The Naturpark-Kita – nature as a joint project! In Naturpark-Kitas, a project by the Association of Germans Naturparke with Naturparken and day care centers, will be topics of the Naturparks integrated into the children's everyday lives, dealt with in project days or excursions. A conscious examination and sensitization for nature and the environment is desired.

We are for the future!

And we want to arouse curiosity - about nature!

“One of the most remarkable human skills is to work together on problems or tasks that could not be tackled alone. [...] It encompasses the ability to develop goals and attention together with others and the collective motivation to help and share with others. "

Max Plank Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology

The Naturpark, as a protected landscape area whose underlying idea is "protection through use", represents an exciting location for kindergartens: It is a natural place of learning with a wide range of tasks and cooperatives.

In Naturpark Day care centers allow children to rediscover nature, understand connections, get to know their region; look at home from a different perspective. A connection to nature and natural contexts should be built up in mindful encounters.

Children should learn to deal with nature carefully and responsibly, right from the start. First playfully, then of course. The experiences gathered with all your senses encourage you to get further involved with the connections and needs of nature and also to question them, to go on a voyage of discovery.

Where is that better than in Naturpark?

Annually the offers Naturpark Hohe Mark a further training course of at least four hours for pedagogical specialists NaturparkKitas, related to Naturpark and ESD (Education for Sustainable Development), to:

Training on the topic of mushrooms – safety and dangers for children in forest kindergartens

On January 21, 2025, ten educators from the Naturparkkitas took part in an important training course on the topic of “mushrooms”. The aim of the training was to provide the specialists with in-depth knowledge about mushrooms, particularly with regard to their danger and how to handle them safely in their daily work with children in the forest kindergarten.

In the first part of the training, mushroom coach Torsten Wollberg introduced the different types of mushrooms and their characteristics. It was explained which mushrooms are poisonous, edible or harmful to health. The focus was particularly on the dangers that certain types of mushrooms can pose to children. Especially in the forest, where children are often out and about and like to collect or examine mushrooms, it is important that the teachers can quickly recognize dangerous mushrooms and react correctly. The handling of mushrooms in the forest should be clearly regulated.

The training concluded with a joint exchange in which the teachers shared their previous experiences and challenges in dealing with mushrooms in everyday life in the forest. They were very motivated and well prepared to implement the new knowledge in their daily work and thus enable the children to have an even safer time in the forest.

The training has deepened existing knowledge and imparted new knowledge in order to ensure greater safety for the children in the Naturparkkitas and especially in the forest kindergartens.

Further education in nature education 2023 for educators

This year the annual training for educational specialists from the six NaturparkDaycare centers around the world of wild bees.

With a view to the 17 goals for livable and sustainable development - "17 SDGs" (Sustainable Development Goals) for short - this time the focus of the seminar was on the importance and meaning of wild bees. The training, which was led by Stefan Leiding, from Naturerlebnisse Stefan Leiding, focused on the approximately 600 species of bees and their lifestyles and needs.
The many suggestions for building an insect and bee hotel were received with great interest by the course participants. There was a lively exchange about the best materials for building a bee shelter and avoidable errors in the structural equipment. The newly acquired knowledge is now taken into account by the daycare teachers NaturparkEveryday life at the daycare center and should be implemented in projects.

Further education in nature education 2022 for educators

This year it was about the 17 goals of sustainable development in kindergarten age

Further education in nature education 2021 for educators

Many questions arise from children's encounters with nature. In the day-to-day educational work of day-care centers, questions about the human-nature relationship and a responsible approach to nature arise.
Education is a key pillar of Naturparkwork. The aim is to take up topics relating to nature, the environment, culture and history. in the Naturpark Hohe Mark currently have four day care centers for Naturpark- Have day care center awarded. Part of the collaboration between Naturpark and Kita is an annual advanced training course for pedagogical specialists Naturpark- Day care centers with a scope of at least four hours. After the training could not take place last year due to the pandemic, this year 18 teachers from the Naturpark- Day care centers at the invitation of Naturparks Hohe Mark came together.

The nature pedagogical further education was by Mr. Dirk Nießing (dipl. pedagogue, adventure pedagogue, motopedagogue and individual psychological consultant and coach) in Tiergarten Schloss Raesfeld carried out. Due to the many creative new approaches for child-friendly teaching, the training was also an impetus for your own implementation ideas in the local day care center.

The contents of the workshop were:

Natural fantasy stories

Building and handicraft activities around the autumn

Ecologically sustainable in kindergarten