2018

"Bioeconomy in Schools" - a New Methodical Tool for Promoting Entrepreneurship about Forest

On 18 October, more than 60 teachers came together to learn about the new methodical tool "Bioeconomy in Schools" designed to promote student awareness of the value of the green gold of Latvia - our forests. It will come in handy for teachers of natural sciences, economics, social sciences and other teachers to create an interdisciplinary learning process for grade 5 to 12 students.

Experts of the National Centre for Education, the Forest Faculty of Latvia University of Agriculture, the State Education Development Agency, Riga Secondary School No. 49 and Riga Teika Secondary School, NGO "Bērnu vides skola" (Children's Environmental School), JSC "Latvijas finieris" and JSC "Latvia's State Forests" took part in the creation of the book. The book is complemented by training materials from the "For Greener Business in Europe" project and the 11th European Forest Science Conference "Bioeconomy and Forest Pedagogics". The book has been published with the support of the Latvian Environmental Protection Fund.

Daiga Udrase, an expert of the State Education Development Agency, shares her impressions about the 160-page thick book: "The material has been developed on the principles of skills-based education that provides young people with an opportunity to learn from different resources, to evaluate the opportunities offered, and to make their own choices. The material helps them change their thinking from an irresponsible to responsible consumer, encouraging a deeper understanding of the role of forest resources in the development of the Latvian economy."

Līga Abizāre, Head of the School Programmes of JSC "Latvia's State Forests", explains the essence of the material: "Forest is our greatest renewable resource that can help us create both a green and prosperous Latvia in the next 100 years. This material will be very useful for schools to link different subjects with real life - to give each child an opportunity to become a smart entrepreneur who can appreciate the opportunities given by the nature and compete in the internationally growing bio-economy market."

Aiga Dubro, a teacher of economics at Riga Secondary School No. 49 and co-author of the material, says: "The material we offer will give an exciting and adventurous learning experience for both students and teachers. Co-operation is the key word for this learning process. The students' first feedback was positive, emphasizing the opportunity to delve into the topic, find different opinions, and shape your attitude. The presence of the invited experts and comments in project presentations were especially helpful for the students."

The new methodical tool is available free of charge in printed form at LVM Customer Centre (1 Vaiņodes Street, Riga), as well as in electronic form.

Each year, JSC "Latvia's State Forests" (LVM) in cooperation with the National Centre for Education, invites schools to learn from nature. Starting from pre-school kids and ending with university students and educators - everyone has an opportunity to go to Latvia's state forests and supplement the knowledge acquired at school with practical tasks in nature. Every year, more than 20 000 children, school students and teachers learn about the forest in the diverse school programmes offered by LVM.