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Teachers are Encouraged to Apply for International Continuing Education Courses about Forests

How to ensure that school programmes relate to real life - forest? How to achieve better learning outcomes for students working in forest environment? These matters will be explored by teachers at two international continuing education courses offered by JSC "Latvia's State Forests" (LVM) in July 2019 in cooperation with the Centre for Further Education of the Forest and Wood Products Research and Development Institute.

One-day 12-hour (A) continuing education course "Improving Teachers' Professional Competence in Environmental Education on Sustainable Forest Management" this year will take place in Ķīpsala, Riga on 2 July as part of the 14th European Forest Pedagogic Congress.

Three-day 36-hour (A) continuing education courses "Promoting School Student Cognitive Activity and Creativity in Learning about Forests" will take place as an active leisure camp in Riga, Kalsnava and recreation and tourism centre "Ezernieki" between 24 and 26 July. Internationally recognized textbook author Prof. Gunter Pauli will be the main guest of the course (https://www.gunterpauli.com/).

Registration for both courses is open until 31 May 2019. Participation is free! The number of places is limited. Since the above courses take place in English, this year preference will be given to teachers with English language skills as well as the best motivation and homework. Application form, course programme descriptions and additional information can be found here:

 www.lvm.lv/talakizglitiba 

The European Forest Pedagogic Congress, during which teachers have the opportunity to complete a 12-hour continuing education course, takes place in Latvia for the very first time, and it will bring together representatives of various organisations involved in nature education across Europe. The Congress is organised by LVM in cooperation with the National Centre for Education of the Republic of Latvia and Riga Technical University. Designing bridges between forest and schools is the central theme of the Congress this year.

The programme includes a number of different activities, developing new teaching methods, as well as exchange of views of experienced Latvian and foreign lecturers, forest sector experts on different topical issues of forest pedagogy. The international congress site can be viewed here: http://forestpedagogics.eu/portal/

The main guest of the continuing education three-day camp Prof. Gunter Pauli (in the picture) is an internationally influential entrepreneur and innovator whose initiatives relate to sustainable environment and business solutions. He is currently working on projects related to the removal of plastic waste from the world's oceans and the prevention of rising sea levels. Pauli has written 365 teaching tales for children explaining nature and man as a nature being.

During the further education courses he will introduce Latvian teachers to the newly published (publishing house "Zvaigzne ABC") fairytale "The Strongest Tree" for 5 to 8-year-old children, their teachers and parents, where children together with the Tree and other living organisms will learn the following:

and will learn how to talk about emotions and nature in both Latvian and English. "Zvaigzne ABC" has already published his teaching tales such as "Kingdoms of Nature" about the emergence of humanity, "Can Apples Fly?" about gravity and the influence of the Moon on the processes of nature, "The King of Hearts" about the role of electricity in the body and "The Zebra Aircon" about natural solutions for reducing heat and preventing overheating. Teachers can also use these tales as a material and a source of inspiration for telling children about nature and interacting with each other. The content of the books corresponds to the approach of competence in education.

Celebrating the 10th anniversary of the Big Clean-up initiative, in 2018, Gunter Pauli met with the President of Latvia and the coordinators of the Big Clean-up and delivered a lecture at the Riga Castle: "Innovative forms of business that use local resources create value and address the needs of all citizens: an ecological, revolutionary model that gives humanity to capitalism". Gunter Pauli believes that we have the opportunity to turn dreams into reality, which sometimes surpasses even the most daring expectations. The author's greatest wish is that every child perceives his or her life as a dream to be made come true. Watch Gunter Pauli's TEDx speech about the future of the world.

In case of any uncertainties or questions about courses, teachers can contact Renāte Ribaka, LVM Communication Specialist, e-mail This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., tel. 28360723.