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“Instructor’s Guide for International Clubs” (Youth Centre Villa Elba – FINLAND).

This guide which is written in English language, contains information, ideas and tips for leading the International Club. The presented activities are suitable for youngsters aged 13 and older, but they can be adapted to suit other age groups as well. The instructor can adjust the materials according to the group participants’ ages and experiences.

The meetings can address one theme each, or one theme can be discussed in several meetings if needed. The instructor can also the assign homework to prepare for the next meeting. This guide describes examples, exercises and themes for different club sessions.

It is recommended to include icebreaker and team building games in each session. Some examples are mentioned in this guide and more games can be found in books and online.

The guide also gives suggestions of interesting places to visit. Choose
local and easily accessible destinations and get to know them and the organizations beforehand. If you can’t find suitable visiting places nearby, search for information online. It is also a good idea to invite people from organizations to visit club meetings or to contact local people who come from a different country or who have worked abroad and ask them to sharetheir experiences.

This guide is an English version from 2018, based on updated Finnish version 2015.

To read the entire guide, please access the link HERE.

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“The SKIM project” (Youth Centre Villa Elba – Finland)

This is a collection of outdoor activities with young people, organised by youth workers and school teachers.

The SKIM project (Swedish-language competence center in environmental education) aimed to start and maintain collaboration between Swedish-language natural schools in Finland and thus establish a network that can offer help, knowledge and materials in Swedish in environmental education. The work was funded by the Swedish Cultural Fund and the City of Karleby as well as Ekorosk and companies in the Karleby region and administered by Youth Centers Villa Elba.

“We who made the material are four natural school teachers from different parts of Sweden, who have collaborated in a project for three years. At our meetings we exchanged ideas and experiences and developed our business. During the course of the project, the idea was raised that we would like to share exercises that we use frequently and that we have experienced to work. We have selected a few exercises that are easy to carry out, that do not require much equipment and preparation and that can be done year-round in your own local environment.” (Borgå, 9.12.2005).

To see the entire booklet, please access the link HERE.

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“Yes, We Do. Drama and Environmental Awareness” (Youth Centre Villa Elba – Finland)

This manual is written in Swedish Language for Youth Center Villa Elba and Karleby Naturskola, as part of Carl Tengman’s degree project for the University of Applied Sciences Novia 2017.

This handbook is written for youth workers who are interested in working with the topics of consumption habits and natural resources in order to strengthen the knowledge of ecologically sustainable development among various target groups. The manual mainly contains exercises that you can use for teaching purposes with different target groups.

The exercises described in this manual are based on environmental and drama pedagogical methods. Most, but not all, exercises are combined by these two educational methods. The exercises and methods are designed to be easy for the youth workers to use and do not require the need to have a drama or environmental pedagogical education before, although both can be to the leader’s advantage. The manual contains a number of exercises to give the youth workers’ choices when planning programs for a specific group.

The methods and exercises are described on pages 8-29. Each exercise contains a brief advisory recommendation regarding the target group, how much of the group should participate in the exercise or if the group should be divided into smaller groups, an estimate of the time use of the exercise, which spaces are suitable for the exercise or method, what season the exercise is. is suitable for and if the practice or method requires some form of props. For each exercise, a brief purpose is also described, which is intended to make it easier for the youth workers to choose an exercise. However, these are indicative and it is free for the youth workers to change and adjust the exercise according to his / her own opinion.

In the handbook, the author briefly talks about environmental pedagogy and drama pedagogy as a method for the youth workers to gain a better understanding of the exercises and the theme of the handbook. The main focus of the handbook is on creating a greater awareness of consumption habits and the use of natural resources through the exercises and methods described.

In this manual, the author gives suggestions and tips on things that can be good for the youth workers to think about when leading a workshop or program with the exercises described.

In conclusion, we find suggestions on various books that can be good for the youth workers to know and familiarise with before a workshop or an educational event. In connection with some exercises, there are also links to web-based pages with materials that are necessary for certain exercises.

To read the entire handbook, please access the link HERE.


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“In the World of Different Water Creatures” (Youth Centre Villa Elba – Finland)

In this booklet from 2017, which is written in Finnish language, young people will find the most common freshwater small creatures. They are drawn in a simplified way so that they can be cut off and glued on, for example, in a large poster or booklet.

Investigating underwater life does not require expensive equipment and young people really do not need to be biologists. By studying small invertebrate animals, they experience the biodiversity and joy of discovery in a concrete way, learn the basics of species knowledge, and strengthen their perception on nature.

The authors wrote a simple checklist of elements to keep in mind when researching aquatic small creatures together with children and young people. In the booklet one will also find instructions for a fun genre play and lyrics. With play,one learns to recognize the most common species and in songs, learns about insect physique. The reader will also find a research form at the end of the material.

To see the entire booklet, please access the link HERE.