Nature And Social Permaculture Learning for Youth

<< Background >>Recent global challenges have highlighted the importance of sovereignty over natural resources, energy, and food systems, as well as the need for solidarity and people-centred solutions. Disadvantaged youth, including those with fewer opportunities and those from marginalised backgrounds, are particularly affected by social isolation and barriers to education and employment. The NASPLY project created inclusive, nature-based learning environments through permaculture spaces, addressing both the urgent need for environmental action and the requirement for enhanced social inclusion and skills development among youth. Through a holistic permaculture approach, it gave young people the opportunity to understand the importance of caring for each other and for nature, while providing the tools to build resilient and sustainable communities. This project tackled environmental issues, social integration, digital skills, financial planning, green entrepreneurship, solidarity, and care for others, all in one comprehensive initiative.<< Objectives >>The primary objective of the project was to enhance the connection between young people and nature across the participating countries through social permaculture. The project sought to achieve this by creating and publishing a curriculum and a toolkit on regenerative social permaculture.The project focused on developing essential competencies among young people, including skills in social participation, environmental stewardship, and green entrepreneurship. By establishing permaculture spaces, the project provided a platform for hands-on learning and community engagement, aiming to enhance the well-being and social inclusion of marginalised young people through contact with nature and outdoor education. Additionally, the project intended to improve digital skills and marketing acumen among participants to support sustainable local economies.The project was not only beneficial for young people but also for the youth workers who support them. It concentrated on capacity building among youth workers through comprehensive training and the creation of educational resources. A dedicated training course equipped them to address a wider range of topics related to social permaculture when working with young people.<< Implementation >>First, all relevant personnel involved in the project, from the partner organisations were trained in social permaculture through the initial training course in Spain. Permaculture spaces were then established in 4 of the partner countries, in Floriana, Malta, in Limassol, Cyprus, in Tortona, Italy and in Dresden, Germany. These then served as learning hubs where youths engaged in hands-on gardening and learned about ecological principles. Workshops and training sessions were conducted for both youths and youth workers, covering various topics. These sessions were based on activities outlined in the training course, toolkit, and online resources created throughout the project. Community-building events were also organised, including visits to the developed permaculture spaces and discussions on the project outcomes. These provided opportunities for participants to practise newly gained skills practically. In all the activities, Social Permaculture was used as the underlying theory for learning. This focuses on the principles of permaculture design, extrapolated onto a societal level i.e. it looks at creating resilient communities where people understand their value in society & how they can learn from nature for a strong ecosystem<< Results >>The project produced several concrete outputs. Firstly, new educational resources were developed. The project began with staff training and capacity building for the partner organisations, specifically for the members working on the project. This took place through a 5-day training course. Subsequently, self-paced online educational materials were created, including a training course on Nature and Social Permaculture specifically for youth workers, followed by a toolkit designed for young people. Both these are available for free on the specifically-created project’s online platform https://nasplyproject.eu/. The educational resources were piloted with youths and youth workers in all partner countries. By the end of the project, new permaculture spaces were successfully established in 4 different countries. These spaces not only provide tangible benefits in terms of food production and environmental stewardship but also serve as inclusive environments that foster community engagement and personal growth among participants.Besides these core actions, all partners of the project organised a multiplier event to disseminate the project outcomes to youths and youth workers, policymakers and other project stakeholders.