EDEN LAB aims to develop innovative ideas for transforming educational spaces, including through the presence of - and active interaction with - plants, to create healthy, resilient educational landscapes that nurture the full potential of children and youth.
EDEN is also a project, a word that recalls dreams, the dream of rediscovering a more intense relationship with nature, the dream of a truly special, beautiful, humanising school. And dreams condense into places that educate us.
National
Italy
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Mainly urban
It refers to a physical transformation of the built environment (hard investment)
No
No
Yes
As a representative of an organisation
Name of the organisation(s): Free University of Bozen-Bolzano, Faculty of Education, EDEN Lab Type of organisation: University or another research institution First name of representative: Beate Last name of representative: Weyland Gender: Female Nationality: Germany Function: Director of EDEN LAB Address (country of permanent residence for individuals or address of the organisation)<br/>Street and number: 16, Ratisbona str. Town: Brixen Postal code: 39042 Country: Italy Direct Tel:+39 0472 014852 E-mail:beate.weyland@unibz.it Website:https://edenlab.unibz.it/
EDEN LAB is a workshop that aims to provide know-how to all those interested in learning from and with educational environments. Using spaces as pedagogical devices is our credo.
Our contribution is to enable teachers and children to take ownership of their own spaces and discover how, with few resources, they can create environments that are in line with the coordinates defined by the Global Competencies 2030:
- Research aptitude;
- Teamwork – Empathy;
- Healthy relationships;
- Responsible action - i.e. effective projects in the world.
The facilitators for the implementation of these important pedagogical coordinates are, in this case, plants that not only provide an immediate decorative effect but also make teachers question the space (where we put them) and the teaching-learning activities (when we take care of them, how we include them in the activities).
Active interaction with plants requires a twofold commitment: designing the space and organising activities with plants that lead to children developing a close relationship with plants.
Plants are our future, says Stefano Mancuso, and with him many botanists and ecologists.
Plants are beings that can connect humans with their habitat and transmit knowledge of an interdisciplinary nature. Moreover, their presence also enables the development of interaction projects with technologies.
Indeed, through the presence of plants, tools for monitoring and automatic irrigation can also be designed together with children. And through plants, a new way of familiarising oneself with space emerges that urges appropriation.
The technological perspective is seen from a humanistic and humanising point of view.
The digital informs things, offers support in mastering spaces and actions, enables immersive experiences and the creation of an ‘environment’. With technology, it is also possible to develop image recordings of created settings and further develop them to offer virtual examples of actually realised spaces.
Learning environment
Learning space
Indoor plants
Humanistic technology
Space appropriation
EDEN LAB is a research and action laboratory funded by schools that offer contributions to the development of research and training pathways aimed at transforming educational spaces and didactic approaches thanks to the presence of plants. In this sense, it aims to contribute to the fields of action defined by the international community in the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development (2015) and in particular target 4.7 of SDG 4: «By 2030, ensure that all learners acquire the knowledge and skills needed to promote sustainable development, including, among others, through education for sustainable development and sustainable lifestyles».
The challenges that education for environmental sustainability poses to education are the starting point of the laboratory actions, which «can, and must contribute to a new vision of sustainable global development» (UNESCO, 2015), using the conceptual framework of the Education for Sustainable Development Goals document: Learning Objectives (UNESCO, 2017) and the European Framework of Competencies in Sustainability (Bianchi et al, 2022). In order to promote in tomorrow's citizens the transition «from an anthropocentric ethic, which reduces nature to a set of entities with a purely instrumental value, to an ecocentric ethic, which assigns intrinsic value to the different forms of life» (Mortari, 2003: 79), educational institutions are called upon to elaborate effective learning opportunities aimed at developing competences in the field of environmental sustainability. The EDEN proposal aims to develop an interdisciplinary frame in which the learning environment itself acts as an educator by integrating natural elements and providing unprecedented opportunities for teaching and learning through meaningful relationships of proximity with houseplants.
“We’ve been thinking that we are on top of things, outside of things or beyond things, able to look down and decide exactly what to do, in all sorts of ways for about 12,000 years. Maybe ecological facts require that we don’t immediately “know” exactly what to do." (Morton, 2018, p. xxv). The theory and practise underlying the EDEN LAB aim to create an ecological educational context that takes into account the coexistence of multiple living beings, both from an organisational and pedagogical point of view, with a strong focus on the emotional-affective dimensions and creativity of children and teachers, and from an architectural and design point of view. In this way, a concrete sustainability project is developed, as described in the "GreenComp" framework (Bianchi et al., 2022), which is fed by the capacity to promote the needs of all forms of life in the school context.
The possibility of domesticating the school and making it not only more permeable and connected to the territory, but also simply welcoming and capable of informing a relational, dynamic, laboratory-based didactics (Weyland, Leone 2020) is explored also through the qualification since 2017 of the the spaces of the campus of the Faculty of Education to enable future teachers to gain concrete and immersive experience of places, situations and projects, which could then also be developed in their future school contexts. The trajectories of the qualification project are threefold: to create the environment with furnishing elements symbolizing comfort, i.e. beanbags, carpets and upholstered chairs; to bring beauty into the building by inviting local artists to temporarily exhibit their works in the Faculty's spaces; to generate well-being by inserting many indoor plants throughout the building and especially in two lecture theatres.
Quantitative research reviewed by Raith and Lude in 'Startkapital Natur' (2014) suggests that plants impact children's intellectual (well-being, self-esteem, learning), social (interpersonal skills, play behaviours, creativity), and physical (health, exercise) development. In addition, the presence and care of plants seems to have an impact on environmental awareness (connectedness with nature, knowledge, interaction and care skills) and environmental education (encounter with plants and active awareness of the 2030 Agenda goals). This is also confirmed by several other studies (Najafi & Keshmiri 2018, Kuo 2019, Aydogan & Cerone 2020).
Other scientific studies, which belong more to the field of natural sciences, indicate that developing close relationships with nature is not only beneficial for humidifying and exchanging indoor air, but also promotes children and adolescents' attention and concentration, as well as a general sense of well-being (Najafi & Keshmiri 2018, Kuo 2019, Aydogan & Cerone 2020).
These findings have implications for whether children with challenging behaviour can also be supported. Previous research on "garden pedagogy" (Ozer, 2007; Meixner-Katzmann, 2014;) confirms its positive psychological, social, and educational effects, especially for children and students with special education needs and disabilities. There are four variables on which the EDEN LAB bases its thinking about inclusion:
- focus on the process of changing the pedagogical relationship between teacher, student and knowledge, with a tendency to develop approaches focused on cooperation, self-determination and exploration;
- attention to difficult behaviour and inclusion in school contexts;
- appreciation of educational space as a pedagogical tool to enhance teaching and learning;
- widespread focus on nature and plants as variables that influence pedagogical-didactic and physical-spatial components and create well-being
From kindergartens to university buildings, without neglecting outdoor recreational spaces and buildings for extracurricular activities, EDEN LAB strives to create attractive environments together with users, in line with a philosophy that enhances the pedagogical relationship in a living dialogue with the planning and cultural trajectories of architecture and design.
The pedagogical concept is the starting point for rethinking spaces according to the pedagogical approach and serves to examine the difficulties/potentials of the building. It is also an opportunity to review the cultural and pedagogical capacity of the building and to explore the possibility of hosting external activities and themes outside of school hours to bring a new vitality to the urban fabric and become a true civic and cultural space or a shining centre for the new educational community.
Redesigning the educational space and thus renewing it, changing it, means examining the school environment starting from the needs of those who inhabit it. It means fostering collaborative processes to give substance to the concept of the 'new' and to support the creative attitude, which is nothing other than an inclination towards well-being and self-realisation.
Documenting and stimulating educational activities, research and implementation are the tasks of the laboratory, which promotes the development of interactive learning with plants based on cooperation, play and perception.
Designing a space means responding to certain functions, but above all it means connecting systems of meaning.
Innovating, then, means above all ascribing a shared value system to the educational space that sees the school as a formative and cultural resource for society. The innovation is thus not in the result, but in the process.
The pedagogical concept of the spaces is a document created by the school and shared with local administrations to answer the question: Which school should be designed and why? It clarifies the pedagogical and didactic qualities that the required spaces should have, the activities that should be carried out in them, and the probable future of the school in question.
The reflections lead to examine the physicality of the school space in the light of a series of perspectives: that of the school with all the networks of relationships with the institutions and associations that support it from the outside, that of the planners, architects and technicians involved in the planning and realisation of the project.
It is precisely this attitude of the group LAB that allows to realise a participative design and to understand how the professional competence has a "mobile and open" (Felisatti, 2013, p.54) and "social or intersubjective" (ibid., p.48) character.
Another example of the influence of EDEN LAB beyond the boundaries of the education sector is its collaboration with the world of production and design. The study commissioned by Gonzagarredi Montessori - a company that manufactures furnishings for functional environments in kindergartens, preschools, primary and secondary schools and libraries - shows that it is possible to collaborate with companies and jointly develop products that bring plants into educational interiors, such as the EDU GREEN SET line developed by GAM.
EDEN LAB is an interdisciplinary collective of educators, architects and designers who actively discuss with managers, teachers, local administrators, politicians, experts to find the best solutions for qualifying educational space in dialogue with nature, both indoors and outdoors.
Our approach is holistic: pedagogy, architecture, didactics, design in dialogue with nature indoors and outdoors are the keys to the process necessary to accompany school communities in the development of innovative ideas for 'inhabiting' school, cultural and educational spaces
A sustainability education project requires an interdisciplinary approach that is the only one capable of taking into account the biological and technological bases of environmental issues, as well as the related socio-cultural values and attitudes, which in turn are linked to economic policies and strategies.
In order to promote an education capable of conveying respect and love for the living environment, ecological competence is required, understood as sensitivity to a relational context that, based on an ethical-social attitude of interpersonal and intergenerational responsibility, considers relationships also with non-human beings as key to overall development.
The added value of the EDEN LAB lies in the collaboration of lecturers, PhD students and students who are interested in the topic of sustainability and collaborate in the implementation of the LAB.
Activities focus on the development of scientific knowledge and teaching materials to spread awareness of the green education approach.
The workshop on indoor and outdoor plants in educational institutions involves education and training professionals, botanical experts and specialists, gardeners and nurseries, botanical gardens, as well as planners, administrators, parents, and local governments, in other words, all those who move around the school - or the green school project, to create a link between school, nature, and territory.
Space is a basic prerequisite for learning. Schools can harness this power of space. Schools with an extended learning culture depend on it. They need appropriate organisation and design of their learning spaces. Such schools are also about extending into nature, the village, the city and the region.
The design, planning and appropriation of learning spaces, when implemented in dialogue, unlocks the potential for far-reaching and sustainable developments in schools, but also in architectural offices and public authorities. If all those involved in administration, planning and school are prepared to trace and further develop the contours of an overall school concept in joint responsibility, competently managed, accompanied and/or moderated processes can ensure lively and sustainable development in all areas.
This is an important innovation, signalling a widespread awareness of the importance of new channels of communication between the worlds of pedagogy and didactics and those of architecture. The effort to specify the way in which the mission of the school is to be declined in a given space leads pedagogy to seek dialogue with architecture and to find solutions that also reflect the increasingly urgent demand to imagine a school of the community and for the community, a school that is accessible, inclusive and respectful of plural languages, a school of learning and no longer of teaching.
We ascribe great importance to designed space in developing and supporting an expanded culture of learning. We want to understand more deeply the relationship between learning and space and, through dialogue, arrive at competences that go beyond the sum of the individual's abilities.
We aim to best support the collective development of learning spaces and schools through the exchange of learning culture practises, designed competences and institutional processes.
In our projects, we aim to share ideas and approaches as well as our research, development and practise results, contributing to their greater effectiveness.
Participatory user involvement is also becoming increasingly important in planning processes. But participation has to be learned, because dealing with the needs of school stakeholders requires experience and the right tools. Many municipalities lack not only the necessary know-how, but also the various specialist areas of modern school construction planning.
The EDENLAB develops ad hoc tools for needs assessment, process mapping, and outcome verification using a combination of quantitative (questionnaires) and qualitative methods (logbooks, issue briefs, interviews). The starting point of the action research pathways is a starter kit that uses the Padlet platform to document the various meetings, collect semi-informal information, define tasks, and quickly bring teachers into the field data collection perspective. This tool allows flexibility to adapt inputs, information, and requests to different contexts. It is accompanied by a logbook that serves both personal reflection and documentation of proposed organisational and pedagogical activities. Monitoring of the research process and exchange are ensured through coaching, thanks to which the educating community involved can face each other and receive the support of the research team, which gives feedback and stimulates reflection and the joint construction of new practical knowledge.
EDEN LAB develops ways to accompany school communities in the development of the pedagogical concept of spaces according to a defined methodology.
The key moments of these ways are:
- organisational agreements and the formation of a working group with representatives of the Commission, representatives of the school (teachers, principals, curators, educators, parents) and all the people who play a key role in the context of the school project;
- raising awareness of the issue, in order to clarify the meaning of the common project path, the importance of the relationship between pedagogy and architecture, and the task that the group has to fulfil;
- generative workshop and development of the pedagogical concept of the spaces;
- discussion of the draft document and final sharing of the work with the community;
- timely elaboration of functional diagrams and eventual drafting of the Preliminary Document of Design for the client;
- accompanying the client during the competition phases;
- didactic experimentation.
Generative workshops are compact design activities that lead to the conception of the pedagogical concept of the spaces and/or the definition of action plans for the different needs of the school or the client. They can be used for the individual design of spaces, the purchase of new furniture, the redesign of certain spaces with few resources or the redefinition of a whole building.
Generative workshops are conducted through the use of various techniques including the "wellbeing finding centre" (C. Alexander), visual brainstorming inspired by the Metaplan techniques (W. & E. Schnelle) to facilitate the identification of the key elements of a topic and formulate action plans, the use of descriptive metaphors, extolled by U. Eco (1984) describing it, in agreement with Aristotle, as an irreplaceable cognitive tool.
The training courses are aimed at developing attention and sensitivity to the school space in the combination of pedagogy and architecture.
The EDEN LAB envisages the development of a set of tools that will be useful to the scientific and educational community in several ways: first, the elaboration of a theoretical framework on education and sustainability mediated by the presence of plants in educational interiors.
Indeed, collaboration with schools and other institutions interested in the proposal will make it possible to collect and compare data on the introduction of plants in indoor spaces, to map initiatives and to develop a database on the effectiveness of activities tested by teachers together with students in the classroom.
On the other hand, work is already underway to develop methodological tools for the appropriation, domestication, enhancement and maintenance of the school space, also thanks to the introduction of indoor plants.
In particular, concrete activities and initiatives of an interdisciplinary nature are being developed that are able to capture the different objectives of the disciplines while working towards some of the goals of the 2030 Agenda (Vischi, 2018), precisely through the presence of plants in educational environments.
Against this background of relationships and ongoing experiments, the laboratory can be described as a place of research and development of projects for different school levels: from kindergarten, preschool and elementary school to secondary school and university.
The EDEN LAB has two objectives: teacher education and lifelong learning, with a learner-centred approach within a lifelong learning perspective. All actors involved in the process are therefore considered as active participants in a learning process.
Regarding the first path, the laboratory EDEN as a physical space within the University is the result of the actions carried out since 2017 to improve the quality of the common and informal spaces for students and lecturers of the Faculty of Education of the Free University of Bozen/Bolzano. Numerous plants were introduced into the spaces and the environment was enhanced with complementary colours and furniture. Two green teaching spaces were also created to encourage the active participation of the university community in the development of activities related to plant care, collaboration and sustainability. Between 2019 and 2021, several in-depth courses and seminars exploring close educational relationships with nature in indoor spaces were held for both university students and teachers from nurseries, kindergartens, primary and secondary schools. Since 2021, the proposal has been disseminated at the national and international level, attracting interest and approval from many organisations and actors in the world of education.
Concerning the second path, between 2016 and 2018 an advisory support activity for schools was born, combining the need to qualify the school's physical spaces with the need to update teaching practices and develop school organisation. These experiences gave rise to the idea of conveying through the university proposals to accompany school development through research-action paths financed by the schools themselves. Between 2019 and 2022, as many as 24 school communities entered into action-research agreements with the university. In these processes, it is the school authorities themselves who become the commissioners of research and place teachers in the role of co-researchers in the field.
The EDEN LAB aims to offer a customisable operational model of the co-participated and interdisciplinary design of formal, non-formal, and informal educational environments in a lifelong, lifedeep learning perspective in which plants become mediating and educating subjects.
This is achieved through the involvement of the entire community in an exploratory process on the qualities of indoor environments, in order to develop a rethinking of spaces with the aim of achieving greater well-being and appropriation. As indicated by several scholars (Barrett 2015, Huges et al. 2019, Weyland 2022), these are in fact the factors that contribute to making schools more effective and capable of impacting the future of new generations.
During a decade of exploratory research, evidence has been gathered that now provides a basis for analysing the effectiveness of the methodology used, and for analysing the materials produced by the school-academic community (managers, teachers, parents, student body) in the course of the research-actions, as demonstrated in the recent EDEN GREEN MIND SET event held on 11-12 November 2022 to inaugurate the LAB, which brought together teachers, managers, architects, designers, from Italy, Austria and Germany, who discussed the possibility of thinking about schools capable of welcoming new educational perspectives and sustainability also experienced through the presence of plants in interior spaces.
