This summer Paradiso Ritrovato got the chance to test CiP activities in different contexts. Here we want to share with you two experiences in which we led the same session in two settings – one non-formal and the other formal.   The session, called “Sharing is Caring”, is about the three permaculture ethics and offers children the possibility to act as a tribe. We started by singing together, sharing stories in a circle and painting our faces. The tribe then explored and performed different rituals embedding the three ethics. For Earth care they create a mandala, for People care they take ..read more

Children in Permaculture Trainers in Scotland have been working with the Education and Learning Directorate in Dumfries & Galloway Council, to support primary school teachers throughout the region to take their learning outdoors. As with all good permaculture designs, we started with Survey: We sent a survey to all 600 primary school staff and received 70 responses, 97% of whom agree that it would be good for the children to spend more time outdoors than they currently are. We collated resources for Scottish school staff about the benefits of outdoor learning, activities, case studies, pra ..read more

Located in a small town in the Netherlands, where agricultural higher education and rural life meet, is the Droevendaal Food Forest, an experimental food forest (or forest garden as some call it) on the campus of Wageningen University. It’s a fascinating place, not in the least because of the complexity of relations it addresses, and the focus that is laid on understanding the community built around it. I, having come to this university to learn how nature and agriculture can coincide, have fallen in love with this food forest and in particular the Ecoliteracy Programme. Ecoliteracy is a young ..read more

The intellectual development and creativity of children is important, especially through gamification learning. That is why we are working on the LivingSTEM project. The project is to help teachers and educators to teach 10-14 years old pupils science through permaculture and to develop children’s critical thinking to adopt a sustainable lifestyle, as well as to learn and discover science through permaculture. Pupils can learn how to implement a vegetable garden based on the permaculture principles at school through various pedagogical tools. We have prepared 20 ACTIVITIES in English, French ..read more

Berkshire in the UK can be a dim, damp and fairly depressing place right now. It is January and we are in lockdown and it is winter although the weather has been much warmer than expected. Inspiring the children to get out and get involved in growing our food is easy in the spring and summer but we needed help this winter. This help came from an unlikely source, our chickens. We have three rescue hens that are currently also in lockdown due to the avian flu outbreak, which means that it “is now a legal requirement for all bird keepers to keep their birds indoors and to follow strict biose ..read more

A permaculture project for a small nursery in London The Recharge-Me garden is a design for children in the early years who attend Friendly Families, a community-led nursery in Deptford, London. The initiative was born in a workshop held with staff, parents and the designer where collectively they drew their hopes for the outside space. The purpose is to offer multi-sensory experiences to children by interacting with nature and with themselves, so these experiences become a cycle of giving and receiving and recharging mutual energy. The methods used are based on eco-friendly and permaculture p ..read more

By Lusi Alderslowe  Introduction Climate change is a huge, wide and important issue. It will affect children’s lives more than it has ours. In recent months, there has been a huge surge in interest, action and protest demonstrations from young people all over the world, showing that many young people understand this. Children need to understand how human activities are affecting it, what the solutions are, how they can help, and the systemic changes which need to happen. However, children are young, are known to be cognitively different to adults, can be vulnerable to anxiety, depression ..read more

This was a very inspirational book and, page after page, was extremely thought provoking and a very helpful guide to any adult who wishes to engage children with permaculture. The Children in Permaculture Manual has been written by people who not only see the world through the permaculture lens, but also know exactly how, through thoughtful pedagogy, children can be engaged to see through this lens too. The book clearly explains the paramount message that children are today growing up in world with many ecology uncertainties. I particularly found the line: ‘It is time when society needs to acc ..read more

The Scottish Government Guidelines for early years providers, called ‘Out to Play: Practical Guidance for Creating Outdoor Play Experiences in Early Learning and Childcare’ (p22) commended the Children in Permaculture resources (which you can find elsewhere on this website). You can see the Guidance here, there’s lots of useful tips and links in there ..read more

The international Children in Permaculture conference was a great celebration of a learning journey, enriching teamwork, inspiring networking and a precious seed for the future steps. This event which took place in Prague, Czech Republic 4-5 May 2018, brought together more than 150 people from different countries and fields, such as educators, school and kindergarten teachers, head teachers, permaculturists, trainers, children’s and outdoor learning NGO, families and children of course. Several Czech and international volunteers supported the conference with their active and lively contributi ..read more