The project was a one-stage training course for youth workers. The project focused on outdoor & nature education, raising awareness on the physical health benefits as well as the importance of spending time in nature for mental health among youngsters, through non-formal education methods. The project aimed to inspire youth workers to develop a relationship with sports, activities in their youth work. The TC was hosted in the middle of nature, in Martinique island, surrounded by beautiful vulcano mountains. Participants had the opportunity to completely unwind and focus on nature, themselves and each other, we put them out of their comfort zones and challenge them in all ways: Explore your limits!
One of the main concepts was introduced and explored throughout the training: How to use sports as a therapeutic and diagnostic tool. As humans we are evolutionary hard-wired to connect with sport elements but technological evolution and urban living have cut us off of our daily interfering with the natural world and sport activities. This results in a wide range of physical and mental problems of which we are only now becoming aware of. We could describe this as “nature deficit disorder”. Our bodies and minds still recognize nature’s elements easily and react instantly whenever we get in touch with our natural habitat. With outdoor activities we are exposing ourselves to an immense positive effect on our mental and physical health. Recent scientific research unambiguously confirms this. Connecting yourself to nature, movement, sports – and especially doing this consciously – results in a wide variety of deep-going benefits for our mood, physical health and brain structure.
During the project participants also experienced hiking, different sports & outdoor activities that can be inspiring for their future commitments related to the topic. They learned and practiced how to use outdoor opportunities to improve both physical and mental health, enhance their knowledge of healthy lifestyles and methods for sharing the practice with youth. The TC also aimed to create a meaningful youth network where youth workers can share experiences in the field of health and outdoor activities. Overall, the project aimed to promote a healthy lifestyle, improving mental as well as physical health of youngsters, through training youth workers in nature and outdoor education.