students can participate safely and in an age-appropriate manner.
We contribute real-world conservation tasks, expertise, tools, and experience in organizing field days and camp weeks. Teachers link the activities to their lesson topics and learning objectives and design the preparation and follow-up activities with their class.
This makes outdoor learning easier for teachers to plan and allows it to be meaningfully combined with service learning, education for sustainable development, and Curriculum 21. Living spaces are enhanced, and students experience how knowledge and collaborative action can work together.
Working together as a school class and experiencing the impact
Whether it's a single day of activity or a camp and project week: Naturnetz supports schools in combining practical nature conservation work and learning.
There are also opportunities to get involved in biodiversity conservation outside of school: for example, by participating in a Environmental action with the team or during a civilian service assignment with the Nature Network .
Author:
Joris Schenker, Head of Environmental Education, Naturnetz