NordPlus Junior project „Scientific Hiking – Secrets of Water”
The project (2020-2022) has developed and implemented a curriculum that combines active hikes in nature with exploratory science practice, analysing surface water sources and the environment.
The idea for „Scientific Hiking – Secrets of Water” was born from the fact that in most schools in the Baltic States, the educational process was (and still is) based on theoretical learning, with many activities taking place in closed classrooms. This does not motivate students to learn, especially science disciplines, which are based on observation and experimentation. In discussions with partners from schools in Latvia and Norway, we decided to jointly develop an interdisciplinary programme for grades 5-9, where science teachers would go on hikes together with students, exploring various surface water sources (the Baltic Sea, rivers, lakes, springs, wetlands), analysing landscapes, natural processes, etc.
In 2020, the project „Scientific Hiking – Secrets of Water” (No NPJR-2020/10047) received funding and started implementation.
The main milestones of the project are:
Sharing experiences and practices among an international team of educators, learning from each other;
Curriculum development – preparation of learning content and materials;
Testing and validation of the curriculum, preparation of new teaching materials.
Project implementation
The project „Scientific Hiking – Secrets of Water” is implemented by:
- „Pažinimo medis” (coordinator) – school in Lithuania;
- „Līgatne for Education” – NGO in Latvia;
- „Bergausis” – school in Norway.
Period of the project: 2020 08 01 – 2022 12 31.
Main project activities: going to hikes, water research, international cooperation between teachers, children’s learning activities in nature in their home countries and abroad exploring different water sources and environments.
Inquiry-based learning
The project focuses on the application of the inquiry-based learning methodology. This methodology helps to link the theoretical knowledge acquired in the classroom with practice by hypothesising, planning, conducting, concluding and summarising research.
In science lessons in grades 6-9, children have been learning about surface water, water pollution, the stages of wastewater treatment, water consumption and protection, the physical, chemical and biological properties of water, and how they can be tested and studied. During ethics lessons, they discussed about the crisis of fresh water in the world, ecological problems and solutions.
During the hikes in the nature, students carried out various geographical and physical tasks and simple water research. For more complex experiments, students brought samples and tested the water in school or university laboratories.
Communication and cooperation between participants, learning from each other, learning about different cultures and values, is an essential part of any international project.
During the project „Scientific Hiking – Secrets of Water”, teachers from Latvia, Norway and Lithuania communicated with each other a lot virtually, because during most of the project period there was a pandemic of Covid-19 worldwide. Live meetings were also held whenever possible.
Live and virtual meetings that took place throughout the project period (2020-2022):
- 08.10.2020 First virtual meeting (Zoom);
- 25.11.2020 Virtual meeting (Zoom);
- 24.08.2021 Virtual meeting (Zoom);
- 09.05.2022 Virtual meeting (Zoom);
- 17.05.2022 Virtual meeting (Zoom);
- 15-19 June 2022 Meeting in Vilnius, Lithuania. Hike with Tree of Knowledge students;
- 2022 08 25-29 Meeting in Bergen, Norway. Hike with Bergausis school students;
- 2022 09 12-16 Virtual meeting (Zoom);
- 2022 10 11-15 Last meeting in Litgane, Latvia, a hike for students and teachers, approbation of the programme of the project together.
Meeting in Vilnius
For the first time in a long time due to Covid-19 pandemia, we finally met in Vilnius, Lithuania. Here we had the opportunity to discuss the experiences in our home countries, hiking trips and water research, and to spend some time editing the curriculum we had been developing. One of the days of the meeting was spent on a hike with students of the „Pažinimo medis” and their geography and physical education teachers on the Varnikai nature trail around the Ilgelis swamp, visiting the Skaistis and Galvė lakes.
Meeting in Bergen
In Norway, an international team of educators and students from Bergausis went on a walking tour of the towns of Bergen and Voss, enjoying the spectacular wildlife and fjords, and exploring water from various rivers. Back at school, the Norwegians analysed the water in the chemistry laboratory and created a Nature Encyclopaedia from the stones and plants they collected.
Meeting in Litgane
Students and teachers from all the organisations involved in the project met in Latvia. In the territory of the Gauja National Park, they went on a journey through the local forests, exploring the mysterious caves on the slopes of the Ligatne River, admiring the spectacular banks of the Gauja River, and investigating the chemical properties of freshwater springs. In the area of the Elytė ditch stream, the explorers faced fallen trees, streams, slippery stones and clay slopes.
The students’ participation in the project gave them new experiences and deepened their knowledge in the natural sciences. The exploration and appreciation of the natural landscapes of foreign countries enriched their competences in geography and social sciences, while the challenges in nature strengthened them and were an excellent exercise in endurance.
For teachers, the project provided opportunities to learn from each other, to co-create and test active outdoor learning methods with their students, both in their own countries and at international level. The outdoor education programme was developed and successfully applied in all schools in the partner countries of the project.
Outdoor Learning Programme
„Scientific Hiking – Secrets of Water”
