Celebrating International Day of Education with an example of co-creating education together with young people

International Day of Education

As a network passionate about Protected Areas, we also recognise that what happens outside their boundaries plays a decisive role in shaping interest, understanding, and protection within them. This is where education and youth work play an important role, creating bridges, helping others connect their behaviour with the natural world and building support for nature conservation.

For the International Day of Education 2026, UNESCO chose to highlight “The power of youth in co-creating education”, showcasing how young people are active partners and making education more sustainable, relevant and inclusive. Our EUROPARC Youth Representative Michelle Herrmann, shares with us a story of a youth-led initiative from the Swabian Alb Biosphere Reserve.

The power of youth in co-creating education: an example from the Swabian Alb, Germany

Wastefulness and the overuse of natural resources are among the major challenges of the 21st century, particularly in industrialised countries, where average households already consume more resources than the Earth can regenerate. In the Swabian Alb Biosphere Reserve, Germany, three motivated young students set out to address this issue by engaging the next generation in a creative and hands-on way.

Rather than focusing solely on discussion and appeals for behavioural change, the young instructors chose an alternative approach: giving discarded materials a second life and highlighting their hidden value. In cooperation with RegiNa e.V., they organised a two-day workshop in which waste materials were transformed into playable music instruments.

The project involved 20 pupils aged nine to ten from the Gemeinschaftsschule in Münsingen. On the first day, the children learned about resource use and waste generation and reflected on the value of everyday items that are often quickly discarded. During the Christmas holidays, they collected materials from their homes that could potentially produce sound. On the second workshop day, the instructors guided the children in building a variety of instruments from these materials, while also encouraging them to realise their own creative ideas. Together, they constructed and tuned banjos, percussion instruments and even a bottle piano.

In the next phase of the project, the children will learn a piece of music using their self-made instruments and present it to their classmates at the school’s summer celebration in July. The workshop not only raised awareness of resource efficiency but also inspired the children, who were surprised by the sounds and rhythms that can be created from “waste” with a little imagination and openness.

Are you interested in more innovative youth-led projects? Check out EUROPARC’s Knowledge Hub Youth section to see case studies of other Protected Areas working together with young people.

The project was financially supported by the bw-Stiftung.

Empowering Youth through UNESCO’s MAB Programme

The article below is written by Marla Schulz, EUROPARC Youth Council Member from 2023 – 2025. Her engagement with EUROPARC began at the 2023 Conference in Leeuwarden while she was an intern at Nationale Naturlandschaften (EUROPARC Germany). During this time, she was active in setting up a Youth+ group for young people interested in biosphere reserves in Germany and running peer-to-peer capacity building workshops. She recently took on a full-time position at NNL and helped select the next cohort for the Youth Council.

My Perspective on the Hangzhou Strategic Action Plan and its relevance for other young people

My name is Marla Schulz, I am 28 and from Germany, and I have been actively involved in the UNESCO Man and Biosphere (MAB) Programme for several years. This programme is an interdisciplinary, intergovernmental programme with the overarching goal of sustainable use of the biosphere’s natural resources. I work to strengthen youth engagement both nationally, through Germany’s Jugendnetzwerk Biosphäre e.V. (Youth Network Biosphere), and across Europe, via the EuroMAB Youth Network.

The German MAB delegation attending the 37th World Congress of Biosphere Reserves in Hangzhou, China

Last year, I had the unique opportunity, through my position as youth representative on the MAB National Committee Germany, to participate in the World Congress of Biosphere Reserves in Hangzhou, China. This once-in-a-decade gathering brings together the World Network of Biosphere Reserves (WNBR) to set priorities for the next ten years. At Hangzhou, the new Hangzhou Strategic Action Plan was adopted, defining how the WNBR will operate until 2035. What excites me most is Action Target 20, which specifically focuses on youth.

Action Target 20 aims to strengthen youth networks at national, regional and global levels, secure funding for youth activities, and create opportunities for young people to actively participate in decision-making at all levels of the MAB programme – from local Biosphere Reserves to international advisory bodies. By 2030, the plan envisions youth networks across all continents and 150 youth trained annually in skills that allow them to contribute meaningfully. By 2035, it aims for young people to have a stable voice in all MAB structures, ensuring our perspectives shape the future of biosphere reserves.

Youth networks in the MAB Programme are structured nationally and regionally. In Europe, we have the EuroMAB Youth Network; in other regions, networks include AfroMAB Youth, AsiaPacificMAB Youth, IberoMAB, and the ArabMAB Youth Network. Since September 2025, UNESCO has called on every country to appoint a National Youth Focal Point. Many countries have already implemented this, for example, Germany now has me as a National Youth Focal Point, a young person officially linking national youth activities to UNESCO. The aim is that these focal points, together with biosphere reserve youth representatives, are building strong networks for collaboration, learning, and action within their country.

Biosphere reserves can support Action Target 20 by creating spaces for young people to participate in committees and thematic networks, fostering skills, and ensuring that youth voices influence local management decisions.

Marla Schulz speaking at side events throughout the event

This is not only vital for participation but also helps retain young talent in the region and nurtures future leaders. National committees can further integrate youth representatives into international meetings, such as the MAB ICC or regional conferences like EuroMAB conference 2026 in Canada. Strong support from UNESCO, tailored capacity-building programs, and inclusive opportunities at all levels are essential to make this work.

Looking ahead, 2026 brings the 3rd Global MAB Youth Forum in Italy. Here, young people from across the world will come together to exchange experiences, build skills, and plan collaborative actions. For me, Action Target 20 represents an incredible opportunity: young people must take initiative, learn from each other, and shape their networks – while biosphere reserves, national committees, and UNESCO provide guidance and support. Together, we can ensure youth are a driving force in the future of the MAB Programme.

For those biosphere reserves in the EUROPARC network, we hope you are inspired empower young people within your areas and connect them with the EUROPARC Youth Community. Any questions can be directed to our youth officer, Jessica Micklem-Kolenić.

From 5-7 December 2025, Youth Council member Marla Schulz had the opportunity to take part in the second session of the Young Citizens Assembly on Pollinators in Brussels, representing EUROPARC and the expertise and importance of Protected Areas in pollinator conservation.

An inspiring and truly European experience that showed how democracy, youth participation and biodiversity protection can come together.

The assembly was initiated by the European Commission in response to the dramatic decline of pollinators across Europe. Wild bees, butterflies and other pollinating insects are disappearing at alarming rates, driven by factors such as intensive agriculture, pesticide use, habitat loss and climate change. This decline threatens biodiversity, food security and healthy ecosystems and it clearly requires action.

To bring young voices into this debate, the European Commission launched this Citizens’ Assembly. 100 young people from across Europe were selected through a random, postcode-based process to ensure diversity in geography, education and social background. The result is a group that truly reflects the diversity of Europe’s youth from students and apprentices to young professionals.

The assembly takes place partly through online meetings but also on three weekends on site in Brussels (2025-2026). During the first session (September 2025), participants received expert input and identified key problem areas around pollinator decline. They agreed on four main thematic fields that now structure the whole process:

1. Transforming land use and protecting habitats
2. Fostering a cultural shift and changing behaviours
3. Financing biodiversity
4. Policy implementation and accountability

The second session (December 2025) focused on exchanges with stakeholders. Marla Schulz was invited to the second session as a stakeholder and expert, representing the EUROPARC Federation Youth Council and the perspective of Europe’s Protected Areas. She contributed her experiences and insights from national parks, biosphere reserves and other large protected landscapes, where pollinator protection is already being put into practice.

In the morning of the first day the young citizens prepared their questions based on the four thematic fields. In the afternoon, the ten invited stakeholders joined in and talked and exchanged ideas in small discussion groups with three to four stakeholders and around 20 young citizens. In Marla’s case, she took part in a discussion together with Noa Simon (BeeLife) and Anne Crespin (Pro Silva).

They discussed with the young citizens how Protected Areas, agriculture and forestry can better contribute to pollinator protection. Following these discussions, each group decided which topics they wanted to continue working on. Across the assembly, focus areas included agriculture, pesticide use, land use, drivers of cultural change, awareness, funding, interest groups, enforcement and implementation.

These focus areas will now guide the work of the upcoming third session (March 2026), during which the young participants will develop concrete recommendations.

The entire process is also being documented by a film team, creating a documentary on democracy that will be released in the coming year. This process is a powerful example of lived democracy and meaningful youth engagement. Giving young people space to learn, discuss and shape policy together is not only valuable for pollinators, but for the future of Europe as a whole.

If you would like to find out more and learn about the background, visit the website:

Or find out directly what the young citizens are doing via the Instagram channel (@ycap_eu).

We want to thank the Young Citizens Assembly on Pollinators Project for enabling Marla’s participation through funding. 

Nature is Good Medicine

The Healing Power for Nurses, Caregivers, and Patients – Examples from General Care and Dementia Initiatives

In today’s fast-paced world, stress has become a common challenge, particularly for those in caregiving professions such as nurses and caregivers for individuals living with various health conditions, including dementia. The toll of chronic stress can lead to serious health issues, including heart disease, diabetes, and mental health disorders like depression and burnout.

Recognizing this, various initiatives have emerged to leverage the healing power of nature as a remedy for stress relief and mental well-being.

Credits: Lesný kúpeľ KK

One notable example is the collaboration between the AGEL Levoča Hospital, which is linked with hospitals in Kežmarok and Krompachy, Slovakia, and the Forest Pedagogy NGO. This partnership aims to provide forest bath therapy to nurses, allowing them to immerse themselves in a serene natural environment. The calming effects of nature not only help reduce stress but also promote physical and mental health, enabling caregivers to recharge and better support their patients. This initiative is particularly crucial as healthcare workers have faced unprecedented levels of stress during the COVID-19 pandemic.

By cultivating a stronger connection to nature, this initiative not only enhanced the well-being of healthcare professionals—who participated in interviews after each session to assess the effects—but also promotes a holistic approach to healthcare. In 2025, an analysis of a new short form of the Profile of Mood States (POMS) questionnaire. The POMS is a widely-applied measure for the assessment of an individual’s mood. The results on the impact of forest bathing sessions for the participants was extremely positive.

Logo of Lesny Kupel

The curriculum is accredited by the Ministry of Education, Science, Research and Sport of the Slovak Republic and created by the Slovak Association of Forest Bath.

This Good Practice was shared within the Interreg Europe GREENHEALTH project. Here EUROPARC Federation participates as project partner for Capacity Building and Communication and counts on the expertise of the Healthy Parks Healthy People Europe Commission.

© Naturpark Sparbach/Käfer

Furthermore, our case studies highlight the Nature Park Sparbach, which has implemented the “Miteinander unterwegs” project.

This initiative involves the municipalities in the Biosphere Reserve Wienerwald (Mauerbach, Gablitz, Purkersdorf, Tullnerbach and Wolfsgraben), who joined forces under the “Wir 5 im Wienerwald” network.

We spoke about this initiative at its early stages, during a webinar in July 2023, and things have developed since then. The project invites individuals affected by dementia and their caregivers to explore the beauty of nature together. As part of the “Wir 5 im Wienerwald” network, it fosters collaboration among stakeholders, institutions, and families impacted by dementia. By providing peer-support spaces and training on coping strategies, the project aims to alleviate the emotional burdens faced by caregivers while enhancing the quality of life for those living with dementia.

© Naturpark Sparbach/Käfer

If you need more information on the initiative described in this case study, you can visit the article (in German) by Susanne Käfer, Headmaster of the Nature Park Office Sparbach and which was released in the journal Green Care, published by the Competence Centre for Green Pedagogy at the University College of Agricultural and Environmental Education (HAUP), Vienna, Austria

These examples highlight the profound impact that nature can have on mental well-being, particularly for those under significant stress. By creating opportunities for individuals to connect with the natural world, we can promote healing, resilience, and a greater sense of community.

Do you have stories or wish to engage with Healthy Parks Healthy People Europe? You are welcome to contact us and let us know about you and we will be right back!