Our partners have been doing establishing Kids4Forests tree nurseries in Spain, Germany and Poland during the last years:

Tree nursery workshop and first Kids4Forests project in Poland (2018-2019)

A tree nursery was set up in June 2018 by a forest school in Poland as part of a Visegrad Fund project. The practical workshop included the sowing of tree seeds into the first kids-managed tree nursery in Kopaniec, Poland and getting to know how to transplant small seedlings to rootrainers and directly to the soil. Tree nurseries were then replicated in partner sites in other countries. A Reforestation Camp was organised later that year in Poland, where partner schools came together for a three-day camp with the aim to teach children about the role of trees and how to plant a forest. This was the first Kids4Forests project's planting, in which more than hundred children reforested a degraded public area with 1000 tree seedlings.

Watch our short FILM about this event.

We also created a short practical manual for kindergarten and school teachers who are interested to set a school-based tree nursery with children. It is based on our practical experience with setting up our own with help from the Visegrad Fund. It short, easy-read, step-by-step manual in how to set up and manage a tree nursery with kids. You can download the Booklet for free. 

 

Forest restoration and tree seeds growing by kids in Germany (2020-ongoing)

Since autumn 2020 - each planting seasons, a group of local volunteers reaches out to support the reforestation process around Netphen - a small town in North Rhine Westphalia, Germany.

The forests - mainly spruce monocultures - in this area have been highly degraded after more than 3 years of drought. The overarching goal is to support building climate resilient forest ecosystems with mixed species.

In Spring 2021 - running out of seedlings - 350 students from a local school started raising seedlings from seeds at home. From over 3.000 seeds that were given to the students - already 350 seedlings were planted in November 2021. The project was accompanied by 2 biology teachers. What started as a crazy idea turned out to be a long-term vision that aims to provide youth hands-on opportunities to actively participate in local climate protection; educate for sustainable development by experiential learning; and and accelerate sustainable reforestation with schools as partners in local networks.

In Spring 2022 - we started the second round of raising seedlings - both at home and a soon-to-be school based tree nursery. The project is supported by two forest scientists.

 

Establishing Spain's first Kids4Forests tree nursery (2022)

During spring 2022, kids at the Waldorf Cantabria primary school established their first tree nursery with 5 variety of native, climate-resilient trees in Villanueva. The seedlings are growing well and will be transplanted to their final destination during winter 2022.

Watch our short FILM about this event.