The biggest Forest School to date has come to an end. The unique environmental education program developed by Tomorrow’s Forest Foundation involved 300 students from high schools in Comănești, Moinești, and Dărmănești, who took part in experiential and interactive workshops in the classroom and in the forest and generated action ideas for forests and their communities.

The project started in February and March 2023, with interactive workshops at the Dimitrie Ghika Technical College in Comănești, the Grigore Cobălcescu Technical College in Moinești and the Technological High School in Dărmănești. During the workshops, the students learned that healthy forests and thriving human communities support each other: if we listen to the needs of the forest and manage it sustainably, the benefits for people are enormous!

From March to June, the workshops moved to the forest. The students visited some of the most beautiful forests in Bacău County, managed by dedicated and highly skilled foresters, and were able to see with their own eyes how the environmental, social, and economic functions of the forest can be enhanced using methods and techniques that put sustainability first.

“It was a tour de force for us to organize such a large project, but it was well worth it,” said Mihail Caradaică, executive director of the Tomorrow’s Forest Foundation. “There were more than three hundred students involved and we are sure that many of them will get involved for change in the future. The effect will be amplified in the communities of the Trotuș Valley, we hope that in a few years, we’ll be able to see a strong environmental movement there, and especially that the forests in the area will be healthier and more resilient in the context of the global challenges generated by climate change.”

The Forest School generates action for forests and the community

The aim of the project was to inspire children to act for forests and nature: to discover, plan, search for solutions, and negotiate. That’s why we challenged them to come up with ideas and present them to the community.

And we were not disappointed: the high school students helped with afforestation actions, planted urban gardens, cleaned up the nature in their community, or taught lessons about the environment to students in junior classes. They organized themselves nicely, became more active on social media, or even created small associations and initiative groups that will contribute to protecting the environment in the Trotușului Valley!

In the end, the best projects were awarded a camp in Piatra-Craiului National Park.

39 students from the three high schools spent a few days together, consolidated their knowledge, and generated new ideas for action and involvement. Accompanied by their teachers and experienced trainers, they observed the biodiversity in the protected forests.

Beatris and Diana, students in the 9th grade at Ghika College in Comănești, were in a camp for the first time.

“I feel like I got a much stronger connection to the forest,” Beatris said. ” We’re on our phones and technology all the time now, and we don’t get to do that very often. Our time is limited. But connecting with nature is a very beautiful experience, plus it’s relaxing, it’s good for your health. ”

The project was carried out with the support of HS Baco Panels (Comănești), part of the HS Timber group.

“Care for forests and care for people cannot be separated, sustainability means people and nature thriving together, it is a central value of our company,” said Alexandru Agache, director of HS Baco Panels. “Responsible and healthy communities are grown over time and with social responsibility, that’s why we are happy that the strategic partnership we have with the Pădurea de Maine Foundation has borne such good fruit for our area. Hundreds of beneficiaries broadened their horizons and were inspired to look at the forest and human activities related to the forest with different eyes, and the forests in the Trotuș Valley will be better protected and managed. ”

We thank the trainers Tibor Kádár, Florentina Florescu, Luminița Tănasie, Laura Cojocaru and Gențiana Albota for their support and involvement, as well as the teachers who coordinated the students in the project: Roxana Țîncu and Mihaela Vîrcolici (Dimitrie Ghika Technical College in Comăneşti), Ionela Olaru and Maria Asandei (Darmănești Technical High School), Daniela Andrioaie and Mihaela Moisa (Technical College Grigore Cobălcescu Moinești).

The Forest School program will return in the fall of 2023. For those interested, as beneficiaries or sponsors: contact@padureademaine.ro

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