Open-air school – in Benediktbeuern, school students from years 1 to 4 experience a very special school day once a month.
As part of the Outdoor School (Draussenschule) project by the Centre for Environment and Culture (ZUK), areas of syllabus content are combined with outdoor activities. The students from around 20 different classes at primary and special-needs schools learn about scientific experimentation, craft skills and creative thinking alongside their German, mathematics and social studies lessons.
They build their knowledge of native flora and fauna, follow natural processes through the seasons and apply mathematical methods and principles in an outdoor setting, while developing an understanding of what sustainable living is all about. The underlying goal of the project is to implement education for sustainable development, which is anchored in the Bavarian schools’ syllabus, in a practical and interdisciplinary manner.
Outdoor School is a groundbreaking pilot project that the TÜV SÜD Foundation has been happy to support since 2023. It shows how school can be fun, but also build a profound understanding of the environment and of nature as well as enhancing students’ insights into their own behaviour.
