Summer School: Establishing an Ecoremediation Course in Čatež

Recently, learning courses in Modraže and Dole were venues of a summer school entitled “Setting-Up an Ecoremediation Course in Čatež”, organised by the Centre for Educational and Extra-Curricular activities (Center šolskih in obšolskih dejavnosti) in order to transfer the acquired knowledge and experience in designing learning courses to an area where they plan to establish a similar outdoor learning course.

Andreja Tomažin, head of the Čebelica home, emphasized that outdoor education has a lot of quality value and that it is actually the best type of education that people can experience in their lives.

Video report

Video transcript

Participants in the “Establishing an Ecoremediation Course in Čatež” summer school, which took place at the outdoor learning courses in Modraže and Dole, expressed the desire to transfer the knowledge and experience in designing outdoor learning courses to an area, where they plan to establish a similar learning course.

Prof. Ddr. Ana Vovk Korže, Head of the Nature’s Classroom project: The objective of the summer school is for Centre for Educational and Extra-Curricular Activities to acquire an area where they will be able to carry out field work, nature science days and hold outdoor lessons and lectures in the direct vicinity of the Centre. Considering that the Centre itself has no experience in how to tackle such a project, we decided to have them organise this year’s summer school at this learning course, so that they may copy ideas, approaches and didactic recommendations and later use them in their own Centre.

The existing learning courses in Modraže and Dole had a visible effect on the designers of the future learning course near Čatež.

Andreja Tomažin, head of Čebelica, Centre for Educational and Extra-Curricular Activities: We came here very excited to explore the learning courses in Modraže and Dole, to study them and learn what there is to be learned, to note things down and to get new ideas on how the knowledge we acquired yesterday and here today can be transferred to our area where we want to establish a similar learning course in the future.

Mateja Podgoršek, urban planner: We will try to find suitable locations for these solutions and tell an interesting story at the location we will select.

The intention to establish a new learning course would definitely not have developed successfully without the awareness of the advantages of outdoor education.

Andreja Tomažin, head of Čebelica, Centre for Educational and Extra-Curricular Activities: Outdoor education has a huge quality value, since here each student, young or old, directly experiences experiential possibilities. It is in fact the only and the best quality education that we can experience in our lives.

Summer school participants acquired a lot of new knowledge in a natural environment, under the vigilant eyes of their mentors.

Mojca Kokot Krajnc, MC ERM junior researcher: Our group’s task was to first present all the water sources located on the course and then analyse the water quality of each individual source. First we did the physical measurements, where we analysed the colour of water, then we measured the water’s temperature and pH levels and finally we analysed the water’s odour.

Alenka Sajovic, Ecoremediation Technological Centre Celje: In my group students learne about the principle of operation of a constructed wetland. That is why our field work is composed of measuring individual parameters at the inlet of the constructed wetland and at its outlet, and then we compare these data to a natural wetland. We compare the data to a natural wetland because we know that the constructed wetland as a system for purifying waste water is based on the natural wetland or swamp ecosystem. The process of purifying waste water in such a system as a constructed wetland uses the same principles as the processes in a natural swamp.

Jerneja Križan, MC ERM independent professional associate: Visitors to this year’s research camp worked in groups to learn about the properties of soil here at the course. As the landscape is quite colourful, we have a lot of soil diversity. That is why we will actually get very, very interesting results, which students will then compare with each other. We expect them to learn a lot about soil, to know all the different soil types located here, and to later actually use this knowledge in their work on the learning course, where they will dig out soil profiles and learn about soil properties this way.

At the end of the summer school in Modraže and Dole, students did not hide their excitement.

Nastja, Sevnica: We learned many new things today about water purification. Among other things we studied the water in this area, what kind of ingredients it has …

Katja, Šentjernej: Personally, I liked the mentorship most, as the workshops were organized by professionals …

Lara, Ljubljana: I like how the course is set up. How to teach children, young people and adults, how to invoke their interest in ecoremediations, in how to re-establish these natural states.

Bojana, Metlika: Yes, I liked all the workshops today. I like how everything was presented vividly and not in the form of a text, as we are used to.

Tadej, Trebnje: I like the valley itself, it’s nice and calm, and I also like the course, it looks very natural …

Objavil Editor, 08/26/2011