Summary of the Danube Kids programme for children's nature education along the River Danube and in the Danube Delta.

1. Looking to 2016
S E N S E S O F N A T U R E A S S O C I A T I O N
Danube Kids
Help build
nature citizenship
among young people
in Romania

2. The basic idea…

3. This is what children
are inheriting from us.
They need to know how to do something about it.

4. They’ve tried, and every year they clean up the plastic
waste in the Danube Delta. Then the following year it
comes back again... So a different approach is needed.

5. Our long-run solution is to build nature citizenship.
Danube Kids is approaching this by
creating a children-led movement for
cultural change.

6. Doing
Knowledge
Values
Skills
Through these four elements of nature citizenship, we teach
children on the Danube to care and take responsibility for
their place, their community and the nature around them.

7. Outdoor learning is essential:
Simply, children learn better
when they learn outside and through practical
experience. It is also proven to be good for their
physical and mental health.

8. And then we are going
to get the kids from
the Danube Delta
villages to spread the
word to kids in towns
and villages upstream
about what they have
learnt…

9. What we have done so far…

10. In January 2015 we held a Swarm in Bucharest for 30 teachers,
representatives of ministries & local authorities, international
and Romanian experts in outdoor environmental education, project-
based learning, ecology, waste management and safety. We shared an
intensive weekend of creative collaboration to work out the
details of the programme and address the risks and challenges.

11. This year we have involved around 300 kids of 8 to 13 years from
Sulina, Sfintu Gheorghe and Crisan on the Danube Delta, plus
Orsova, Mures, Maramures and Snagov. The schools are either on
the Danube or tributaries. We ran 9 activities across the country
between March and July 2015.

12. Children have been out in nature
discovering the place around them.
They’ve learn about animals and plants
around them, and thought about their
connection to nature.
We are giving them awareness
and confidence to pay attention
to details in nature and
make connections, express
themselves and be creative
This year around 300
children were
involved in Danube
Kids activities
Danube Kids have made a poster
campaign which Navrom put on
their ferries.

13. Children in villages on the Danube
tributaries have learnt about their connection
to water, where it comes from and where it
goes to from their place.

14. In September 2015 we held training for 15 teachers from
the Delta and around Romania – where two experts in
outdoor nature learning from the UK came and passed on
their values and expertise.

15. Planning for next year…

16. In 2016 we will want build on the pilot and expand Danube
Kids to other towns and villages in Romania. We also want to
build a Danube Kids teachers network, train lots of teachers,
so they have the confidence to take initiatives themselves.
And we’d like to get outdoor learning onto the curriculum!

17. We need to raise funding – about €100,000 in total – to move from
concept to full-time operation: to run 40 activities for over 400
children, set up 5 local initiatives, build the Danube Kids
teachers network and hold 9 training sessions for 135 teachers.

18. The benefits of Danube Kids:
- Children gain in confidence, health, knowledge and skills
through outdoor learning
- Teachers learn new state-of-the-art skills and approaches
- Parents get involved in children’s learning
- Rebuilding community spirit and sense of belonging
- Longer term, people will take more care for nature and the
environment
For more information contact Alina Costea
(alina.costea@danubekids.com) or James Atkins
(james.atkins@vertis.com) at the Senses of Nature Association

19. Join the DANUBE KIDS initiative!