In April, LEAF International was invited to join the final of the Forest Olympics in Tervete Nature Park, Latvia. It was a really great day and we were delighted to be part of it!
The ‘Meža Olimpiāde’ (Forest Olympics) is for teachers and students between 1st & 9th grade which takes place outside and each year the lucky winners go on an exciting nature expedition abroad!
To participate, teachers need to involve forest in their lesson as a place or theme and register this lesson for the ‘Forest olympics’. Round 1 takes place in December, in a first round 462 teachers submitted lessons from 146 schools! Each year the ‘Forest olympics’ has a particular theme, this year it was SOCIAL SCIENCES IN THE FOREST. The most successful teachers enter the semi-final, where students compete in an online game ‘Mežotājs’ (The Forester).
The ten most successful students and their teachers from six schools participate in an unforgettable final competition in Tervete Nature Park! The goal of the ‘Forest olympics’ is to urge the teachers to include in the learning process themes and subjects related to gaining knowledge and experience in the forest and surrounding environment.
The winners of this year’s Forest Olympics were:
1st Balvu State Gymnasium (nature expedition camp in Norway)
2nd Gaigalava Elementary School (cruise from Riga to Stockholm)
3rd Zvejniekciema Secoundary School (educational excursion in Tervete Nature park)
4th Kr.Valdemara Ainažu Elementary School
5th Vecumnieku Secoundary School
6th Jelgavas 2nd Secoundary School