NA DIVJE/Into the Wild - living with nature in all seasons
NA DIVJE is an activity for children in nature that takes place in all seasons and in all weather. The focus is on getting to know nature, free play, relaxed learning, acquiring skills and one’s own inner strength and friendship. NA DIVJE uses nature and offers children at a sensitive age, when they are receptive to the natural world and the people around them, an exit from the world between four walls into a world of trees, fertile soil, animal teachers and shelters of imagination.
Regional
Slovenia
{Empty}
Mainly urban
It refers to other types of transformations (soft investment)
No
No
Yes
As an individual
First name: NINA Last name: VASTL ŠTEFE Gender: Female Nationality: Slovenia Address (country of permanent residence for individuals or address of the organisation)<br/>Street and number: MESTNI TRG 19 Town: ŠKOFJA LOKA Postal code: 4220 Country: Slovenia Direct Tel:+386 31 214 829 E-mail:nina.vastl@gmail.com
Restricted movement, confinement of children to indoor spaces, reliance on TV and electronic devices, numerous guided activities and a performance-oriented school system are most often the cause of the increasing number of problems children face. Many have behavioral and emotional problems, a range of learning difficulties and deficits in the areas of practical and social skills.
From experience, we know that the right answer is movement in nature, which often eliminates, but always mitigates and reduces the previously mentioned problems. Children are less burdened in nature, think more freely and are therefore more creative. The natural terrain enables children to move naturally, which has a positive effect on the development of the brain and, consequently, motor and learning abilities. In nature, children calm down more easily, are more relaxed and build mutual relationships more easily.
I started NA DIVJE/Into the Wild in 2013 when also my own kids were still very young. The programme was inspired with our common activies in nature and outdoors. The idea behind NA DIVJE was to offer children attractive activity in nature to enable them to develop as healthy as possible.
NA DIVJE encourages free play in nature, relaxed movement, focused observation, active exploration, independence, ease, creativity, friendship and laughter.
NA DIVJE teaches children the laws of nature and respect for natural processes. Children get to know the basic skills and knowledge for survival in nature. NA DIVJE introduces them to basic technical and artistic design. NA DIVJE also cultivates a sensitivity to perceive beauty. Children feel a sense of freedom in nature and strengthen the connection with their bodies. In nature, children are in contact with the primordial elements of earth, water, air and fire. Nature becomes close to them and they feel confident in it. In this way, they grow into capable and strong and at the same time sensitive and responsible people.
CONNECTION WITH NATURE
EXPLORING WITH NATURE
WILD PLANTS
SKILLS FOR LIFE
SURVIVAL IN NATURE
The subtitle of our activity is "living with nature in all seasons". Nature is constantly renewing itself and is in an eternal cycle. All natural environments are therefore polygons where we can observe what sustainability is or what it should be. For children, nature and its various environments are such a wonderful classroom. Our activity is weekly, and that is why we can be good observers of all the changes and connections that follow each other from winter, through spring and summer to autumn and winter again. I can encourage observation in an easy and unforced way, as children feel firsthand how early spring winds bring freshness and how melting snow gives water to the earth. They really notice how the days are getting longer, in the winter we go on hikes with headlamps, but at the end of February we don't need them anymore. When the sun is already so warm that we no longer need a cap and hot tea at the end of our meetings, then it is time to start pruning for the first plants that we will be able to eat: trumpets, young brambles and wild garlic are always on our menu in spring. We know where they grow and that's why we return to known growing areas. In the summer and autumn, we perceive just as well what is happening and how the events follow one another in a new and new round.
So we learn about sustainability right at the source, in changing nature, where everything wants to live and nothing has a problem dying. Complex concepts is much easier to understand with direct participation in the process.
Another aspect of sustainability is very important, namely the transfer of specific practical knowledge to young minds: survival skills and learning about wild plants or mushrooms, for example, their recognition and knowing how to prepare them for food, medicine, for fibers or dye is invaluable but unfortunately is being lost a lot... I pass on all my knowledge in the light of the best sustainability and renewability.
I am an architect by education and beauty means a lot to me. The beauty found in nature has inspired people since the beginning of human history. Personally, nature appeals to me enormously every day with its beauty. I love to share this excitement and wonder of mine. Most children are naturally perceptive of the beauty of nature and love to talk about it. From the point of view of aesthetics, nature is far ahead of all other sources. Everything from nature that we notice, see, study, hunt, gather or even eat with the children on the program NA DIVJE is interesting and worthy of wonder: snowflake… the wing of a dragonfly that resembles a maple or hornbeam seed, a flower of a bellflower or chestnut, quartz crystals along the path, seeds of a wild clematis, pine bark, oak branches, a winding stream bed, the brown color of an early dried fern, the fresh green color of a beech forest in the spring, a firefly, a spark of fire swirling in the air, toad eggs in long necklaces, a woodpecker knocking, a wind howl, a pheasant calling, a grasshopper's face, a clear winter sky with stars... Endless beauty all around us!
At each of our meetings, we prepare something to eat. I always try to find a nice place to stop. Let's make a beautiful place in the middle of nature, where we will sit together and drink and eat together. Sometimes it is not necessary to add anything and it is perfect, sometimes we sit on a blanket that matches or contrasts with the surroundings, sometimes we are more simple and just use the camp canvas. Sometimes we have to put up a roof over ourselves. Even when using dishes, teapots, cups, plates, utensils, I pay attention to what they are like.
We often have activities where artistic aspects are important. At that time, I teach the children art elements, techniques and encourage their imagination, creativity and uniqueness. I also pay special attention to all the publications with which I appear in public or on social networks.
I am currently running NA DIVJE for children between 6 and 12 years old. I chose this age period because children are still very perceptive of the natural world and the people around them, and the connection was largely broken during the transition from preschool to school. NA DIVJE therefore offers an extension of relaxed time with peers and friends in a natural environment and learning by the way.
The programme is designed in such a way that it can easily be adapted to other age groups or for mixed groups, even for adults.
The programme takes place mostly in natural environments near by the city. Accessibility is on foot or by bicycle, and we also use public transport.
There is a charge for the NA DIVJE activity, but it is very affordable. Since I often have siblings in the group, they have a reduced price.
I have already worked with public institutions and municipalities several times, where the programme was financed with public money and therefore NA DIVJE was available at a very reduced price or even for free. In this way, for several years I led the summer holiday weeks for Mala ulica Family Center at community garden Onkraj gradbišča/Beyond the Construction Site in Ljubljana and participated in public events and festivals in Škofja Loka.
Considering that I work with young children, the benefits of my work are of course long-term. Anyone who has ever planted a seed or a tree, or had a child knows what I'm talking about. A lot of work, time and love must be invested and the final result does not depend on us. All this work, the fruits of which are only a promise, is a kind of hope for a good (better) future.
"NA DIVJE co-shapes the mindset and awareness of children who will govern our society in the coming decades. In addition to developing a sense of community and the common, which through the creation and construction of buildings and spaces at the Onkraj gradbišča/Beyond the Construction Site, young people develop a sense of life and revive contact with nature, which in the post-anthropocene and climate crisis period is becoming crucial for the future of people and the entire planet, "says Polonca Lovšin, artist and Initiator of the community garden Onkraj gradbišča.
However, I feel sympathy and approval of my programme in the local and wider environment. As well as a general reconnection with nature, taking care of food, soil, water all over the world... The awareness that we are all connected is reawakening.
Some kind of confirmations to my work, which always make me very happy, are also meetings with young people who attended NA DIVJE. They always enthusiastically explain to me their good and beautiful memories of those times together.
If I look back now, in 2013, when I started the activity NA DIVJE in Škofja Loka, I was at the peak of my powers, although at the same time I was in a difficult life situation. I started the activity intuitively, somehow naively, without a business plan and without anything, except the pure idea of offering other children what I was giving to my own. I wanted to be completely free and independent. Every time I just packed my backpack and went…
Already the first year I had a great group of children. I was enthusiastic. I knew the initiators of the Onkraj Gradbišča community garden in Ljubljana and we agreed to cooperate. On the first day of spring, March 21, 2014, we had the first "Into the Wild in the City" activity at the community garden. We connected nicely with the emerging community, and during the summer vacation I already held two holiday weeks and united the Škofja Loka and Ljubljana groups. For three days, the children from Škofja Loka took the train to the garden in Ljubljana, and for two days the children from Ljubljana came to us. We walked through the forests and hills around the city, bathed in the river and prepared wild food and baked bread on the fire... It was unique. The children connected very well, everyone found the move from a familiar environment interesting and fun.
The following season, I was on maternity leave, then the director of the Mala Ulica Family Center, invited me to cooperate. Between 2016 and 2018, according to the well-known scenario between the two cities, we spent 4 weeks every summer with groups of 20 children, partly in the community garden in Ljubljana and partly on trips to Škofja Loka and Sračja dolina. In 2020, Mala ulica established their own garden playground on Rakova Jelša, which I helped bring to life and also trained the employees.
Due to a specific personal situation, I have not expanded the activity further until today. Regular weekly meetings in Škofja Loka continue to take place even today...
Leading NA DIVJE programme requires an interdisciplinary person and different knowledge and skills. This is the basis of the whole matter. The basic field of knowledge is certainly pedagogical. It is very good that you love people, especially children, and that you like to share knowledge, experience, and skills. It is neccesary to be good at communication. The basics of educational work and managing/resolving conflicts are also important. Soft skills. Science knowledge is also important. Even the ones we didn't learn in school. And the desire to discover new things. Interest, curiosity, childishness. Determination and leadership skills are also important. And the skills of scouting and survival in nature. Manual skills. Sportsmanship and humor. Cooking and baking skills. Good food is very important in the wild.
Somehow I am all of that, in one person. I acquired knowledge, skills and abilities at school, at work, in interpersonal relationships and in my free time. I have always been interested in many things and love to learn.
Because I lead NA DIVJE programme, I am on a lifelong learning journey.
Activity NA DIVJE has simple, carefully designed and unobtrusively brought up programme. It offers children between 6 and 12 years of age to spend their free time or holidays outside, in the air and sun, in various natural environments, in wild community gardens and on trips in nature. In groups of peers, children can socialize in a natural environment, play freely, learn in a relaxed way, explore, observe and acquire new skills, gain their own inner strength and create new friendships.
NA DIVJE activity has a very simple and elementary approach to working with children. It turned out to be very successful. This was confirmed by the opinions of the participating children and their parents.
In a fresh, inovative, modern way, it shows children that being outside, in nature and in the company of peers is interesting, valuable and full of adventure.
Children who fall in love with nature at a young age will never lose it. Such children will grow into adults who care about nature, the planet, and all of us. This is our great hope to go forward, for our common good future.
NA DIVJE uses nature to offer children at a sensitive age, when they are receptive to the natural world and the people around them, an exit from the world between four walls into a world of trees, fertile soil, animal teachers and shelters of imagination.
Credit for the program's success goes to a unique combination of knowledge, skills, personality and charisma of the leader, Nina Vastl Štefe. The pedagogical approach is relaxed, informal and fun.
All elements of NA DIVJE programme can be transferred or adapted for different environments, for different locations and for different target groups of people.
Different environments: the activity is held in different natural environment in urban or rural areas. It is important that we have at least a trace of nature wherever we held the activity. If we work in very densely built-up areas, we can work with weeds, wildly overgrown and abandoned spaces, even with planted balconies etc...
Different locations: meadow, forest, river, pond, lake, underground cave, park, garden next to the house, allotment gardens, community gardens, playgrounds, spaces near kindergartens and schools...
Target groups of people: the activity is suitable for groups of preschool children, school children and adults of all kinds, as well as for retirees and curious teenagers. The activity is suitable for everyone who loves nature and outdoor activities.
However, it is important to choose a good activity leader who has sufficient knowledge and skills and is able to animate different people in different environments.
The basic model of NA DIVJE activity has been developed and supplemented for 10 years, is very well tested and is very successful. When we worked with children, he received praise from both the children and their parents. It was always praised by the participants of other target groups with whom we had already implemented the activity.
NA DIVJE has simple, carefully designed and unobtrusively brought up programme. We do not pretend, we take things seriously yet relaxed. NA DIVJE is based on authenticity and immediacy. In this concept, we do not avoid "harder" aspects of natural processes, such as the struggle for life, decay, dying, destruction and death... This also means that we use the right tools in nature: pocket knives and matches for fire are already being used by 6-year-olds , we use saws and axes, hammers and nails, drills, gas burners, etc. The NA DIVJE activity has a very simple and elementary approach to working with children. I encourage them with independence and self-initiative, as well as endurance and courage. We walk long distances, sleep under the mild sky and bathe in cold river water. This approach is very rewarding for children. Because they see and feel that they can do it, they become more and more confident and stable in nature.
In a fresh, innovative, modern way, NA DIVJE shows children that being outside, in nature and in the company of peers is interesting, valuable and full of adventures. The pedagogical approach is relaxed, informal and fun, very different from the school system they are used to.
It is very important to have a good leader who likes people and has charisma and enough knowledge and skills to animate different people in different environments. Depending on the natural environment and the specific location, time of year and weather conditions, it is necessary to find an interesting topic related to this space before starting the activity, and then carry it out on the spot. In our archive, we have a rich set of different activities for different natural environments and different target groups, and we are happy to share ideas of what, how and when to do: collect plants and animals, walk, observe, sow, plant, garden, cook, bake, light fires, make various things, build houses for ourselves and for animals, we wonder and happily explore and have fun...
I see global challenges most closely related to our relationship with nature.
And the global challenges are so complex and huge…
That's why I tackled the problem on a small scale, first on a personal level. When raising my children, I tried to give them an example and help them to establish a healthy and strong relationship, first with themselves and then with nature. When I saw that I had done the task well, I offered this example and learning to an even larger number of children at the local level. We have now expanded it to the regional level and my hope is that one day it will also expand to the national and global level.
"To plant a seed is to believe in the future."
The activity for children in nature NA DIVJE is well tested and very well received.
From the local environment of Škofje Loka and its surroundings, in the 10 years of operation it has expanded to the regional level (Ljubljana, the capital of Slovenia and Kranj) and cooperated with the best organizations in the field of work with children and families (Mala Ulica Family center, Ljubljana) and alternative community initiatives (community garden Onkraj gradbišča/Beyond the Construction Site, Ljubljana).
There are various options for development and expansion of the programme NA DIVJE and implementation in new, wider environments. These considerations are still in the conceptual phase. I don't want the program to be seen as a "business idea" because it is much more than that. At this point, I've given myself time to "cook" things, I don't know yet when I'll put them on the table.
The recognition of the value and potential of the NA DIVJE programme by the NEW EUROPEAN BAUHAUS Prize (and a possible placement in the finals or an award) would greatly encourage and facilitate my search for promising development paths.
I recommend myself.
